SLAM DUNK COMPETITION

The National Basketball Association puts its brightest stars on display during the All-Star Weekend every year. All of the starters are chosen by the fans and they get to have a chance at playing a game against the best players in their opposing conference. The game is usually a great deal of fun and is something that most fans really enjoy watching, but its kind of hard for the game to ever live up to the fun and awe that is conjured up by the Slam Dunk Competition that happens on the eve of the big game.

The dunk off has provided the sporting world with a number of great memories and mental picture. The very first competition in 1984 matched up some of the best dunkers in the NBA like Dominique Wilkins, Julius “Dr. J” Erving, Ralph Sampson, Michael Cooper, Clyde Drexler, and Larry Nance. The finals matched up Dr. J with Nance and Nance came out on top.
The 1988 Slam Dunk competition created the Michael Jordan image that he has made his career on. The dunk off matched him up against two time champion Dominique Wilkins in the Finals and Jordan needed to get a 49 out of 50 on his final dunk. Jordan said he looked up into the crowd and came across Julius Erving who was gesturing him to go to the end of the court and dunk from the free throw line. So Jordan went to the end of the court, ran to the opposite hoop and jumped from the free throw line. He seemed to glide through the air like he had wings on; it seemed as if he was walking on the air and was going higher into the air defying all the laws of gravity. That one moment was one of if not the most notable moment that Jordan ever had in his entire playing career. Everyone knew he could dunk and seemed to fly but nothing exemplified it more than that dunk. The dunk was so great that it got Wilkins out of his seat and had him cheering the Jordan dunk.

There have also been some other great moments in the history of the Slam Dunk Competition. In 1991, Boston Celtics guard Dee Brown jumped into the air and ducked his head into his arm to perform the first obstructed view of a dunk in the history of the Slam Dunk Competition. In 1992, Phoenix Suns forward Cedric Ceballos put on a blindfold for his final dunk to win his only slam dunk championship. The most memorable dunk off came in 2000 when the opening round showcased some of the best young stars in the NBA like Vince Carter, Steve Francis, Tracy McGrady, Larry Hughes, Ricky Davis, and Jerry Stackhouse. The final round featured Carter, Francis, and McGrady trying to one up each other’s dunk. Carter came out on top after he jumped and put his entire arm past his elbow into the rim and hung from it like that. It was one of the best dunks that have ever been done in a Slam Dunk Competition.

NBA Team Info Home