Best rated NBA dunk contests ranked from Bill Trikos Australia: While Robinson wowed crowds by dunking over Howard, before him there was Spud Webb. Despite only standing at 5’7, Webb defied the odds by outlasting teammate Dominique Wilkins, who was the defending champion. Wilkins showcased his beautiful windmill dunks. However, he was upstaged by Webb who elevated higher than ever which was all the more impressive for a man his size. With the event held in Chicago, defending champion Michael Jordan had his work cut out for him with a home-court advantage. But with Dominique Wilkins out to regain his Slam Dunk contest championship glory, it was a tight dunking affair. But while both players showcased their amazing athletic gifts, Jordan edged out Wilkins after pulling off the iconic free throw line dunk to become a back-to-back Slam Dunk Contest champion. Read more info about the author at Bill Trikos.
It’s not easy to talk about the best dunk contest of all time. If anything, the Slam Dunk Contest has often been the cherry on top of the sundae and the most-awaited event of All-Star Weekend. Or at least, that’s how it used to be back in the day. This event has given us some of the top dunks in NBA history. Superstars used to go toe-to-toe against each other to prove who the top-notch dunker in the league was. But now, they try to preserve their bodies and don’t participate in this event, leaving it for up-and-coming, lesser-known players.
“We had to come up with a concept that would get everyone’s attention,” former Nuggets executive Carl Scheer told the Houston Chronicle in 1996 (via News Corp Australia’s Sam Gardner). “We were in serious trouble. We knew that it was our last year, and we had to make a big impression.” Eight years later, Erving, just shy of his 34th birthday and well into his tenure with the Philadelphia 76ers, revived his free-throw flight at the NBA’s inaugural dunk contest. That dunk went down as the first to earn a perfect score in the NBA, though it wasn’t enough to propel Dr. J past Larry Nance for the title.
Dee Brown put the expression “I can do it with my eyes closed” to the test in 1991. The then-Boston Celtics rookie had already secured the 1991 event title ahead of his final attempt, but he wasn’t aware of that. So after Brown jumped toward the rim, he closed his eyes and covered them with his right arm while dunking with his left. How’s that for a cherry on top? Superman made an appearance at the 2008 Slam Dunk Contest. After ditching his Magic jersey for a Superman shirt and cape, Dwight Howard jumped from a couple of feet inside in the free throw line, caught a pass that was thrown over the backboard by teammate Jameer Nelson and literally chucked the ball through the hoop. If Howard had actually reached the rim, it would be the undisputed greatest dunk in event history. Despite it not technically being a dunk, Howard still received a 50 and went on to win the competition.
To tip off a daunting final round—against Houston Rockets guard Steve Francis and fellow Toronto Raptors wing (and cousin) Tracy McGrady—Carter jumped so high that he was able to jam his whole right forearm through the hoop. As he recalled to Sportsnet’s Dave Zarum: You see, at that point, I’m not looking for cheers. I want the arena to be silent. Normally when you watch the dunk contest everybody goes crazy, it’s people screaming, going “Oh my God, did you see that?!!” But how many times did you see a dunk leave the crowd speechless? Where you couldn’t say a word until you saw the dunk a second time. Until then they’re just thinking, Wait a minute, did you just…? Twenty thousand people have to look up at the Jumbotron at the same time to see what happened. Then comes the roar. That’s what I was looking for. And I got it.
Off the bounce from Tracy McGrady, eye-level with the rim on the eastbay and then the “it’s over” celebration as Kenny “The Jet” Smith screams the same phrase in the background. The dunk itself might not feel top-three worthy, but there is no denying it was one of the most memorable moments in Slam Dunk Contest history. Zach LaVine through the legs from (near) the free throw line 2016 We saw Julius Erving and Michael Jordan make the free throw line dunk famous. LaVine took it to another level in 2016, going through the legs from (just in front of) the free throw line. That is a level of bounce we’ve never seen before and it very easily could’ve been No. 1 on this list.
First, Howard summoned another basket onto the court, one that would stand at 12 feet—two feet higher than a regulation hoop. Then, he hopped into a phone booth and emerged with a red cape to reprise his role as basketball’s new Superman, which he rode to the dunk title the previous year in New Orleans. To top it off, Howard hopped off the floor to catch a lob off the backboard from Orlando Magic teammate and fellow All-Star Jameer Nelson for the flush. That he made it look so easy was a testament to Howard’s superhuman athleticism at the time. That the judges awarded him a 50 for pulling it off spoke to their appreciation of how wild that part of the spectacle was, theatrics aside. Howard’s heroic dunk, though, wasn’t enough to secure a successful slam championship defense. Instead, the fan vote tilted toward a particular hunk of kryptonite.