ORLANDO, Fla. -- Victor Oladipo and Elfrid Payton have the opportunity this weekend to begin establishing a reputation as one of the NBA's up-and-coming dynamic duos.
With the Orlando Magic seldom making a nationally televised appearance in recent years, their second-year and first-year guards can introduce themselves on a much wider scale during the All-Star festivities in New York.
The first opportunity comes Friday night, when Oladipo and Payton will be teammates in the Rising Stars Challenge in which a group of young NBA players from the United States faces players with roots in foreign countries.
But the Slam Dunk Contest on Saturday night could serve as a larger showcase. Oladipo is one of the four contestants, and he made news Wednesday by announcing he'll donate his earnings to three charities. And should Payton serve as his sidekick in the proceedings, things might get interesting.
Magic teammate Kyle O'Quinn, a native of New York, bombarded Oladipo before a recent game with suggestions which might capture the eyes of the contest's judges. But the Magic's third-leading scorer in his second season with them is being coy about how he'll try to defeat Milwaukee's Giannis Antetokounmpo, Minnesota's Zach LaVine and Brooklyn's Mason Plumlee.
"I've got really nothing planned," Oladipo said after the Magic's 89-83 victory Wednesday night over the New York Knicks. "I'm just going to go out there and have a good time."
Except for a loss two weeks ago to the Dallas Mavericks where Oladipo was sidelined with a sore right Achilles, the two of them have started every Magic game since Dec. 21. But the good times have not been plentiful for a team which has gone 7-20 over that stretch and has the Eastern Conference's third-worst overall record at 17-39.
Both Oladipo and Payton played prominent roles during the second half of the win over the Knicks. They combined to turn the ball over just once in the final 24 minutes, and Oladipo's four free throws over the final 4:19 capped a night where he went 11 of 11 from the line.
Their teammates Friday night will include LaVine, Plumlee and Cody Zeller of the Charlotte Hornets, who was a teammate of Oladipo's in college at Indiana.
"It's going to be fun," Oladipo said. "It's going to be fun playing alongside (Payton) this weekend."
"I'm looking forward to having a good time with him out there, just having fun and putting on a show," added Payton, who leads all rookies in assists and is tied with Philadelphia's Nerlens Noel for the lead in steals among rookies.
As part of a social media fundraiser during the weekend, Oladipo will donate his earnings from the Slam Dunk Contest to the Florida Hospital Cancer Institute in Orlando, the Children's National Medical Center in Washington and the Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Cancer Center. Beginning Thursday at noon, he will also take part in a 72-hour fundraising campaign on Twitter and Instagram when fans can purchase specially-designed "Dunk Cancer" T-shirts and hoodies.
The Magic's other connection to the weekend's on-court events will take place Saturday night when former All-Star Penny Hardaway teams with Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder and Tamika Catchings of the WNBA's Indiana Fever in the Shooting Stars Challenge.
You can follow Ken Hornack on Twitter @HornackFSFla or email him at khornack32176@gmail.com.
