Eric Bledsoe selected as Slam Dunk Contest 2013 participant

This season is the first one in a long time that the spotlight was shining Eric Bledsoe's way. Sitting behind John Wall at Kentucky and Chris Paul with the Los Angeles Clippers in the NBA, the silky-smooth point guard has finally begun to show his stuff.

As a member of the 2013 NBA Slam Dunk Contest competition, Bledsoe's legacy can only grow. He was selected on Thursday to participate in the highlight-reel event during NBA All-Star weekend, and he'll play the token undersized dunker who could win over the hearts of the judges and fans alike.

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Listed at 6'1, the former Kentucky Wildcat has elite-level athleticism -- the type that makes you not believe what you're seeing -- and he has somehow just recently slipped into the mainstream discussion as one of the bright young talents in the NBA. It's only fitting then, that he gets to grow his name with chance to follow in the footsteps of Nate Robinson, another springy point guard who win in 2009 and repeated in 2010.

The last two seasons saw big men in Blake Griffin and Jeremy Evans take the dunk title, so Bledsoe faces that uphill battle. Still, he's got the hops and the authoritative showmanship to be a valid threat in this one.

Here, we see Bledsoe cup a fastbreak alley-oop from Chris Paul long enough to do a little bicycle riding motion with his legs.

As a matter of fact, Bledsoe has the distinct advantage of having one of the game's best passers able to toss him some oops in the dunk contest. The Melo League last summer had a few highlight reel dunks by Bledsoe, and the last one in this following clip came off an assist from CP3:

And like the summer leagues, Bledsoe will have minimal defense to worry about in the dunk contest. That always results in good stuff: