BASKETBALL/Two-time NBA Dunk Champion Zach LaVine to arrive in Taiwan early Friday

Taipei, July 30 (CNA) Two-time NBA Slam Dunk Contest champion Zach LaVine is scheduled to arrive in Taiwan early Friday for a series of basketball and charity events in Taoyuan over the weekend.

In a press statement released on Thursday, the Taoyuan Taiwan Beer Leopards said the 31-year-old two-time NBA All-Star will arrive at Taoyuan International Airport Terminal 2 at 5:05 a.m. Friday.

It marks the second consecutive summer the professional basketball team has invited an NBA star to Taiwan, following New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns' visit in 2025.

LaVine was selected 13th overall by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the 2014 NBA draft and won back-to-back dunk contest titles in 2015 and 2016, with the second coming after a memorable showdown with Aaron Gordon.

The two-time NBA All-Star joined the Sacramento Kings in February 2025 after more than seven seasons with the Chicago Bulls.

LaVine played 39 games for the Kings during the 2025-26 season, averaging 19.2 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.3 assists while shooting 47.9 percent from the field and 39 percent from three-point range.

His first public appearance in Taiwan will be at the covered basketball court at Zhuwei Fishing Harbor from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, according to the Taoyuan city government.

LaVine will serve as a judge for a dunk contest that day featuring six Taiwanese dunkers, offering on-site assessments of their performances.

The contest is part of the 2026 Taoyuan Pearl Coast Music Festival, which the city government said aims to combine basketball with coastal tourism and provide local athletes with an opportunity to perform in front of one of the NBA's best-known dunkers.

Members of the public attending Saturday's event will also have a chance to be selected for a charity fan meeting with LaVine the following morning.

The meeting will begin at 10 a.m. Sunday in the second-floor grand ballroom of the Westin Tashee Resort Taoyuan in Daxi District, with LaVine expected to attend the entire event.