Slam Dunk Contest

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Slam Dunk Contest
Sport	Basketball
Competition	National Basketball Association and National Collegiate Athletic Association
Discipline	Dunking
Sponsored by	AT&T and Denny's
History
First award	Larry Nance, 1984
Most wins	Nate Robinson: 3 times
Most recent	Anfernee Simons, 2021

The NBA Slam Dunk Contest (officially known as the AT&T Slam Dunk Contest for sponsorship reasons) is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) competition held during the NBA All-Star Weekend. The contest was inaugurated by the American Basketball Association (ABA) at its All-Star Game in 1976 in Denver, the same year the slam dunk was legalized in the National Collegiate Athletic Association. As a result of the ABA–NBA merger later that year there would not be another slam dunk contest at the professional level until 1984. The contest has adopted several formats over the years, including, until 2014, the use of fan voting, via text-messaging, to determine the winner of the final round.

The very first slam dunk contest was won by Larry Nance Sr. of the Phoenix Suns at the 1984 NBA All-Star Game. The current champion of the NBA Dunk Contest is Anfernee Simons of the Portland Trail Blazers.

History[]

1976 ABA Slam Dunk Contest[]

On January 27, 1976 at McNichols Sports Arena during halftime of the 1976 ABA All Star Game the first-ever Slam Dunk Contest was held, which was won by Julius Erving of the New York Nets over David Thompson of the Denver Nuggets, Artis Gilmore of the Kentucky Colonels, and George Gervin and Larry Kenon of the San Antonio Spurs. There was a format each competitor had to follow in which they must attempt 5 dunks in a row under two minutes. One from a standing position, one from a distance of ten feet away from the basket (which is basically the bottom of the semi circle that surrounds the free throw line in the Key. The next 3 were freestyle positions, one coming in from the left side of the basket, one coming in from the right side of the basket and finally from either corner down the baseline to the basket. They were judged on artistic ability, imagination, body flow as well as fan response.

Artis Gilmore went first followed by George Gervin, Larry Kenon, David Thompson and finally Erving. George Gervin and David Thompson both missed a dunk during their routines which counted as a zero (scores were not announced to the audience). David Thompson did a 360 degree dunk to finish his routine. All competitors had to perform a dunk from 10 feet, but Julius Erving started marking his steps from the free throw line (15 feet away). He then completed a dunk from the free throw line.

1976–1977 NBA Slam Dunk Contest[]

This was a season long event^[1] similar to 1977–1978 NBA Horse event. There were 22 competitors throughout the event (one for each team at the time), including future Hall of Famers Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, David Thompson, Alex English, Moses Malone, George Gervin, and Elvin Hayes and took place in multiple venues throughout the season. Darnell Hillman was named the winner that season, beating out the Golden State Warriors' Larry McNeill in the championship round on June 5, 1977 in Portland.^[2]

1980s[]

The NBA reintroduced the Slam Dunk Contest in 1984 at its birthplace in Denver. Phoenix's Larry Nance defeated the original Dunk contest winner Julius Erving in the final round. Dominique Wilkins won the contest the following year, but in 1986 his Atlanta Hawks teammate Spud Webb made history when he defeated Wilkins in the final, preventing him from retaining his title. Standing a mere 5 feet 7 inches tall, Webb became the shortest player ever to win the contest, a distinction that he still holds. Chicago's Michael Jordan won back-to-back dunk contest victories in 1987 and in 1988. His victory over Wilkins in 1988 in Chicago finished with a perfect 50 dunk from the free-throw line for his third dunk to win the contest. However, the announcers did note that Wilkins was given abnormally low score for his breathtaking third dunk, a 45, allowing Jordan to win it by 2 with his perfect 50. To this day, the allegations of "home cooking" still float around surrounding the event (it was held on Jordan's home court; one of the judges was former Chicago Bears star Gale Sayers; and another judge, former NBA star Tom Hawkins, is a Chicago native) and until the competition in 2020, was considered arguably the most controversial of the slam dunk competitions. Extensive debate continues whether Wilkins 3rd dunk should have scored higher than a 45 and whether Jordan's second dunk, which scored a 47, was a superior creative effort to Wilkins third dunk. The following year in Houston, New York's Kenny "Sky" Walker, a last-minute replacement whose father died just days beforehand, upset Portland's Clyde Drexler, the hometown favorite and Houston native who was seen as the favorite, being that Michael Jordan and Dominique Wilkins were not competing. 1986 champ Spud Webb finished 3rd, while Shelton Jones finished 4th. Though Jordan & Wilkins still played in the All-Star Game, Jordan chose not to compete due to a minor injury, and Wilkins did not compete in the competition due to a hand injury.^[3]

1990s[]

In 1990, Dominique Wilkins of the Atlanta Hawks edged out Kenny Smith of the Sacramento Kings to win his second Slam Dunk Contest (first won in 1985 over Michael Jordan). Kenny Smith scored high points for originality with his signature dunk – he started by turning his back to the basket, bouncing the ball backward between his legs and off the backboard, then turning and grabbing it in the air and reverse dunking it. As the 1990s progressed, stars such as Jordan, Wilkins and Drexler sometimes declined to participate and were replaced by less-known players. Harold Miner was a standout in 1993, winning the contest with a reverse power dunk, reaching between his legs and down to his feet in mid-air before sending the ball down. In 1994 and 1997 respectively, Isaiah Rider and Kobe Bryant won the contest. Rider would win with a spectacular, between-the-legs dunk, reminiscent of the Orlando Woolridge effort in the 1984 contest, but wasn't able to repeat in 1995, missing the same dunk on several tries, opening the way for Miner to grab his second slam dunk title in three years. In 1998, the Slam Dunk Contest was replaced with the WNBA-NBA 2Ball Contest. In 1999, there was no All-Star Game due to the NBA lockout.

2000s[]

After a one-All Star Weekend layoff (the NBA did not have an All Star Weekend during the labor-shortened 1999 season), the NBA decided to bring the Slam Dunk Contest back for the 2000 All-Star Weekend in Oakland, California. It would prove to be one of the most electrifying dunk contests in the league's history,^{[citation needed]} featuring a great showdown between eventual winner Vince Carter of the Toronto Raptors, his cousin and then-teammate Tracy McGrady, and the Houston Rockets' Steve Francis. Carter won after performing a number of very impressive dunks, including two 360 windmills, a honey dip, and a between-the-legs dunk off a bounced alley-oop from McGrady. The next four contests did not feature superstars like Carter and Bryant, and despite innovative efforts by the likes of Desmond Mason and Jason Richardson, the lack of A-list superstars willing to participate hurt the appeal of the contest.

In 2005, the Slam Dunk Contest returned to its birthplace in Denver. With the spectacular dunks of prior contests, there was buzz^{[citation needed]} that the dunk competition could regain the popularity it had in the 1980s. The Phoenix Suns' Amar'e Stoudemire alley-ooping 360 off a soccer-style header from teammate Steve Nash; J. R. Smith putting it around his back and dunking, and the new champion, Josh Smith alley-ooping over Kenyon Martin all wowed the crowd with their maneuvers. With the change in the rules requiring an additional teammate starting in the second round, they proved there were indeed many ways to dunk a]] took the title with a great dunk-off. One of his most exciting dunks was a high-flying dunk over former Slam Dunk Contest winner, 5'7" Spud Webb. The 2006 Slam Dunk Contest was also the first Dunk Contest in history to have a "Dunk Off", the equivalent to a Dunk Contest overtime, between Knicks point guard Nate Robinson and shooting guard Andre Iguodala of the Philadelphia 76ers. Many fans argue that Iguodala should have won the contest, as it took Robinson fourteen attempts before finally completing his dunk. Iguodala pulled off a dunk where he started out of bounds from the right side of the baseline while teammate Allen Iverson bounced the ball off the back of the right side of the backboard. Iguodala caught the ball in mid-air behind the backboard, spun around to the other side while ducking his head (to avoid colliding with the backboard) and dunked it with his right hand.

On February 17, 2007, the contest was held in Las Vegas. Judges for the event were all past winners: Michael Jordan, Dominique Wilkins, Kobe Bryant, Julius Erving, and Vince Carter. The title was taken by the Boston Celtics' Gerald Green, who, among other dunks, jumped over reigning champ Nate Robinson while covering his face – a homage to 1991 winner, Dee Brown, whose jersey Green had worn. He also scored a perfect fifty with his last slam, a windmill over a table. Other noteworthy dunks include a dunk by Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard, who, while making his dunk, stuck a sticker with his smiling face on the backboard a reported 12'6" from the ground, two and a half feet beyond the regulation NBA rim.^[4]

On February 16, 2008, the contest was held in New Orleans. Judges for the event included Darryl Dawkins, Dominique Wilkins, Karl Malone, Julius Erving, and Magic Johnson. The title was taken by Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard. Howard's most noteworthy dunk came during the first round, his second dunk overall, when he took off his jersey to reveal a Superman shirt and cape.^[5] With teammate Jameer Nelson's assistance he would make a leaping dunk from just in front of the free-throw line after a running start, throwing the ball through the rim from a few feet away.^[6] Other noteworthy dunks included the first round slam by Jamario Moon while the previous year's winner, Gerald Green, relied heavily on theatrics by blowing out a cupcake with a birthday candle on the rim before dunking (a jam he termed "The Birthday Cake"). For the first time ever, fan voting determined the outcome of the final round of the contest; Howard beat Green for the trophy by claiming 78% of the fans' votes.

Nate Robinson won the 2009 contest on February 14 in Phoenix, Arizona. The 5'9" guard dressed all in green as "Krypto-Nate" (a portmanteau of 'Nate' and Kryptonite) and jumped over 6'11" Dwight Howard characterized as Superman. He defeated Howard in the finals by a fan vote of 52–48 percent. J. R. Smith and Rudy Fernández also competed.

2010s[]

Nate Robinson won the 2010 contest on February 13 in Dallas, becoming the first 3-time Slam Dunk champion. Robinson took on Shannon Brown of the Los Angeles Lakers, Gerald Wallace of the Charlotte Bobcats, and DeMar DeRozan of the Toronto Raptors. DeRozan earned his spot in the competition by defeating Los Angeles Clippers guard Eric Gordon in the inaugural Sprite Slam Dunk-In held the night before the actual dunk contest. Robinson and DeRozan advanced to the final round, where Robinson's double-pump reverse dunk helped seal a 51% to 49% victory.

Blake Griffin won the 2011 slam dunk contest by jumping and dunking over the hood of a Kia sedan on February 19 in Los Angeles. JaVale McGee of the Washington Wizards, DeMar DeRozan of the Toronto Raptors, and Serge Ibaka of the Oklahoma City Thunder all competed against Griffin. Griffin and McGee advanced to the final round, where Griffin stole the show, winning the contest with 68% of the vote.

Jeremy Evans won the 2012 Sprite Slam Dunk Contest by performing a dunk over Kevin Hart on February 25 in Orlando, Florida with 29% of the votes. Joining Evans were Chase Budinger of the Houston Rockets, Paul George of the Indiana Pacers, and Derrick Williams of the Minnesota Timberwolves. While George awed the crowd with a dunk with the lights turned off, Evans had perhaps the dunk of the contest by jumping teammate Gordon Hayward, catching two balls from Hayward, and dunking it.

Terrence Ross won the 2013 Sprite Slam Dunk Contest after a tomahawk dunk in tribute to former Toronto Raptors player Vince Carter, as well as a between-the-legs dunk performed while jumping over a ball boy. Ross took on Jeremy Evans of the Utah Jazz, Eric Bledsoe of the Los Angeles Clippers, Kenneth Faried of the Denver Nuggets, Gerald Green of the Indiana Pacers, and James White of the New York Knicks. Evans advanced to the final round to defend his title of slam dunk champion, but was thwarted by Ross. Ross carried the momentum of his near-perfect first round, in which he scored a 99 out of a possible 100, with a stellar final round. Ross won the competition decisively, earning 58% of the vote.

Team East, composed of dunkers Paul George, defending champion Terrence Ross, and John Wall won the 2014 Sprite Slam Dunk Contest in commanding fashion. Under the new team format, they dominated the Freestyle Round, capping it off with a pass off the backboard from Ross to Wall, then off the shot clock from Wall to George for the finish. In the Battle Round, Ross defeated Damian Lillard with a through the legs dunk from rapper Drake, George took down Harrison Barnes with a 360-degree, through the legs finish, and Wall defeated Ben McLemore by jumping over the Wizards' mascot G-Man and throwing down a reverse on the first try. Though Team East are the official winners, Wall was voted by fans as the Dunker of the Night.

To the delight of NBA fans, the 2015 contest was changed back to its original format, as the Freestyle Round as well as the teams were taken out. The 4 dunkers competing were all up-and-coming players: The Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Timberwolves' Zach LaVine, the Magic's Victor Oladipo, and the Nets' Mason Plumlee. LaVine took home the hardware with dunks that included a between-the-legs reverse, a behind-the-back slam in which he caught it in midair, a between-the-legs lefthanded dunk, and finished with a between-the-legs dunk as he caught it off the pole behind the backboard. Similar to Howard with Superman, LaVine did his first dunk with a cultural homage, wearing Michael Jordan's jersey from Space Jam.^[7]

Zach LaVine won the 2016 slam dunk contest with incredibly talented dunks, from a windmill from the free throw line to a sensational between-the-legs reverse dunk.^[8] Aaron Gordon (runner-up) of the Orlando Magic, Will Barton of the Denver Nuggets and Andre Drummond of the Detroit Pistons also competed.^[9]

Controversy over Dunk Contest authenticity[]

Many people, including 2010 winner Nate Robinson, thought that the 2011 contest was rigged to allow up-and-coming star Blake Griffin to win and that runner-up JaVale McGee deserved to win.^{[10][11][12][13]} It was even disputed if Griffin even legitimately qualified for the finals since his final dunk got a perfect score but was basically a copy of DeMar DeRozan's first dunk with a lower degree of difficulty. Ben Maller of Fox Sports Radio reported that a media advisory sent out by the NBA over an hour before the 2011 Slam Dunk Contest began already referring to Blake Griffin as the winner.^[14]

NBA Slam Dunk Contest champions[]

There have been 25 players crowned the best dunkers in the NBA. Nate Robinson is the only player to win the event three times. Five are two-time winners: Dominique Wilkins, Michael Jordan, Harold Miner, Jason Richardson and Zach LaVine.

Year	Host city	Player	Team
1984	Denver	Larry Nance	Phoenix Suns
1985	Indianapolis	Dominique Wilkins	Atlanta Hawks
1986	Dallas	Spud Webb
1987	Seattle	Michael Jordan	Chicago Bulls
1988	Chicago
1989	Houston	Kenny Walker	New York Knicks
1990	Miami	Dominique Wilkins	Atlanta Hawks
1991	Charlotte	Dee Brown	Boston Celtics
1992	Orlando	Cedric Ceballos	Phoenix Suns
1993	Salt Lake City	Harold Miner	Miami Heat
1994	Minneapolis	Isaiah Rider	Minnesota Timberwolves
1995	Phoenix	Harold Miner	Miami Heat
1996	San Antonio	Brent Barry	Los Angeles Clippers
1997	Cleveland	Kobe Bryant	Los Angeles Lakers
1998	New York City	The WNBA–NBA 2Ball Competition replaced the Slam Dunk Contest	N/A
1999	Philadelphia	Lockout-shortened season, no NBA All-Star Game
2000	Oakland	Vince Carter	Toronto Raptors
2001	Washington, D.C.	Desmond Mason	Seattle SuperSonics
2002	Philadelphia	Jason Richardson	Golden State Warriors
2003	Atlanta
2004	Los Angeles	Fred Jones	Indiana Pacers
2005	Denver	Josh Smith	Atlanta Hawks
2006	Houston	Nate Robinson	New York Knicks
2007	Las Vegas	Gerald Green	Boston Celtics
2008	New Orleans	Dwight Howard	Orlando Magic
2009	Phoenix	Nate Robinson	New York Knicks
2010	Dallas
2011	Los Angeles	Blake Griffin	Los Angeles Clippers
2012	Orlando	Jeremy Evans	Utah Jazz
2013	Houston	Terrence Ross	Toronto Raptors
2014	New Orleans	John Wall	Washington Wizards
2015	New York City	Zach LaVine	Minnesota Timberwolves
2016	Toronto
2017	New Orleans	Glenn Robinson III	Indiana Pacers
2018	Los Angeles	Donovan Mitchell	Utah Jazz
2019	Charlotte	Hamidou Diallo	Oklahoma City Thunder
2020	Chicago	Derrick Jones Jr.	Miami Heat
2021	Atlanta	Anfernee Simons	Portland Trail Blazers

Source:^[15]

Slam Dunk Contest champions by franchise

No.	Franchise	Last Time
4	Atlanta Hawks	2005
4	New York Knicks	2010
3	Minnesota Timberwolves	2016
3	Miami Heat	2020
2	Seattle Supersonics/Oklahoma City Thunder	2019
2	Indiana Pacers	2017
2	Toronto Raptors	2013
2	Chicago Bulls	1988
2	Golden State Warriors	2003
2	Phoenix Suns	1992
2	Boston Celtics	2007
2	Los Angeles Clippers	2011
2	Utah Jazz	2018
1	Los Angeles Lakers	1997
1	Orlando Magic	2008
1	Portland Trail Blazers	2021
1	Washington Wizards	2014

All-time participants[]

Bold denotes winner(s) of that year.

All-time results[]

1980s[]

1984

Player	First round	Semifinals	Finals
Larry Nance (Phoenix)	134 (44+44+46)	140 (49+48+43)	134 (48+39+47)
Julius Erving (Philadelphia)	134 (39+47+48)	140 (44+49+47)	122 (47+25+50)
Dominique Wilkins (Atlanta)	135 (47+39+49)	137 (48+48+41)
Darrell Griffith (Utah)	121 (39+40+42)	108 (42+42+24)
Edgar Jones (San Antonio)	118 (32+43+43)
Ralph Sampson (Houston)	118 (37+40+41)
Orlando Woolridge (Chicago)	116 (23+45+48)
Clyde Drexler (Portland)	108 (40+24+44)
Michael Cooper (L.A. Lakers)	70 (24+24+22)

1985

Player	First round	Semifinals	Finals
Dominique Wilkins (Atlanta)	145 (47+49+49)	140 (48+45+47)	147 (47+50+50)
Michael Jordan (Chicago)	130 (44+42+42)	142 (45+47+50)	136 (43+44+49)
Terence Stansbury (Indiana)	130 (46+50+34)	136 (49+48+39)
Julius Erving (Philadelphia)	BYEa	132 (43+44+45)
Larry Nance (Phoenix)	BYEa	131 (42+47+42)
Darrell Griffith (Utah)	126 (38+42+46)
Orlando Woolridge (Chicago)	124 (40+43+41)
Clyde Drexler (Portland)	122 (39+39+44)

^aErving and Nance received first-round byes as they were the finalists from the previous year.

1986

Player	First round	Semifinals	Finals
Spud Webb (Atlanta)	141 (46+48+47)	138 (50+42+46)	100 (50+50)
Dominique Wilkins (Atlanta)	BYEa	138 (46+47+45)	98 (50+48)
Terence Stansbury (Indiana)	129b (34+47+48)	132 (44+39+49)
Gerald Wilkins (New York)	133 (44+50+39)	87 (37+25+25)
Jerome Kersey (Portland)	129 (39+43+47)
Paul Pressey (Milwaukee)	116 (44+35+37)
Roy Hinson (Cleveland)	112 (35+39+38)
Terry Tyler (Sacramento)	110 (37+36+37)

^aWilkins received a first-round bye as he was the previous year's champion.
^bStansbury defeated Kersey in a dunk-off to break their tie.

1987

Player	First round	Semifinals	Finals
Michael Jordan (Chicago)	88 (41+47)	148 (49+49+50)	146 (48+48+50)
Jerome Kersey (Portland)	92 (48+44)	147 (50+48+49)	140 (46+45+49)
Terence Stansbury (Seattle)	99 (49+50)	144 (49+45+50)
Clyde Drexler (Portland)	92 (45+47)	136 (46+45+45)
Ron Harper (Cleveland)	83 (45+38)
Johnny Dawkins (San Antonio)	81 (37+44)
Tom Chambers (Seattle)	62 (41+21)
Gerald Wilkins (New York)	62 (41+21)

1988
Ron Harper (Cleveland) was to participate but withdrew due to injury.

Player	First round	Semifinals	Finals
Michael Jordan (Chicago)	94 (47+47)	145 (50+48+47)	147 (50+47+50)
Dominique Wilkins (Atlanta)	96 (49+47)	143 (49+47+47)	145 (50+50+45)
Clyde Drexler (Portland)	88 (44+44)	133 (45+42+46)
Otis Smith (Golden State)	87 (40+47)	109 (45+22+42)
Jerome Kersey (Portland)	79 (41+38)
Greg Anderson (San Antonio)	76 (42+34)
Spud Webb (Atlanta)	52 (34+18)

1989

Player	First round	Semifinals	Finals
Kenny "Sky" Walker (New York)	91.3 (42.5+48.8)	96.4 (46.9+49.5)	148.1 (48.9+49.6+49.6)
Clyde Drexler (Portland)	93.7 (46.6+47.1)	95.0 (47.3+47.7)	49.5 (24.5+25.0+ 0.0a)
Spud Webb (Atlanta)	94.5 (46.8+47.7)	91.8 (47.8+44.0)
Shelton Jones (Philadelphia)	89.5 (44.1+45.4)	90.6 (45.7+44.9)
Tim Perry (Phoenix)	89.4 (44.4+45.0)
Jerome Kersey (Portland)	88.9 (44.9+44.0)
Ron Harper (Cleveland)	88.5 (41.7+46.8)
Chris Morris (New Jersey)	83.2 (41.1+42.1)

^a Drexler did not attempt his final dunk, as victory was out of reach.

1990s[]

1990

Player	First round	Semifinals	Finals
Dominique Wilkins (Atlanta)	96.3 (48.1+48.2)	97.7 (48.0+49.7)	146.8 (47.9+49.7+49.2)
Kenny Smith (Sacramento)	93.0 (43.4+49.6)	98.3 (49.1+49.2)	145.1 (48.1+49.8+47.2)
Kenny "Sky" Walker (New York)	95.2 (47.0+48.2)	97.4 (49.5+47.9)
Shawn Kemp (Seattle)	98.2 (49.1+49.1)	96.4 (47.6+48.8)
Scottie Pippen (Chicago)	92.2 (47.2+45.0)
Rex Chapman (Charlotte)	92.1 (45.5+46.6)
Billy Thompson (Miami)	91.4 (47.7+43.7)
Kenny Battle (Phoenix)	85.8 (42.5+42.8)

1991
Beginning with this year, final round competitors were allowed three dunks, with the two highest scores comprising the total.

Player	First round	Semifinals	Finals
Dee Brown (Boston)	92.4 (48.2+44.2)	98.0 (49.6+48.4)	97.7 (48.1+49.6–46.4)
Shawn Kemp (Seattle)	95.8 (47.6+48.2)	95.6 (48.3+47.3)	93.7 (48.0+45.7–44.3)
Rex Chapman (Charlotte)	95.2 (45.5+49.7)	94.0 (48.0+46.0)
Kenny Smith (Houston)	90.8 (48.5+42.3)	87.9 (46.6+41.3)
Kenny Williams (Indiana)	86.9 (42.3+44.6)
Blue Edwards (Utah)	84.3 (40.1+44.2)
Otis Smith (Orlando)	83.0 (41.2+41.8)
Kendall Gill (Charlotte)	81.0 (40.1+40.9)

1992

Player	First round	Semifinals	Finals
Cedric Ceballos (Phoenix)	85.4 (43.1+42.3)	90.4 (45.7+44.7)	97.2 (47.2+50.0–43.3)
Larry Johnson (Charlotte)	98.0 (48.6+49.4)	98.0 (49.6+48.4)	66.0 (33.5+32.5–0.0a)
Nick Anderson (Orlando)	88.6 (47.4+41.2)	89.8 (46.0+43.8)
John Starks (New York)	89.6 (42.6+47.0)	87.9 (43.1+44.8)
Doug West (Minnesota)	84.1 (44.3+39.8)
Shawn Kemp (Seattle)	81.4 (47.4+34.0)
Stacey Augmon (Atlanta)	79.5 (44.7+34.8)

^a Johnson did not attempt his final dunk, as victory was out of reach.

1993
The two highest score dunks of three in each round constituted the competitor's score.
Shawn Kemp (Seattle) was scheduled to compete but was injured.

Player	First round	Finals
Harold Miner (Miami)	94.8 (49.0+45.8–45.8)	97.4 (48.0+49.4–47.0)
Clarence Weatherspoon (Philadelphia)	87.5 (43.2+44.3–38.5)	92.2 (44.7+47.5–27.5)
Cedric Ceballos (Phoenix)	87.3 (42.3+45.1–22.5)	79.8 (42.3+37.5–24.5)
David Benoit (Utah)	85.8 (41.5+44.3–28.5)
Kenny Smith (Houston)	85.0 (46.5+38.5–26.5)
Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf (Denver)	80.8 (38.0+42.8–26.0)
Tim Perry (Philadelphia)	70.0 (38.5+31.5–22.0)

1994
In the first round, each competitor was allowed 90 seconds to do as many dunks as he chooses with one overall score. The final round score was the best of two dunks.

Player	First round	Finals
Isaiah Rider (Minnesota)	46.8	49.0, 47.0
Robert Pack (Denver)	42.0	43.8, 25.0
Shawn Kemp (Seattle)	46.6	25.0, 25.0
Allan Houston (Detroit)	41.5
Antonio Davis (Indiana)	40.0
James Robinson (Portland)	39.0

1995
This year, each competitor was allowed 90 seconds to do at least three dunks and then given an overall score in round one. In the final round, each competitor was allowed 60 seconds to do at least two dunks and then given an overall score.

Player	First round	Finals
Harold Miner (Miami)	49.2	46.0
Isaiah Rider (Minnesota)	44.6	34.0
Jamie Watson (Utah)	40.4	26.0
Antonio Harvey (L.A. Lakers)	35.2
Tim Perry (Philadelphia)	31.0
Tony Dumas (Dallas)	15.0

1996
Beginning this year, in the first round, each competitor was allowed 90 seconds to do as many dunks as he chooses with one overall score. The final round score was the best of two dunks.

Player	First round	Finals
Brent Barry (L.A. Clippers)	45.5	8.0, 49.0
Michael Finley (Phoenix)	45.0	7.0, 46.2
Greg Minor (Boston)	41.0	2.0, 40.0
Jerry Stackhouse (Philadelphia)	40.0
Doug Christie (New York)	39.5
Darrell Armstrong (Orlando)	25.5

1997

Player	First round	Finals
Kobe Bryant (L.A. Lakers)	37	49
Chris Carr (Minnesota)	44	45
Michael Finley (Dallas)	39	33
Ray Allen (Milwaukee)	35
Bob Sura (Cleveland)	35
Darvin Ham (Denver)	36

1998
No competition was held.

1999
No competition was held as All-Star Weekend was not held due to the NBA's lockout.

2000s[]

2000
Beginning with this year, the two highest dunks in each round constituted the competitor's total score.

Player	First round	Finals
Vince Carter (Toronto)	100 (50,49,50)	98 (50+48)
Steve Francis (Houston)	95 (45,50,32)	91 (43+48)
Tracy McGrady (Toronto)	99 (45,49,50)	77 (45+32)
Ricky Davis (Charlotte)	88 (40,32,48)
Jerry Stackhouse (Detroit)	83 (41,36,42)
Larry Hughes (Philadelphia)	67 (30,30,37)

2001

Player	First round	Finals
Desmond Mason (Seattle)	91 (42+49)	89 (45+44)
DeShawn Stevenson (Utah)	95 (46+49)	85 (38+47)
Baron Davis (Charlotte)	94 (45+49)	77 (44+33)
Stromile Swift (Vancouver)	90 (45+45)
Jonathan Bender (Indiana)	90 (46+44)
Corey Maggette (L.A. Clippers)	88 (46+42)

2002
A tournament format was adopted for this year.

	Semifinals					Finals
	1	Desmond Mason (Seattle)	84 (41,43,36)
	4	Jason Richardson (Golden State)	98 (48,31,50)
						Jason Richardson		85 (36+49)
						Gerald Wallace		80 (44+36)
	3	Steve Francis (Houston)	77 (31,40,37)
	2	Gerald Wallace (Sacramento)	84 (41,43,36)

2003

Player	First round	Finals
Jason Richardson (Golden State)	100 (50+50)	95 (45+50)
Desmond Mason (Seattle)	90 (46+44)	93 (50+43)
Amar'e Stoudemire (Phoenix)	79 (49+30)
Richard Jefferson (New Jersey)	74 (37+37)

2004

Player	First round	Finals
Fred Jones (Indiana)	92 (50+42)	86 (50+36)
Jason Richardson (Golden State)	95 (45+50)	78 (45+33)
Chris Andersen (Denver)	88 (42+46)
Ricky Davis (Boston)	76 (45+31)

2005

Player	First round	Finals
Josh Smith (Atlanta)	95 (45+50)	100 (50+50)
Amar'e Stoudemire (Phoenix)	95 (45+50)	87 (45+42)
J. R. Smith (New Orleans)	90 (45+45)
Chris Andersen (New Orleans)	77 (41+36)

2006

Player	First round	Finals	Tie-break
Nate Robinson (New York)	93 (49+44)	94 (44+50)	47
Andre Iguodala (Philadelphia)	95 (45+50)	94 (50+44)	46
Hakim Warrick (Memphis)	86 (44+42)
Josh Smith (Atlanta)	81 (41+40)

2007

Player	First round	Finals
Gerald Green (Boston)	95 (48+47)	91 (41+50)
Nate Robinson (New York)	90 (45+45)	80 (39+41)
Dwight Howard (Orlando)	85 (43+42)
Tyrus Thomas (Chicago)	80 (37+43)

2008
The final round was decided by fan voting via text messaging for the first time.

Player	First round	Finals
Dwight Howard (Orlando)	100 (50+50)	78%
Gerald Green (Minnesota)	91 (46+45)	22%
Jamario Moon (Toronto)	90 (46+44)
Rudy Gay (Memphis)	85 (37+48)

2009
The final round was decided by fan voting via text messaging.

Player	First round	Finals
Nate Robinson (New York)	87 (46+41)	52%
Dwight Howard (Orlando)	100 (50+50)	48%
J. R. Smith (Denver)	85 (43+42)
Rudy Fernández (Portland)	84 (42+42)

2010s[]

2010
The final round was decided by fan voting via text messaging.

Player	First round	Finals
Nate Robinson (New York)	89 (44+45)	51%
DeMar DeRozan (Toronto)	92 (42+50)	49%
Gerald Wallace (Charlotte)	78 (38+40)
Shannon Brown (L.A. Lakers)	78 (37+41)

2011
The final round was decided by fan voting via text messaging.

Player	First round	Finals
Blake Griffin (L.A. Clippers)	95 (49+46)	68%
JaVale McGee (Washington)	99 (50+49)	32%
DeMar DeRozan (Toronto)	94 (44+50)
Serge Ibaka (Oklahoma)	90 (45+45)

2012
The format for this season was changed so that each participant had 3 dunks, and the results would be entirely decided by fan voting online, via text messaging, and (for the first time) via Twitter.

Player	Voting results
Jeremy Evans (Utah)	29%
Chase Budinger (Houston)	28%
Paul George (Indiana)	24%
Derrick Williams (Minnesota)	19%

2013
The final round was decided by fan voting via text messaging.

Player	First round	Finals
Terrence Ross (Toronto)	99 (50+49)	58%
Jeremy Evans (Utah)	90 (47+43)	42%
Eric Bledsoe (L.A. Clippers)	89 (39+50)
Kenneth Faried (Denver)	89 (39+50)
Gerald Green (Indiana)	83 (50+33)
James White (New York)	77 (45+32)

2014
A team format was adopted this year. The first round was a Freestyle Round, with the winning team choosing the order of dunkers for the Battle Round. The Battle Round was then composed of one-on-one "battles", with the first team to three victories being the champion.

John Wall was voted Dunker of the Night.

Freestyle Round

Division	Members	Result
East	Paul George, Indiana Pacers Terrence Ross, Toronto Raptors John Wall, Washington Wizards	Won
West	Harrison Barnes, Golden State Warriors Damian Lillard, Portland Trail Blazers Ben McLemore, Sacramento Kings	Lost

Battle Round

Division	Player	Result
East	Terrence Ross, Toronto Raptors	Won
West	Damian Lillard, Portland Trail Blazers	Lost
East	Paul George, Indiana Pacers	Won
West	Harrison Barnes, Golden State Warriors	Lost
East	John Wall, Washington Wizards	Won
West	Ben McLemore, Sacramento Kings	Lost

2015
This year saw the return of the voting style that was last used in 2007.

Player	First round	Finals
Zach LaVine (Minnesota)	100 (50+50)	94 (45+49)
Victor Oladipo (Orlando)	89 (50+39)	75 (31+44)
Mason Plumlee (Brooklyn)	76 (40+36)
Giannis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee)	65 (30+35)

2016

Player	First round	Finals	Tie-break 1	Tie-break 2
Zach LaVine (Minnesota)	99 (50+49)	100 (50+50)	50	50
Aaron Gordon (Orlando)	94 (45+49)	100 (50+50)	50	47
Andre Drummond (Detroit)	75 (36+39)
Will Barton (Denver)	74 (44+30)

2017

Player	First round	Finals
Glenn Robinson III (Indiana)	91 (50+41)	94 (44+50)
Derrick Jones Jr. (Phoenix)	95 (45+50)	87 (37+50)
DeAndre Jordan (L.A. Clippers)	84 (41+43)
Aaron Gordon (Orlando)	72 (38+34)

2018

Player	First round	Finals
Donovan Mitchell (Utah)[16]	98 (48+50)	98 (50+48)
Larry Nance Jr. (Cleveland)	93 (44+49)	96 (46+50)
Dennis Smith Jr. (Dallas)	89 (39+50)
Victor Oladipo (Indiana)	71 (31+40)

2019

Player	First round	Finals
Hamidou Diallo (Oklahoma City)[17]	98 (48+50)	88 (43+45)
Dennis Smith Jr. (New York)	95 (45+50)	85 (35+50)
Miles Bridges (Charlotte)	83 (33+50)
John Collins (Atlanta)	82 (40+42)

2020s[]

2020

Player	First round	Finals	Tie-break 1	Tie-break 2
Derrick Jones Jr. (Miami)	96 (46+50)	100 (50+50)	50	48
Aaron Gordon (Orlando)	100 (50+50)	100 (50+50)	50	47
Pat Connaughton (Milwaukee)	95 (45+50)
Dwight Howard (L.A. Lakers)	90 (41+49)

2021
The final round was decided by judges.

Player	First round	Finals
Anfernee Simons (Portland)	95 (46+49)	3
Obi Toppin (New York)	94 (48+46)	2
Cassius Stanley (Indiana)	81 (44+37)

Criticism[]

Historically, the dunk contest drew some mild criticisms. One is that players who often compete in these contests are seen as dunkers only (with the obvious exceptions of Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and Julius Erving), which is why notable high flying athletes like Shawn Marion and LeBron James have sometimes refused to participate.^{[citation needed]} High-profile players such as Dwyane Wade and Charles Barkley have also declined to participate citing it as an unnecessary risk to injury.^{[citation needed]} In the 2000 NBA Slam Dunk Contest, Tracy McGrady injured his wrist while performing a dunk.^{[citation needed]} Also in the 1995 NBA Slam Dunk Contest, Tony Dumas hurt his knee while performing his "Texas Twister" dunk.^{[citation needed]} Although a longtime critic, LeBron James said he would perform in the 2010 Slam Dunk Contest. This decision was made after watching the 2009 dunk contest when Dwight Howard and Nate Robinson went at it. However, he withdrew his statement once the All-Star Weekend came around.^{[citation needed]}

The 2006 NBA Slam Dunk Competition between Nate Robinson and Andre Iguodala drew much criticism because players were not penalized for missing a dunk attempt. Consequently, Robinson attempted a single dunk 14 times before completing it.^[18] Prior to the 2007 competition, the NBA changed a few rules to prevent excessive dunk attempts. Each participant has two minutes to complete their dunk. At the end of the two minutes allotted, they then have their number of dunk attempts limited to two.

Records[]

• Zach LaVine posted the highest score in any round with 200 in the 2016 final round, as well as the best overall score with 299 points.
• 27 players have scored at least one perfect 50 on an individual dunk: Julius Erving, Terence Stansbury, Michael Jordan, Dominique Wilkins, Gerald Wilkins, Spud Webb, Jerome Kersey, Cedric Ceballos, Vince Carter, Steve Francis, Tracy McGrady, Jason Richardson, Desmond Mason, Fred Jones, Josh Smith, Amar'e Stoudemire, Andre Iguodala, Nate Robinson, Gerald Green, Dwight Howard, DeMar DeRozan, JaVale McGee, Terrence Ross, Victor Oladipo, Pat Connaughton, Zach LaVine, Aaron Gordon, Glenn Robinson III, Donovan Mitchell, Dennis Smith Jr., and Hamidou Diallo. Aaron Gordon holds the record with the most perfect 50s, with eight. Followed by, Zach LaVine, who holds the record with seven; Michael Jordan has the third most with six, followed by Dominique Wilkins and Jason Richardson with five each. From 1989 to 1995, when scoring went by tenths of points, there was only one perfect 50 (Ceballos).
• Michael Jordan, Jason Richardson, Nate Robinson, and Zach LaVine are the only players to win the NBA Slam Dunk Contest back-to-back. Michael Jordan, Isaiah Rider, Kobe Bryant, Brent Barry and Dwight Howard are the only players to have won an NBA championship and a slam dunk championship.
• Kobe Bryant is the youngest player to win the slam dunk contest at the age of 18.
• At 5'7", Spud Webb is the shortest player to win the NBA slam dunk contest (Nate Robinson is 5'9"). Ralph Sampson, at 7'4", is the tallest player to compete in the dunk contest, while Dwight Howard is the tallest winner, at 6'11", though he is now listed at 6'10".
• Nate Robinson is the only player to win the contest three times.
• The 2006 NBA Slam Dunk Competition between Nate Robinson and Andre Iguodala was the first time that the competition had to go into a sudden-death dunk-off.^[19]
• In 1996, Greg Minor of the Boston Celtics received the lowest individual score for a single dunk, with a 2.0 for a missed first attempt.
• Spud Webb became the first rookie to win a slam dunk title. He was followed by Dee Brown, Harold Miner, Isaiah Rider, Brent Barry, Kobe Bryant, Desmond Mason, Jason Richardson, Josh Smith, Nate Robinson, Terrence Ross, Zach LaVine, Donovan Mitchell, and Hamidou Diallo.

References[]