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The Slam Dunk Contest 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 NCAA. As a result of the the ABA-NBA merger later that year there would not be another slam dunk contest at the professional level until 1984. The contest currently uses fan voting, via text-messaging, to determine the winner of the final round. The current sponsor of the event is Sprite, an American soft-drink. The very first slam dunk contest was won by Julius Erving at the 1976 ABA All-Star Game. The current champion of the NBA Dunk Contest is Nate Robinson of the New York Knicks.
[edit] History[edit] 1980sThe NBA reintroduced the Slam Dunk Contest in 1984 at its birthplace in Denver. Erving's dunk from the free throw line that year remains one of the most memorable slam dunks in NBA history. 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 holds to this day. As the eighties came to a close, Chicago's Michael Jordan established himself as perhaps the greatest dunker of all time, after an epic battle with Wilkins to win his second of back-to-back dunk contest victories in 1987 and 1988. [edit] 1990sThe Slam Dunk Contest had always been a big hit with fans, but interest in the contest began to wane in the mid-1990s. Initially, it was due to the fact that many players lost interest in competing; some cited concerns of injuries, while others felt that the full repertoire of humanly-possible dunks had already been exhausted. With most of the superstars choosing not to participate, lesser-known players began to compete, leading to watered-down competitions. Fans complained that players were beginning to win contests with boring or unoriginal dunks (witness the relatively forgettable early-'90s wins by the likes of Harold Miner, Cedric Ceballos, and Brent Barry). In 1994 and 1997 respectively, Isaiah Rider and Kobe Bryant won the contest, but the rest of the competition offered little variety to their dunks, which quickly led to fan criticism of the contest. As a result, the 1998 All-Star Weekend did not feature a dunk contest, replacing the event with a shooting competition called "2Ball". In 1999, there was no All-Star Game due to the NBA lockout. [edit] 2000sAfter a two-season layoff, the NBA decided to bring the 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, 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 a reverse 360 windmill, a honey dip, and a between-the-legs dunk off of 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 that the dunk competition could regain the popularity it had in the 1980s. The Phoenix Suns' Amare 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 basketball that had not been done before. Amare Stoudemire and Josh Smith received rave reviews when he did a tribute dunk to Dominique Wilkins while donning Wilkins' jersey. Again in 2006, the Dunk Contest in Houston, Texas revitalized the interests of audiences as 5'9" Nate Robinson of the New York Knicks 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 seventeen attempts before finally completing his dunk. Iguodala also 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 and his favorite verse from the Bible on the backboard a reported 12'6" from the ground, two and a half feet beyond the regulation NBA rim. On February 16, 2008, the contest was held in New Orleans. Judges for the event included Darryl Dawkins, Dominique Wilkins, Karl Malone, the winner of the first-ever Slam Dunk Contest, 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. 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. 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 14th 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. [edit] Past NBA Slam Dunk Contest championsOver the history of the event, there have been 18 players who have been crowned the best dunkers in the NBA. Of those 18, five are two-time winners including: Dominique Wilkins, Michael Jordan, Harold Miner, Jason Richardson and, most recently, Nate Robinson.
Slam Dunk Contest champions by franchise
[edit] All-time participantsBold denotes winner of that year. [edit] All-time results[edit] 1980s
aErving and Nance received first-round byes as they were the finalists from the previous year.
aWilkins received a first-round bye as he was the previous year's champion.
1988
a Drexler did not attempt his final dunk, as victory was out of reach. [edit] 1990s
1991
a Johnson did not attempt his final dunk, as victory was out of reach. 1993
1994
1995
1998 1999 [edit] 2000s2000
2002
2008
2009
[edit] Famous non-NBA Slam Dunk Contests
[edit] Types of moves seen during the Slam Dunk Contest[edit] WindmillWindmill 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 reverse 360 windmill in the 2000 contest, and James White's windmill from the free throw line in the 2006 NCAA Dunk Contest. [edit] 360360s, or "axles" (relative to spinning) are dunks where a player spins with his body for almost a full revolution. This type of dunk can be achieved by using one or two hands. There are many variations of the 360, including the reverse 360 windmill by Vince Carter in the 2000 slam dunk (where a player jumps in a reverse motion against his plane of motion), Terence Stansbury's "Statue of Liberty" 360, Air Up There's 720, or double-axle, High Riser's 360 through the legs, the double pump 360 by Tracy McGrady in the 2000 slam dunk contest, Team Flight Brothers dunker Quinton Slaughter AKA Elevator's 540[1], and many more. [edit] Free throw lineAs the name indicates, 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 basket. Jim Pollard is known to have dunked from the foul line during warmups in the early years of the NBA.[2] 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.[3] 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, Brent Barry during the 1996 contest, and former Cincinnati Bearcat James White, who has pulled off at least 5 free-throw-line jams in his contest career (in addition to a between-the-legs free throw line dunk made during his high school's midnight madness practice session). [edit] Between the legsAlso known as "through the legs", or the "Rider" dunk (after Isaiah Rider, the first dunk champion to perform this dunk). This dunk was first performed by Orlando Woolridge of the Chicago Bulls in the 1984 dunk contest. For this dunk 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 Kobe Bryant's winning jam at the 1997 contest, Vince Carter's off the floor, between the legs slam during the 2000 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 dunk during the 2004 contest, and Isaiah Rider's "East Bay Funk Dunk" in the 1994 contest. Nowadays, the "Rider" has been developed beyond just its basic through-the-legs movement. Several people in the world have managed to do a 360 Rider : Abdoul Bamba and Guy Dupuy from the Slam Nation dunking troupe, Yann de Blaine of Slam Nation and Dunkalicious dunking crews, Taurian Fontenette aka Air Up There from the AND 1 Streetball team, "High Riser" from the 2005 City Slam, and Quinton Slaughter (also known as "Elevator"). 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 successfully finish the dunk, leading to his defeat by then-Indiana Pacers guard Fred Jones. James White, currently of the Houston Rockets, 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, and had done it in the past, during his high school's midnight madness, and the high school dunk contest. [edit] Double clutchA "double clutch" (or "double pump") dunk is a dunk 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. Vince Carter's spectacular dunk over Alonzo Mourning during the 2005-06 season also featured elements of the double-clutch. [edit] Rock the cradleAlso known as Rock the Baby. 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, Kenny Walker's baseline rock the baby during the 1989 contest, and Michael Jordan's rock the cradle jam in the 1985 contest. Jordan also had an in game dunk he called the "Magazine Dunk" that he started doing while at the University of North Carolina. Dr. J, Julius Erving, had a memorable in game cradle dunk over Michael Cooper, in the 1980 NBA Finals. [edit] Off the backboardOff the back board is 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, although the dunk had been previously done in a high school all star game in 2001 by future University of Illinois star Luther Head.[1] 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 unusual variation of the "alley-oop" style of dunk to date. Nash was able to almost accurately hit the ball to Stoudemire due his soccer background, which he demonstrated prior to the attempt. [edit] Blind dunkOne 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. This was known as the "peek-a-boo" by many. One year later, Cedric Ceballos performed a blindfolded dunk, although it has been disputed as to whether or not he could actually see. In 2007, Boston Celtic Gerald Green, re-invented Dee Brown's "shielded eyes dunk" (wearing Dee Brown's throwback jersey and Reebok pumps), adding a twist to it by jumping over defending champ Nate Robinson (it was supposed to be a cardboard cutout of Nate Robinson) before completing the dunk. [edit] Notable dunks
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