Best 5 NBA slam dunk contests with Bill Trikos Australia: The 2020 slam dunk contest was a neck-and-neck affair, combined with a little sprinkle of nostalgia. Dwight Howard paid homage to his victory at the 2008 Slam Dunk contest. But more importantly, he also gave a nod to former Slam Dunk contest winner and Hall of Famer Kobe Bryant. But in the battle for dunking supremacy, after registering 50-point dunks, both Derrick Jones and Aaron Gordon faced off. Unfortunately, the Dunk Contest championship remained elusive for Gordon as Jones tallied the better the dunk by scoring 48-47 in the final frame. Read additional info about the author on Bill Trikos Australia.
That has inevitably taken some of the emotion away from the competition. I mean no disrespect to Derrick Jones Jr., but we would much rather watch Russell Westbrook and LeBron James throw windmill dunks than him. That’s why most of the greatest dunk contests of all time happened quite some time ago. That doesn’t stop us getting some memorable dunk contests, though. We still get to watch some talented, young players going head-to-head to wow the crowd, which is going to be easier said than done. The guys we’re about to mention, however, excelled at that task, and that’s why we’ve put together the top five best dunk contests of all time.
I got the idea: 360 windmill. It was spur of the moment. I hadn’t really considered doing that one because, weeks before when I was trying it, I was barely making it. When I incorporated the 360, particularly the first couple of times I tried, I kept falling away from the basket. I wasn’t getting enough height. That’s why I scrapped it initially. Nobody watching in the building or on TV could tell. All anyone could see was the birth of a dunking legend. Carter would go on to cement his slamming legacy that summer at the 2000 Sydney Olympics—much to the chagrin of Frederic Weis.
In the 1976 ABA Slam Dunk Contest, then-New York Nets forward Julius Erving took off from the free throw line for an iconic one-handed jam. Over a decade later, Erving helped Michael Jordan defend his NBA Slam Dunk Contest crown. Just three years after Dominique Wilkins outlasted Jordan, the two high fliers once again found themselves in a Slam Dunk Contest battle in 1988. Jordan needed at least 49 points on his final attempt to repeat as champ, and he found inspiration in the crowd from Dr. J. “I was nervous, the only time in the contest I was nervous,” Jordan said at the time. “I knew I needed something really spectacular to win. I was searching the crowd for something to do. Then, I saw the man who started it all, Julius Erving. He indicated to me I should go the length of the floor and take off from the free throw line.”
“Spud kind of duped him,” then-Hawks head coach Mike Fratello said, per Yahoo Sports’ Jay Busbee. “He told Wilkins he never had anything prepared, didn’t practice for it. So, Wilkins maybe thought his normal assortment would be good enough to get through.” Not against Webb, who, at 5’6″, still stands as the shortest person to ever be the league’s slam dunk champion. With one inspirational slam, Dee Brown may have set off two cultural phenomena.
First off, a shoutout to big men who do the dunk contest, because it’s tough to get creative at 7 feet tall. McGee used his height and length to his advantage, dunking two balls into two hoops side-by-side, one of which was off of a lob. This dunk will serve as a time capsule at some point, bringing us back to the short-lived days of the hoverboard fad before they started catching on fire. It’s still mind-boggling that Gordon was able to time the Magic’s mascot spinning on a hoverboard, then delivering a 360 windmill with the “mailman” showmanship. This one was a lot of people’s favorite from the legendary 2016 Slam Dunk Contest, but there was a different Gordon dunk that will appear at the top of this list.
In truth, the tougher task for all involved will be coming up with—and pulling off—a move worthy of all-time consideration. Scroll through the history of the dunk contest—which began in 1984 and took a break in 1998 and 1999—and you’ll see just about every shape and style of slam imaginable. How, then, could the latest quartet of entrants hope to break new ground? It’s a question fans have asked every year, and it’s been answered affirmatively just as often. So long as there’s fresh blood in the field, there will always be something new, different and downright unbelievable to behold.