Slam Dunk Contest
The Slam Dunk Contest is a National Basketball Association All-Star Game competition held on the Saturday before the NBA All-Star Game. Competitors try and achieve their best slam dunks and they are scored on a scale of 0-10.
Jason Richardson, Harold Miner, Dominique Wilkins and Michael Jordan have all won the most titles with two.
The first slam dunk championship was actually in 1976 at the ABA All-Star Game, Julius Erving won that competition.
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[edit] Past Champions
- 2008 -- Dwight Howard, Orlando Magic
- 2007 -- Gerald Green, Boston Celtics
- 2006 -- Nate Robinson, New York Knicks
- 2005 -- Josh Smith, Atlanta Hawks
- 2004 -- Fred Jones, Indiana Pacers
- 2003 -- Jason Richardson, Golden State Warriors
- 2002 -- Jason Richardson, Golden State Warriors
- 2001 -- Desmond Mason, Seattle SuperSonics
- 2000 -- Vince Carter, Toronto Raptors
- 1999 -- Cancelled, lockout
- 1998 -- Competition not held
- 1997 -- Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers
- 1996 -- Brent Barry, Los Angeles Clippers
- 1995 -- Harold Miner, Miami Heat
- 1994 -- Isaiah Rider, Minnesota Timberwolves
- 1993 -- Harold Miner, Miami Heat
- 1992 -- Cedric Ceballos, Phoenix Suns
- 1991 -- Dee Brown, Boston Celtics
- 1990 -- Dominique Wilkins, Atlanta Hawks
- 1989 -- Kenny Walker, New York Knicks
- 1988 -- Michael Jordan, Chicago Bulls
- 1987 -- Michael Jordan, Chicago Bulls
- 1986 -- Spud Webb, Atlanta Hawks
- 1985 -- Dominique Wilkins, Atlanta Hawks
- 1984 -- Larry Nance, Phoenix Suns
[edit] Types of moves seen during the Slam Dunk Contest
[edit] Windmill
Windmill dunks are done when a player makes a circular motion with the ball while in the air before dunking it. These can either be done with one or two hands. Versions of this dunk include the Kiss the Rim, the reverse windmill (usually done with two hands), and the 360 windmill. Notable examples of this dunk are Dominique Wilkins's windmills during the 1988 and 1990 contest, Michael Jordan's kiss the rim during the 1987 and 1988 contest, and Vince Carter's contest-winning 360 windmill in the 2000 contest.
[edit] Tomahawk
Tomahawk dunks are when the ball is raised above the player's head with usually two hands and then brought behind the players head before being dunked in a chopping motion. Another version of the tomahawk dunk is called the Statue of Liberty. The statue of liberty dunk, however, doesn't involve any chopping motion. Notable examples of this dunk are Terence Stansbury's 360 Statue of Liberty dunk during the 1987 contest, Dominique Wilkins's off the glass, one handed tomahawk during the 1988 contest and Harold Miner's off the glass, two handed tomohawk during the 1995 contest.
[edit] Free throw line
This is a dunk where the player jumps from the free throw line. The free throw line is, in the NBA, 15 feet away from the rim. Jim Pollard is known to have dunked from the foul line during warmups in the early years of the NBA (Official NBA Encyclopedia, 2nd edition, p. 49). At the University of Kansas, Wilt Chamberlain was able to dunk from the free throw line while starting his movement from within the free throw circle; this led to a rule change prohibiting shooting free throws by dunking the basketball (The Leaping Legends of Basketball, The Los Angeles Times; Feb 12, 1989; Scott Ostler).
Notable examples of this dunk in a slam dunk competition are Julius Erving during the 1976 ABA contest and the 1984 NBA contest, Michael Jordan during the 1985, 1987 and 1988 contests, Scottie Pippen during the 1990 contest, and Brent Barry during the 1996 contest, and former Cincinatti Bearcat James White who pulled off a between the legs dunk from the free throw line at his school's midnight madness.
[edit] Between the legs
The most difficult dunk to attempt thus far. This is done when the ball goes between the leg of the player while in the air before being dunked. Visually impressive, these usually achieve a high score from the judges. Notable examples of this dunk include Vince Carter's off the floor, between the legs during the 2000 contest, Kobe Bryant's between the legs during the 1997 contest, Desmond Mason's "show it right, slam it left" between the legs during the 2003 contest, and Jason Richardson's off the glass, between the legs during the 2004 contest, and Isaiah Rider's "East Bay Funk Dunk" in the 1994 contest.
Nowadays, a few people in the world have managed to do a 360 beetween the legs : Abdoul Bamba from the Slam Nation, Taurian Fontenette aka Air Up There from the And1 Streetball team and "High Riser" from the 2005 City Slam. Mad Skillz Tommy Schillz (a Streetballer from Norwood, New Jersey) completed a 360 beetween the legs dunk, which he called the "Schillmatic Slam" to win the 3rd Annual Rucker Park Dunk-Off in March of 2006. An alley-oop-off-the-floor 360 between the legs was attempted by Jason Richardson in the 2004 Slam Dunk Contest, but he couldn't succeed any time he tried, thus leading to his defeat by Indiana Pacers guard Fred Jones.
