50 Fun Facts About NBA Slam Dunk Contest

Which Toronto Raptors star won the 2000 Slam Dunk Contest by hanging from the rim by his elbow?

Vince Carter's elbow-in-the-rim move is known as the honey dip, and his 2000 show is often called the most memorable contest ever. He never entered another one.

Which rookie won the 2011 Slam Dunk Contest in Los Angeles by leaping over the hood of a car?

Blake Griffin took the lob from a Clippers teammate, Baron Davis, and then won the final with 68 percent of the fan vote.

Which Atlanta Hawks rookie guard became the shortest Slam Dunk Contest champion ever in 1986?

Spud Webb beat his own teammate, the defending champion, in the final. Webb said that teammate had never even seen him dunk before.

Which Los Angeles Lakers rookie became the youngest Slam Dunk Contest champion, winning in 1997 at age 18?

Kobe Bryant was only months out of high school, and he also played in the Rookie Challenge that same weekend in Cleveland.

Which Orlando Magic center won the 2008 Slam Dunk Contest after putting on a Superman cape for one dunk?

Dwight Howard took 78 percent of the fan vote, in the first final ever decided by fans rather than a panel of judges.

Which guard won three straight Slam Dunk Contests from 2023 to 2025, the first three-peat in the event's history?

Mac McClung won the middle title as a G League player with the Osceola Magic, and in 2025 every judge scored every one of his dunks a perfect 50.

Which Chicago Bulls star won back-to-back Slam Dunk Contests in 1987 and 1988, the second on his home court?

Michael Jordan sealed the 1988 title with a perfect 50 on his final dunk, launched from the free-throw line.

Which 5-foot-9 New York Knicks guard became the first three-time Slam Dunk Contest champion in 2010?

Nate Robinson needed 14 attempts to land his final dunk for his first title in 2006, and the league limited retries the next year.

Which New York Nets star won the first-ever slam dunk contest in 1976 by taking off from the free-throw line?

Julius Erving only had to dunk from a mark inside the foul lane, but he paced out a long run-up and took off from the free-throw line itself.

Which stand-up comedian did Utah's Jeremy Evans dunk over on his way to winning the 2012 Slam Dunk Contest?

Kevin Hart was the prop for the winning dunk, and Evans took the title with just 29 percent of the fan vote.

Which Minnesota Timberwolves guard won back-to-back Slam Dunk Contests in 2015 and 2016?

Zach LaVine scored 200 points across four dunks in the 2016 final, the highest total any round of the contest has produced.

Which Orlando Magic forward lost Slam Dunk Contest finals in tiebreakers in both 2016 and 2020?

Aaron Gordon's 2020 defeat came by a single point, 48 to 47, even though his last dunk cleared a 7-foot-5 center.

Which Atlanta Hawks forward, nicknamed the Human Highlight Film, won the Slam Dunk Contest in 1985 and 1990?

Dominique Wilkins entered five contests and won two of them, leaning on the powerful windmill dunks that were his trademark.

The 2011 Slam Dunk Contest winner famously jumped over the hood of a sedan from which carmaker?

Kia supplied the sedan, which was later donated to a charity auction that raised money for Stand Up to Cancer.

Which rapper held the ball for the defending champion's between-the-legs slam at the 2014 Slam Dunk Contest?

Drake, the Raptors' global ambassador, set up Toronto's defending champion, whose dunk beat Portland's Damian Lillard in a one-on-one battle round.

Which Milwaukee Bucks forward, then just 20 years old, competed in the 2015 Slam Dunk Contest in New York?

Giannis Antetokounmpo was only in his second season, and he later won back-to-back MVP awards in 2019 and 2020.

Which Hall of Fame three-point shooter competed in the 1997 Slam Dunk Contest as a Milwaukee Bucks rookie?

Ray Allen finished fourth that night in Cleveland, long before his outside shooting made him a two-time NBA champion.

Which Phoenix Suns guard headed the ball, soccer-style, to set up a dunk in the 2005 Slam Dunk Contest?

Steve Nash's header fed Amar'e Stoudemire for a 360-degree alley-oop that drew rave reviews, though it did not win the title.

Which rookie won the 2018 Slam Dunk Contest after entering only as an injury replacement?

Donovan Mitchell of Utah was added to the field less than two weeks before the event, after an Orlando forward strained a hip muscle.

Which Toronto Raptors swingman entered the 2000 Slam Dunk Contest alongside his cousin, the eventual champion?

Tracy McGrady also tossed the bounced alley-oop that his cousin caught and put between his legs for one of the winning dunks.

Which city hosted the first slam dunk contest in 1976 and the NBA's revival of the event in 1984?

Denver was hosting a struggling league's final All-Star Game, and three executives dreamed up the contest to sell more tickets.

The 1991 Slam Dunk Contest champion famously bent down to inflate which brand's sneakers before dunking?

Reebok got a national showcase for its Pump line when the Boston rookie stopped to pump up his shoes on live television.

The 2015 Slam Dunk Contest champion made his first dunk wearing a jersey from which 1996 basketball movie?

Space Jam had inspired him to take up basketball as a child, and the No. 23 jersey made him a crowd favorite at once.

Which Portland star, nicknamed the Glide, lost the 1989 Slam Dunk Contest final in his hometown of Houston?

Clyde Drexler entered five contests in the 1980s without winning one, and in 1989 a last-minute replacement upset him.

Which Phoenix Suns forward won the NBA's first All-Star Weekend Slam Dunk Contest in 1984?

Larry Nance beat the original 1976 champion in the final, and in 2018 his son opened with a tribute dunk in a retro 1984 Suns uniform and finished second.

Which Boston Celtics rookie won the 1991 Slam Dunk Contest with a no-look dunk, covering his face in mid-air?

Dee Brown's no-look finish became so famous that a later Celtics champion repeated it in 2007 while wearing his jersey.

Which Timberwolves rookie won the 1994 Slam Dunk Contest with a dunk he named the East Bay Funk Dunk?

Isaiah Rider had brashly predicted on draft day that he would win, and his between-the-legs slam made good on the boast.

Which Golden State Warriors guard won consecutive Slam Dunk Contests in 2002 and 2003?

Jason Richardson was the first back-to-back champion since the late 1980s, and he reached a third straight final in 2004 before losing.

Which Atlanta Hawks rookie won the 2005 Slam Dunk Contest with an alley-oop dunk over Kenyon Martin?

Josh Smith also pulled on the jersey of a Hawks legend for a tribute dunk, on the night the contest returned to its birthplace.

Which dunker blew out a candle on a cupcake sitting on the rim during the 2008 Slam Dunk Contest?

Gerald Green called the dunk The Birthday Cake. He was the defending champion and finished as runner-up that year.

Which Miami Heat forward, nicknamed Airplane Mode, won the 2020 Slam Dunk Contest in a dunk-off?

Derrick Jones Jr. had already reached the 2017 final as a rookie who spent much of that season in the development league.

Which Oklahoma City Thunder guard won the 2019 Slam Dunk Contest after leaping over Shaquille O'Neal?

Hamidou Diallo hung from the rim by his elbow on that dunk and showed off a Superman shirt under his jersey.

Which New York Knicks forward won the 2022 Slam Dunk Contest a year after finishing as runner-up?

Obi Toppin had dunking in the family: his father was a streetball player known as Dunker's Delight.

Which Toronto Raptors rookie won the 2013 Slam Dunk Contest, with one dunk leaping over a ball boy?

Terrence Ross scored 99 out of a possible 100 in the first round, then took 58 percent of the fan vote in the final.

Which Wizards guard was voted Dunker of the Night at the 2014 Slam Dunk Contest after jumping over a mascot?

John Wall's reverse slam over G-Man sealed the East's win in a short-lived team format that was dropped the next year.

Which 76ers guard lost the first Slam Dunk Contest dunk-off in 2006 despite a dunk from behind the backboard?

Andre Iguodala caught a pass bounced off the back of the backboard, ducked under it to dunk, and still lost by one point, 141 to 140.

Which 7-foot-5 Boston Celtics center did a finalist leap over in the 2020 Slam Dunk Contest dunk-off?

Tacko Fall stood under the basket for the dunk, which scored 47 and lost the title by a single point.

Which rival league invented the slam dunk contest for its 1976 All-Star Game, months before merging with the NBA?

ABA officials, short of money and fighting for viewers, started the contest as a gimmick to draw a national audience.

Which shooting event for NBA and WNBA players replaced the Slam Dunk Contest at the 1998 All-Star Weekend?

2Ball paired an NBA player with a WNBA player from the same city for one minute of shots from seven marked spots on the floor.

Which Indiana Pacers forward threw down a windmill dunk in the dark at the 2012 Slam Dunk Contest?

Paul George also dunked over two teammates that night, including center Roy Hibbert, but fans voted another dunker the winner.

Which Washington Wizards center dunked three basketballs in a single jump at the 2011 Slam Dunk Contest?

JaVale McGee's three-ball dunk was later recognized by Guinness World Records, yet he finished second in the fan vote.

Which Raptors rookie reached the 2010 Slam Dunk Contest final after winning a Dunk-In the night before?

DeMar DeRozan lost that final in a fan vote of 51 percent to 49, and came back in 2011 as an injury replacement.

Which rookie nicknamed Skywalker landed the first recorded 360-degree dunk, at the original 1976 dunk contest?

David Thompson was the shortest man in the field and missed one dunk, but the eventual winner called the 360 his favorite dunk of the night.

Which Los Angeles Clippers rookie won the 1996 Slam Dunk Contest by dunking one-handed from the free-throw line?

Brent Barry is the son of a Hall of Famer, and he later won two NBA championships as a shooter with San Antonio.

Which Miami Heat guard won the Slam Dunk Contest in 1993 and 1995, then left the NBA for good in 1996?

Harold Miner took the 1995 final from the defending champion, but he was waived a year later and retired rather than play overseas.

Which Phoenix Suns forward won the 1992 Slam Dunk Contest with a dunk he performed while blindfolded?

Cedric Ceballos proved he was more than a showman a season later, when he led the whole NBA in field-goal percentage.

Which country produced Rudy Fernández, who in 2009 became the first international player in the Slam Dunk Contest?

Spain's Fernández, a Portland rookie, earned the last place in the field by winning an online fan vote over two fellow rookies.

Which New York Knicks forward won the 1989 Slam Dunk Contest as a late replacement, days after his father's death?

Kenny Walker, known as Sky, upset the hometown favorite in Houston just three days after losing his father.

Which forward won the NBA's season-long 1976–77 dunk contest but waited 40 years to receive a trophy?

Darnell Hillman, an Indiana Pacer nicknamed Dr. Dunk, collected a $15,000 winner's check in 1977 and was handed his trophy in 2017.

Which 7-foot-4 Houston Rockets rookie center competed in the NBA's 1984 Slam Dunk Contest?

Ralph Sampson was the top pick of the 1983 draft, and no taller player entered the contest in its first four decades.