Forget the actual event—the best part about the NBA dunk contest is looking back at all the great moments its created over the past 40 years. From Dr. J, to Dominique, to MJ to Vince, the event has led to some of the most memorable moments in basketball history, and enhanced the legacies of so many.
Now, when the headline says the 10 best dunk contests ever, we qualify that to say the best in the NBA, and also perhaps one or two from the ABA, which helped form the dunk contest into what it was and what, hopefully, the NBA thinks it can be again. Which years featured the most remarkable collection of dunks? Let’s take a look at the top 10.
10. 2011
Ok, admittedly, this was a weird one. There were a lot of corporate sponsors, and a lot of missed dunks. And while Blake Griffin was a total shill, he still brought a level of star power and electricity to the building that had been lacking for a few years. Also, JaVale dunked two balls in two hoops at the same time!
9. 2003
The contest had gone through a bit of lull— then Jason Richardson showed up. Richardson was like a hybrid of Wilkins and Jordan. He could jump through the roof, but his finishes were also violent. He won the contest in 2002, and showed up here to defend his title against 2001 champ Desmond Mason. Mason was spectacular, finishing most of his dunks with his left hand despite being a righty. But he was no match for Richardson, whose final dunk — where he started from the right baseline, bounced the ball off the floor, caught it mid air in his right hand and then passed it through his legs into his left, which he used to slam it home — is one of the most impressive we’ve ever seen.
8. 1991
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zG1H9cIyyp0
Shawn Kemp was like Dominique 2.0. Men his size weren’t supposed to be able to jump that high, and like Wilkins Kemp’s dunks were all ferocious. He put on a great show — his windmills looked exactly like Dominique’s, and his double-clutch slam shook the building — but he was no match for the 6’1 Brown’s showmanship. Today kids in playgrounds still pretend to pump up their sneakers, and who can forget Brown covering his face with his right arm?
7. 1987
This one was all about Jordan. His Airness put on a great show, with some sideways dunks and rock-the-cradle moves. But his foul line dunk doesn’t measure up to the beauty of his 1988 one, and with Dominique and Spud Webb not competing there was no one to push Jordan and add some drama to the evening.
6. 1985
The deepest field we’ve ever seen. MJ. Dominique. Dr. J. Drexler. Larry Nance — those are like four of the seven greatest dunkers to ever walk the earth. Fans were treated to the first ever finals-due between Jordan and Wilkins, one which Dominique won thanks to a punishing two-handed windmill. Oh, and let’s not forget the underrated Terence Stansbury’s jams, one of the most creative and innovative dunkers of all time.
5. 2008
Some guys rely too heavily on props, turning them into crutches and dressing everything up except the actual dunks themselves.
In 2008, that was not an issue. The star of the night was Dwight Howard, who solidified his spot as the greatest big man dunker of all time. He started the night by tossing the ball of the backboard’s backside and then catching it while effortlessly leaping under the glass before windmilling it home. He made it look easy, and yet it left all of his peers in awe.
Later on he threw on the Superman cape, put on a smile and jumped about 30 feet in the air. Who cares if he threw the ball in as opposed to dunking it, or Kenny Smith’s rendition of the Superman theme song was painful to hear? Even Kobe was impressed. And let’s not forget Gerald Green pausing mid-air to blow out a cupcake candle resting on the rim.
It was a zany night, and one that some old-school fans might not have enjoyed. But it was also an incredible show, one where the dunkers treated viewers to a bunch of tricks never seen before.
4. 1976 (A.B.A)
Cheating a bit here, but for good reason. It just doesn’t feel right to have a dunk-related list not including Dr. J. He was the game’s first truly great dunker, and this was his first showcase. His dunk from the foul line is the most famous moment from this night, but it’s far from the only one. George “Iceman” Gervin and David Thompson made the ABA proud, but the evening belonged to Erving and his ‘fro. He was just able to do things that had never been seen before, from 360s to taking off from 15 feet away. Erving redefined what it meant to be a graceful athlete, and what the dunk was all about.
3. 1986
Nowadays it’s not abnormal to see some sub six-footer soaring through the air. Once upon a time, though, that wasn’t the case. Then Spud Webb came along in 1986 and changed the game.
Webb was just 5’6″, and barely known to those outside of Atlanta, where he wasn’t even the best dunker on his team. That honor belonged to the Human Highlight Film, Dominique Wilkins, the contest’ reigning champ.
Webb, though, was not to be deterred. On his first dunk he jogged up the right side of the floor, leapt into the air, turned his back to the rim, brought the ball down to his knees and then back over his head and through the rim. It looked like there was room to fit a skyscraper between the soles of his feet and the floor. Later on he threw a one-handed bounce pass off the backboard, then ran up an imaginary ladder to meet the ball 10 feet in the air.
The diminutive dynamo put on a show, but he had to go through Wilkins to capture that year’s crown. The two met in the finals, in what would turned out to be the second-most memorable duel in dunk contest history. Wilkins did everything he could to fend off his teammate. But in the end the night belonged to Webb, the man who showed that great dunkers came in all types of shapes and sizes.
2. 2000
It falls just short of No. 1, for good reasons, but no contest featured a more awe-inspiring mix of dunks than this one. For that, we have Vince Carter to thank.
First, it’s important to understand the history. The league replaced the 1999 dunk contest with WNBA-NBA 2Ball competition (no, that’s not a joke), and in 1998 there was no All-Star Game due to the lockout. If not for Carter, and the clamoring of so many to see him in a dunk contest, the event might have disappeared for good.
Then Vince showed up and changed how we thought about dunks and dunkers. It was like some mad scientist took Jordan’s athleticism and Dominique’s force and Dr. J’s creativity and blended them all into one.
Carter gave us the reverse 360 windmill, the alley-oop-into-the-through-the-legs. And of course the forearm dip into the rim. Carter is the greatest dunker of all time, and this was his masterpiece.
1. 1988
The year the dunk contest morphed into a cultural event. This one had everything: star power, drama, a narrative arch. It was the year the world got to see Jordan take on Dominique, in front of Jordan’s hometown fans no less. And the duel, the most anticipated one in dunk contest history, didn’t disappoint.
Wilkins’ game was all about power. He’d slam the ball through the rim with the brute force of a man unloading a lifetime’s worth of anger. He’d do so with tomahawks, windmills and 360s. Jordan’s style was more graceful. He’d glide through the air and contort his body and the ball in all sorts of directions; it was as if the laws of physics didn’t apply.
But they weren’t the only big names to compete that year. Future Hall-of-Famer Clyde Drexler was there, as was the always-impressive Spud Webb.
Still, the fans got what they wanted in this one: a Jordan-Wilkins duel in the final round. Needing a score of 49 to knock off Wilkins and repeat as champion, Jordan took off from the foul line of the Chicago Stadium foul line as if using a trampoline. It wasn’t the first time he did so, but it would become the most memorable. While soaring through the air he cocked the ball back towards his right ear — and then slowly extended his arm out to slam the ball home. It’s one of the most iconic images in basketball history, and why 1988 will always be remembered as the greatest dunk contest of all time.
