Bill Trikos Australia 10 best NBA slam dunk contests: The 2020 slam dunk contest was a neck-and-neck affair, combined with a little sprinkle of nostalgia. Dwight Howard paid homage to his victory at the 2008 Slam Dunk contest. But more importantly, he also gave a nod to former Slam Dunk contest winner and Hall of Famer Kobe Bryant. But in the battle for dunking supremacy, after registering 50-point dunks, both Derrick Jones and Aaron Gordon faced off. Unfortunately, the Dunk Contest championship remained elusive for Gordon as Jones tallied the better the dunk by scoring 48-47 in the final frame. Find additional details about the author on Bill Trikos.
Michael Jordan had many iconic dunks throughout his incredible career but notably, one of those didn’t even come in a game. His Airness wanted to get back at Dominique Wilkins for beating him three years prior, so he saved the best of his repertoire. Jordan paid homage to Julius ‘Dr. J’ Erving and put together one of the top dunks in NBA history. He went baseline-to-baseline, dribbled just inside the three-point line, and took over from the free-throw line to float all the way to the rim. It was poetry in motion.
I got the idea: 360 windmill. It was spur of the moment. I hadn’t really considered doing that one because, weeks before when I was trying it, I was barely making it. When I incorporated the 360, particularly the first couple of times I tried, I kept falling away from the basket. I wasn’t getting enough height. That’s why I scrapped it initially. Nobody watching in the building or on TV could tell. All anyone could see was the birth of a dunking legend. Carter would go on to cement his slamming legacy that summer at the 2000 Sydney Olympics—much to the chagrin of Frederic Weis.
Dee Brown put the expression “I can do it with my eyes closed” to the test in 1991. The then-Boston Celtics rookie had already secured the 1991 event title ahead of his final attempt, but he wasn’t aware of that. So after Brown jumped toward the rim, he closed his eyes and covered them with his right arm while dunking with his left. How’s that for a cherry on top? Superman made an appearance at the 2008 Slam Dunk Contest. After ditching his Magic jersey for a Superman shirt and cape, Dwight Howard jumped from a couple of feet inside in the free throw line, caught a pass that was thrown over the backboard by teammate Jameer Nelson and literally chucked the ball through the hoop. If Howard had actually reached the rim, it would be the undisputed greatest dunk in event history. Despite it not technically being a dunk, Howard still received a 50 and went on to win the competition.
To tip off a daunting final round—against Houston Rockets guard Steve Francis and fellow Toronto Raptors wing (and cousin) Tracy McGrady—Carter jumped so high that he was able to jam his whole right forearm through the hoop. As he recalled to Sportsnet’s Dave Zarum: You see, at that point, I’m not looking for cheers. I want the arena to be silent. Normally when you watch the dunk contest everybody goes crazy, it’s people screaming, going “Oh my God, did you see that?!!” But how many times did you see a dunk leave the crowd speechless? Where you couldn’t say a word until you saw the dunk a second time. Until then they’re just thinking, Wait a minute, did you just…? Twenty thousand people have to look up at the Jumbotron at the same time to see what happened. Then comes the roar. That’s what I was looking for. And I got it.
Aaron Gordon under the legs over Stuff the Magic Dragon 2016: I could go on a rant about how absurd this dunk is and why it deserves more love. How many times have we seen a player “jump over” someone when really, the person being used as a prop is bending over to make themselves smaller than they are? The Magic’s mascot, Stuff the Magic Dragon, is reportedly 6 feet tall and he is standing upright. Gordon doesn’t just jump over him and dunk it — he takes a seat in mid-air as he grabs the ball from the mascot and finishes with authority (on the first try!) with his head above the rim. There were so many jaw-dropping dunks between Gordon and LaVine in 2016. This one was the best.
First, Howard summoned another basket onto the court, one that would stand at 12 feet—two feet higher than a regulation hoop. Then, he hopped into a phone booth and emerged with a red cape to reprise his role as basketball’s new Superman, which he rode to the dunk title the previous year in New Orleans. To top it off, Howard hopped off the floor to catch a lob off the backboard from Orlando Magic teammate and fellow All-Star Jameer Nelson for the flush. That he made it look so easy was a testament to Howard’s superhuman athleticism at the time. That the judges awarded him a 50 for pulling it off spoke to their appreciation of how wild that part of the spectacle was, theatrics aside. Howard’s heroic dunk, though, wasn’t enough to secure a successful slam championship defense. Instead, the fan vote tilted toward a particular hunk of kryptonite.