Anyone who loves a good dunk probably waits all year for the NBA Slam Dunk Contest. There's so much to love about the always exciting event. Some of the most skilled players in the NBA take some time to come up with the most creative and difficult dunks humanly possible.
Some of the things that have been pulled off over the years have been incredible. Some men have formed rivalries and gone to war with one another to see who can complete the greatest dunks, putting up fantastic performances that will never be touched. There have been many dunks over the years, but only a select few can be called the absolute best of the best.
10 Dwight Howard - The Superman
There's a lot that went into making Dwight Howard's Superman dunk one of the best of all time. It was a theatrical moment in an event that was usually taken fairly seriously. As soon as the cape comes out, everyone in the arena is in stitches.
Sure, his dunk is simple in the grand scheme of things, but the height, distance, and sheer force of the dunk is awe-inspiring. Howard`s leap is impressive, but he makes it look as if it was nothing more than another ordinary hop.
9 Nate Robinson - Dunking Over Superman
Anyone who knows Nate Robinson knows that he isn't the tallest player around, and that's exactly what made the 5'9" stars dunk over 6'10" Superman Dwight Howard so impressive. Most people in attendance probably didn't think it was really going to happen, but it absolutely did.
Charging down the court, Robinson vaults over Howard and emphatically slams the ball down, sending the entire crowd into an absolute frenzy. Huge stars of the industry loved it, and Howard himself couldn't help chuckling and smiling for his friend.
8 Dee Brown - The No-Look Dunk
A lot of modern NBA fans may not know who Dee Brown is, but he was one of the most exciting stars to ever grace the Slam Dunk Contest. He absolutely dominated for the Celtics back in 1991, and rather than finishing with a fancy dunk, he went with a simple one.
An easy way to make a dunk much harder is to simply not look while you dunk the ball, and that's what Brown did. Approaching the rim, Brown shoved his face into his arm to block his view and still finished with a beautiful dunk that shocked the crowd.
7 Gerald Green - Blowing Out The Candle
Props aren't anything new to the NBA Slam Dunk Contest, but some people use them better than others. While Dwight Howard used a cape, it didn't have much impact on the actual dunk. Gerald Green used a lit cupcake and blew it out mid-dunk.
The cupcake was placed on the back of the rim and lit before Green made his approach. He then proceeded to catch a high bounce-pass and nail a slam dunk while also blowing out the candle, all without destroying the cupcake.
6 Andre Iguodala - Behind The Backboard
One of the most underrated Slam Dunk Contest dunks of all time comes from Andre Iguodala. He didn't win in 2006, but he put on one great show for everyone in attendance. One of his best dunks came from a bounce off of the back of the backboard.
A lot could have gone wrong, but Iguodala calmly snatches the pass, and nails the dunk as he sails onto the court. It's an imaginative dunk, and one that left a lot of people impressed, leaving Iguodala as an often unsung hero of the contest.
5 Michael Jordan - From The Free-Throw Line
Detractors of this dunk will say that it is just too simple to be considered one of the greatest dunks of all time, but every movie and TV show that has ever parodied dunking is usually parodying this one. He literally leaps from the free-throw line and dunks the ball.
It's that simple. The thing is, that image of Jordan soaring through the air to deliver that dunk is not only something that inspired an entire generation of players but one of the many things that solidified his legendary status in the NBA.
4 Vince Carter - The 360 Windmill
If there was any question of another star winning the 2000 NBA Slam Dunk Contest, those questions were put to rest when Vince Carter nailed his 360 windmill. Some still view it as the greatest dunk in the history of the contest more than twenty years later.
There was nothing flashy in his approach, leaving all the style for the dunk itself. There's almost no way the average basketball fan would have a chance at pulling the dunk off, but Vince Carter made it look like he could do three more in a row without error.
3 Zach Levine - Between The Legs From The Line
Zach Levine's take on the classic leap from the line dunk is something that needs to be seen by everyone. Many just settled for a simple dunk, but Levine decided to bump up the difficulty by looping the ball through his legs as he sailed through the air.
It was a moment that sent just about everyone watching on the side onto the court because the moment was tremendous. There's no wonder how Levine won the event two years in a row when he consistently put up dominant and difficult dunk contest performances.
2 Spud Webb - The 5'7" Dunk
For those that don't know, Spud Webb is 5'7" tall and one of the greatest Dunk Contest competitors of all time. He didn't just compete, he ended up winning the 1986 contest. One of his best dunks came when he launched the ball toward the rim, catching it in mid-air, and dunking it backward.
Any of his dunks from that contest really could be on a list like this purely due to how short he is. The fact that he managed to come out on top shows that anyone can achieve their dreams if they put their mind to it.
1 Aaron Gordon - Over The Mascot
He doesn't just simply jump over a mascot, Aaron Gordon jumps over a mascot, loops the ball under his legs, and then slams it down. It's a mind-boggling moment from the event and one that every fan of the event should search for if they somehow haven't seen it.
He doesn't get any help with the leap, he jumps clean over another human being to nail the dunk. It's a display of athleticism on so many levels that it deserves the distinction of one of the greatest NBA Dunk Contest dunks of all time.
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