History of the Slam Dunk Contest
NBA All Star Weekend Highlights League's Best Dunkers
From Michael Jordan to Vince Carter to Kobe Bryant, the NBA has celebrated its top leapers with the Slam Dunk Competition.
Every year, in mid-February, the National Basketball Association (NBA) dazzles fans with its All Star weekend event, highlighted by the NBA All Star Game itself. One of the many events included in this weekend is the NBA Slam Dunk Contest, which features some of the league's top leapers in a competition that measures the player's athleticism, acrobatics and creativity in dunking.
The inaugural Slam Dunk Contest was held in 1976 in Denver (the very same year dunking was legalized in college basketball) by the American Basketball Association (ABA) that started it. Julius Ervin was the winner of that contest. However, the ABA and NBA merged the very next year, and the contest was soon omitted from the schedule.
Popularity would compel the NBA to bring it back in 1984. Larry Nance beat out Julius Erving that year.
Here is a list of year-by-year winners of the NBA Slam Contest:
- 1984 - Winner: Larry Nance, Runner Up: Julius Erving (Location: Denver, CO)
- 1985 - Winner: Dominique Wilkins, Runner Up: Michael Jordan (Location: Indianopolis, IN)
- 1986 - Winner: Anthony "Spud" Webb, Runner Up: Dominique Wilkins (Location: Dallas, TX)
- 1987 - Winner: Michael Jordan, Runner Up: Jerome Kersey (Location: Seattle, WA)
- 1988 - Winner: Michael Jordan, Runner Up: Dominique Wilkins (Location: Chicago, IL)
- 1989 - Winner: Kenny Walker, Runner Up: Clyde Drexler (Location: Houston, TX)
- 1990 - Winner: Dominique Wilkins, Runner Up: Kenny Smith (Location: Miami, FL)
- 1991 - Winner: Dee Brown, Runner Up: Shawn Kemp (Location: Charlotte, NC)
- 1992 - Winner: Cedric Ceballos, Runner Up: Larry Johnson (Location: Orlando, FL)
- 1993 - Winner: Harold Miner, Runner Up: Clarence Weatherspoon (Location: Salt Lake City, UT)
- 1994 - Winner: Isaiah Rider, Runner Up: Robert Pack (Location: Minneapolis, MN)
- 1995 - Winner: Harold Miner, Runner Up: Isaiah Rider (Location: Phoenix, AZ)
- 1996 - Winner: Brent Barry, Runner Up: Michael Finley (Location: San Antonio, TX)
- 1997 - Winner: Kobe Bryant, Runner Up: Chris Carr (Location: Cleveland, OH)
- 2000 - Winner: Vince Carter, Runner Up: Steve Francis (Location: Oakland, CA)
- 2001 - Winner: Desmond Mason, Runner Up: DeShawn Stevenson (Location: Washington, D.C.)
- 2002 - Winner: Jason Richardson, Runner Up: Gerald Wallace (Location: Philadelphia, PA)
- 2003 - Winner: Jason Richardson, Runner Up: Desmond Mason (Location: Atlanta, GA)
- 2004 - Winner: Fred Jones, Runner Up: Jason Richardson (Location: Los Angeles, CA)
- 2005 - Winner: Josh Smith, Runner Up: Amare Stoudemire (Location: Denver, CO)
- 2006 - Winner: Nate Robinson, Runner Up: Andre Iguodala (Location: Houston, TX)
- 2007 - Winner: Gerald Green, Runner Up: Nate Robinson (Location: Las Vegas, NV)
The contest was replaced in 1998 with the NBA/WNBA All-Star 2Ball competition and in 1999 the NBA lockout made it so there was no All Star Weekend at all. Yet, the contest would continue a year later with Vince Carter blowing past competition.
Here are some examples of specific types of specialty dunks that have been mimicked over the years:
- Windmill Dunk: Dominique Wilkins was well-known for this dunk. The "Windmill" consists of a player making a vertical circular motion with the ball while in the air just before dunking it.
- 360 Dunk: The "360" refers to a player spinning 360 degrees in the air before dunking the basketball.
- Free Throw Line Dunk: Players have been able to win the slam dunk competition by dunking from the free throw line, which is 15 feet from the basket.
- Between the legs Dunk: Isaiah Rider initialized this dunk in the 1994 contest. It consists of a player looping the ball between his legs while in the air on the way to the dunk.
- Double-Clutch Dunk: This is when a player lifts the ball toward his head while in the air, then lowers it significantly just before bringing it back up to dunk it.
- Off the Backboard Dunk: Players often set up their dunk in competition by tossing it off the backboard first.
Sources consulted:
- "NBA Slam Dunk Contest", InsideHoops.com, Accessed on 16 January, 2008.
- "History of the NBA Slam Dunk Contest", Associated Content, Accessed on 16 January, 2008.
- "NBA All-Star Slam Dunk Content History", About.com, Accessed on 16 January, 2008.
- "All-Star Slam Dunk: Year-by-Year Results", NBA.com, Accessed on 16 January, 2008.
