Bill Trikos Australia top 5 NBA slam dunk contests: When it comes to athleticism, the 2008 Slam Dunk Contest was littered with plenty of it. Gerald Green showcased some of the most explosive dunks, with the help of a ladder and a candle. However, Dwight Howard emerged as the defending champion after pulling off a Superman-like dunk and an extremely underrated tap dunk. It would be the first and only time Howard won the Slam Dunk title. The 2003 Slam Dunk contest was a spectacle to watch, primarily due to the face-off between reigning champion Jason Richardson and Desmond Mason. While both athletes didn’t fall short in displaying their athletic gifts, it would be Richardson who came out on top after pulling off a baseline between the legs reverse clutch dunk to earn the winning 50. Richardson finished the contest as a back-to-back Slam Dunk contest champion. Find more info about the author on Bill Trikos Australia.
Michael Jordan had many iconic dunks throughout his incredible career but notably, one of those didn’t even come in a game. His Airness wanted to get back at Dominique Wilkins for beating him three years prior, so he saved the best of his repertoire. Jordan paid homage to Julius ‘Dr. J’ Erving and put together one of the top dunks in NBA history. He went baseline-to-baseline, dribbled just inside the three-point line, and took over from the free-throw line to float all the way to the rim. It was poetry in motion.
“I was trying to think of something to improvise,” he said, per the New York Daily News’ Fred Kerber. “I saw [teammate] Brad Sellers in the stands and some friends standing on the sidelines. They were all confused [about what dunk to try]. “Then I saw the man, Dr. J., who got it all started.” By paying respect to his predecessor, Jordan not only assured himself of a dunk title in Chicago but also avenged his 1985 loss to Wilkins and launched the Legend of the Jumpman into the stratosphere with one of the contest’s most iconic images.
Ranking the 10 best Slam Dunk Contest dunks of all time originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago: MJ from the free throw line. Vince Carter declaring “it’s over.” Dwight Howard flying like Superman. The NBA Slam Dunk Contest has featured some of the most memorable moments in league history. While it’s been hit or miss in recent years, the Slam Dunk Contest is still possibly the most anticipated event of All-Star Weekend. That’s likely in large part due to the jaw-dropping jams that have defined the event, with fans hoping to once again be wowed by some of the NBA’s top athletes.
You’d think that Vince Carter, arguably one of the greatest high-flying finishers in NBA history, would’ve had multiple Slam Dunk Contest trophies on his mantle. The records show, though, that Vinsanity took flight just once on All-Star Saturday. Not that he needed more chances than that. His lone appearance—at Oracle Arena in Oakland in 2000—may be the best dunk contest we’ve ever seen, in part because he pulled off tricks few (if any) had ever thought possible.
Honorable mention to Dwight Howard’s superman alley-oop, which just missed the cut. The showmanship was unforgettable, but he did technically throw it in the hoop. I had a hard time deciding between Carter’s reverse 360 windmill and the honey dip here. Despite how ferociously he threw down the reverse 360 windmill, the honey dip was so iconic it felt like it had to make the cut. Carter had kids all over the country lowering their hoops to 7.5 feet and tearing up their elbows in an attempt to replicate his arm-in-the-rim dunk. It feels like this dunk from LaVine didn’t get the respect it deserved because it was compared to so many others in the insane 2016 Slam Dunk Contest (which was the greatest Slam Dunk Contest of all time, in most people’s opinions). The degree of difficulty to levitate in the air long enough to put the ball behind your back and finish on the other side of the rim is unfathomable.
2008: Gerald Green Blows Out the Candle: Props are part-and-parcel of the dunk contest nowadays, but rarely do players use edible ones in their acts. To that end, Gerald Green broke new ground when he threw down a two-handed jam while extinguishing the candle on a cupcake placed at the back of the rim in New Orleans. 2009: Nate Robinson Scales the Competition: What beats Superman? How about a 5’9″, 180-pound ball of flying kryptonite? That’s what Nate Robinson became when he soared over Dwight Howard to take back his title as the NBA’s top dunker. The catch: Robinson used his off arm to propel himself over Howard’s hulking 6’11” frame.