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Slam Dunk Contest

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File:Joshdavis.JPG
Josh Smith jumped over Denver's Kenyon Martin to win the 2005 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 perform their best slam dunks and they are then 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.

Past Champions

Types of moves seen during the Slam Dunk Contest

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, Vince Carter's contest-winning 360 windmill in the 2000 contest, and James White's windmill from the free throw line in the 2006 NCAA Dunk Contest

360

360s are dunks where a player spins with his body for almost a full revolution. These can be seen either with one or two hands. There are a lot of 360 variations, including the 360 windmill by Vince Carter in the 2000 slam dunk, Stanbury's statue of liberty 360, Air Up There, High Riser's 360 through the legs, the double pump done by Tracy McGrady in the 2000 slam dunk contest and many more.

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 tomahawk during the 1995 contest.

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 Cincinnati Bearcat James White who pulled off a between the legs dunk from the free throw line at his school's midnight madness.

Between the legs

This is done when the ball goes between the legs 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 between the legs : Abdoul Bamba from the Slam Nation, Taurian Fontenette aka Air Up There from the AND 1 Streetball team and "High Riser" from the 2005 City Slam. Mad Skillz Tommy Schillz (a Streetballer from Norwood, New Jersey) completed a 360 between 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. James White, currently of the Indiana Pacers, attempted a through the legs dunk from the free throw line during the college slam dunk contest. Although he was not successful during the contest, he did succeed in doing it during warm-ups.

Double clutch

A double clutch dunk is when a player brings the ball back to his body before extending the ball back out to dunk it. Versions of this dunk include the kickback, the jackknife, and the double pump. Most times the ball is brought back near the player's head before being dunked. Notable examples include Michael Jordan's double clutch, free throw line dunk from the 1988 contest, Tracy McGrady's 360 reverse double pump from the 2000 contest, Steve Francis's double pump, kiss the rim from the 2000 contest, Shawn Kemp's kickback from the 1991 contest, and Harold Miner's reverse jackknife from the 1993 contest.

Rock the baby

Also known as Rock the Cradle. This is a version of the windmill where the ball is "locked" into a player's wrist while the player makes a circular motion with the ball. However, unlike windmills where the ball starts the circle from the top, rock the baby dunks start the circle from the bottom. Notable examples include Larry Nance's rock the baby during the 1984 contest and Kenny Walker's baseline rock the baby during the 1989 contest.

Off the backboard

Another popular type of dunk. The player throws the ball and bounces it off the backboard, catches it in mid air and dunks it. This can be combined with other types such as the windmill, reverse or tomahawk dunk. One of the first uses of this dunk in a professional game was done by Tracy McGrady in the 2002 All-Star Game. According to Bill Walton, it was the first time he ever saw this kind of dunk. In recent years, many other "alley-oop" dunks have become commonplace in the contest, where either the player tosses the ball to himself, or a teammate passes it to him, and the player catches it in the air and dunks it. For instance in 2006, Andre Iguodala of the Philadelphia 76ers performed a never-before-seen behind the backboard dunk from a pass off team-mate Allen Iverson. A year earlier, in the 2005 Slam Dunk Contest, Amare Stoudemire actually caught the ball off of the head of Steve Nash, which is perhaps the most unique variation of the "alley-oop" style of dunk to date.

Blind dunk

One particularly tricky and therefore seldom-seen dunk is the dunk without visual cues. In 1991, Dee Brown performed a one-handed slam dunk in which he dunked with his left arm while shielding his eyes with his right arm. One year later, Cedric Ceballos performed a blindfolded dunk, although it has been disputed as to whether or not he could actually see.

Elbow dunk

Also known as the "Honey Dip" or the "Arm in the Rim", this is a highly spectacular dunk where a player jumps up so high that he is not only able to put the ball, but also his forearm through the hoop, leaving him hanging off the rim off his elbow. It was first demonstrated in public by Vince Carter in the 2000 edition of the NBA Slam Dunk Contest and is considered virtually unique.

720

720 is a more difficult variation of 360 dunks where a player spins with his body for almost two full revolutions, and is considered the most difficult dunk ever done. Recently, the dunk was successfully done by a street baller Air Up There during an And 1 Mixtape Tour game in Houston on June 28, 2006.

Famous Non-NBA Slam Dunk Contests

1976 ABA Slam Dunk Contest (Julius Erving)

Reputedly the first slam dunk contest in history. It took place during the 1976 ABA All-Star Weekend. The contest featured a plethora of famous players including Artis Gilmore, George Gervin, and David Thompson. Julius Erving won the contest with his famous freethrow line slam.

1996 Orchies Non-Stop Basketball Dunk Contest (Abdoul Bamba)

A dunk contest taking place in Orchies, France which featured many of today's European dunking elite including Kadour Ziani, Solamon Sami, and Abdoul Bamba, all from the slam-dunking squad "Slam Nation". The contest was highlighted by a high level of competition from all the participants and featured many innovative jams. The eventual winner was Abdoul Bamba who won with his famous cartwheel dunk, where he caught a ball off the floor in mid cartwheel and slammed it home.

2001 Mcdonalds All American High School Dunk Contest (David Lee)

The 2001 High School Dunk Contest featured many great dunks but is most noted for creating a controversy with the victory of David Lee. While Lee had many strong dunks including an innovative faux-shoot alley-oop, bounce off the ground, between the legs slam. Many viewers felt that dunking phenom James White with his powerful jams, including two amazing freethrow line dunk variations, deserved to win. The contest remains a judging controversy to this day.

2003 SuperPages Slam Dunk Contest (Henry Bekkering)

This Canadian dunk contest was made famous on the internet by the amazing dunks of 6'5" Henry Bekkering which included a windmill slam over a standing person and a left handed freethrow line dunk jumping off 2 feet. Video of the contest dissemnated quickly across the internet and it's fame led to a television appearance for Bekkering on the "Best Damn Sports Show"

2005 City Slam Dunk Contest (Chris Lowery aka Skywalker)

This nation-wide dunk contest culminated in championships at Chicago. The City Slam Championship featured many never before seen spectacular slams including a 360 between the legs dunk by Marvin Collins aka High Riser. The contest was won by Chris Lowery aka Skywalker when he jumped over a car and dunked.

Notable dunks

  • The first free throw line dunk in an official slam dunk competition by Julius Erving (1976 ABA Dunk Contest).
  • The free throw line double clutch jam by Michael Jordan (1988 NBA Dunk Contest).
  • The East Bay Funk Dunk by JR "Isaiah" Rider (1994 NBA Dunk Contest).
  • The between the legs dunk by Jameel Pugh. Later emulated by Vince Carter (2000 Slam Magazine "World's best dunker")
  • Vince Carter's 360 Windmill (which drove everybody off their seats), the off the bounce, between the legs dunk
  • The reverse between the legs (2003, NBA SDC) and the 2004 off-the-backboard between the legs dunks by Jason Richardson.
  • The behind the back dunk by Patrick Ewing Jr, done again by JR Smith (2003 Indiana Hoosiers Slam Dunk Contest, then 2005 NBA Slam Dunk Contest). The behind the back dunk was modified in the 2006 NBA Slam Dunk Contest by Andre Iguodala when he dunked it off an alley-oop.
  • Also in the 2005 NBA SDC, the dunks using a prop from Josh Smith and Amare Stoudemire (read below for more informations).
  • In the 2006 NCAA Dunk Contest, James "The Flight" White completed a windmill from the free throw line
  • Taurian Fontenette AKA The Air Up There successfully completed a 720 dunk on a breakaway during an And 1 Mixtape Tour game in Houston.

More Info

File:NateR.jpg
Nate Robinson dunks over Spud Webb
  • Slam dunks during contests can also involve the ball being tossed off a prop. Most times the ball will be tossed off the backboard, or the floor. However in the 2005 NBA Slam Dunk contest, Amare Stoudemire tossed the ball off the backboard, which in turn bounced off teammate Steve Nash's head before being dunked by Amare.
  • Sometimes a player will attempt a blind dunk without looking. Dee Brown won his slam dunk championship like this in 1991 with the "shielding the eyes" dunk. Cedric Ceballos has also performed a blind dunk; he was blindfolded for one dunk in the 1992 contest.
  • Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant and Brent Barry are the only players to have won a NBA championship and a slam dunk championship. Jordan was the first (he won his slam dunk championship in 1987 and 1988 and won his NBA championships 1991-1993 and 1996-1998). Kobe won his Slam Dunk Championship in 1997 and his NBA championships in 2000-2002. Brent Barry won his slam dunk championship in 1996 and his NBA championship in 2005.
  • Dominique Wilkins holds the record of participating in the most slam dunk contests. He has participated in 5 slam dunk contests.
  • Although Julius Erving is regarded by many to be the "Godfather of the dunk", he never won a NBA slam dunk championship (he did win once in the ABA, though).
  • At 5'7", Spud Webb is the shortest player that has been able to win the slam dunk contest. He defeated his teammate and defending champion Dominique Wilkins in the 1986 contest.
  • The showdown between Dominique Wilkins and eventual champion Michael Jordan in the 1988 Slam Dunk Contest is widely considered to be the best slam dunk contest ever. Famous dunks during their epic showdown include Dominique's off-the-glass, one-handed tomahawk, Jordan's reverse double pump, Dominique's trademark windmill, and Jordan's immortal double-clutch, free throw line dunk.
  • The 1997 Dunk Contest was one of the weaker dunk contests to date. It was during this contest that Kobe Bryant did a between the legs dunk that won the contest. The rest of the competition (or lack thereof) had offered little variety to their dunks and this quickly led to fan criticism of it being "boring" which promptly ended the dunk contest temporarily for future NBA seasons.
  • Because of the 2000 Dunk Contest, many people have named Vince Carter as the greatest dunker of all-time. His dunks of a 360-windmill, 180 behind the backboard windmill, between the legs (with assist from then teammate Tracy McGrady), a normal one handed dunk that ended with Vince hanging from the rim with his elbow, and a 13.5 feet two handed dunk have awed spectators to date.
  • Historically, the dunk contest drew some mild criticisms. One of those includes how the dunk contest is extremely limited as there are so many times one can be impressed with a 360 dunk or a slightly modified windmill. Because of the physical limitations of the human body, innovation can become dry very quickly. But the 2005 NBA Slam Dunk Competition showed us there is room for innovation, especially using props. Another criticism is that players who often compete in these contests are seen as dunkers only (with obvious exception to Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and Julius Erving), which is why notable high flying athletes like Shawn Marion have sometimes refused to participate. High profile players such as Lebron James and Vince Carter have also declined to participate citing it as an unnecessary risk to injury. In the 2000 NBA Slam Dunk Contest, Tracy McGrady injured his wrist while performing a dunk.
  • The 2006 competition between Nate Robinson and Andre Iguodala was the first time ever that the competition had to go into a sudden-death dunk-off. [1] However, this contest drew many criticisms due to the fact that players were not penalized for missing a dunk attempt. Consequently, Nate Robinson attempted a single dunk over 14 times before completing it.[2] This has led to speculation that the NBA may further amend the rule change to prevent excessive dunk attempts.
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