I wanted to check in with some thoughts on the just-wrapped All-Star Weekend, namely the dunk contest. I grew up as a huge fan of the dunk contest in the late 80's/early 90's-M.J., 'Nique, Grandmama, Baby Jordan Miner, Dee Brown, Ced Ceballos, J.R./Isaiah Rider, Kobe, etc. It was the ultimate spectacle event for a kid-seeing your favorite players go "Can you top this?" with amazing dunks. I remember a "Dazzling Dunks and Basketball Bloopers" tape from about 1990 (with Marv Alberts and Frank Layden), which I watched like 900 times, with, among others, all the classic Jordan/Wilkins battles (Also, note that Spud Webb in '86 was cool, being able to trick dunk at 5' 7", but let's be real: the year he won, His Airness was injured and the Human Highlight Film wasn't 100%. And, much like when Candace Parker was in the McDonald's contest, nothing 'Nique did would've been enough). Then, as any fan knows, in the late 90's we hit a dunk contest apostasy of sorts. New rules, such as doing multiple dunks in the allotted time, made the contest pretty lackluster. This was coupled with more and more stars avoiding the competition, which had been its early staple (the greatest ever, Michael Jordan, was a multi-time participant, as was Dominique Wilkins, who should be among the NBA's 50 Greatest). And then came Vinsanity. The 2000 contest finally brought the dunk contest out of mediocrity. Vince Carter was incredible (perhaps the best single dunk contest performance of all-time), but the field included Tracy McGrady, Steve Francis, Ricky Davis, and Jerry Stackhouse (who all had quality dunks but were clearly overshadowed; Davis, for example, was the first to go through the legs in reverse). We then come to the Jason Richardson era of the dunk contest. He won in 2002 and 2003 and should've won in 2004 but he missed his beyond-ridiculous attempt at a 360, off the bounce, through the legs dunk. Among his dopest highlights during this run were the off the backboard, through the legs dunk (stop and think about that for a second) and the off the bounce, through the legs backwards left-handed dunk. He could've gone with the safe, sure thing and beaten Freddie Jones down, but he went for the big-time. Here was a guy that truly understood showmanship and imagination. Also worthy of note is Desmond Mason, who always took J. Rich to the max with some incredible dunks of his own. It's funny because many, like Magic Johnson, have declared in the last year or two, with Gerald Green and Dwight Howard as participants, that "the dunk contest is back!" (PTI asked the question today, "Is the dunk contest back", in fact). Folks, the dunk contest never left, at least not since the year 2000. Richardson's run vs. Des Mason, Josh Smith in '05, and Andre Iguodala in '06 (forget about Nate Robinson, kids. 14 attempts on the last dunk…come on. The "other" A.I. was amazing from beginning to end) were all awesome contests. Gerald Green's "birthday cake" dunk this year was one of the most imaginative ever (and, while less imaginative since he had just gone through the wickets, his no-sock dunk was pretty incredible). And Dwight Howard is simply not a homo sapien, or at least not from Earth (not unlike a certain "caped crusader".) His Superman "dunk" was legendary (in quotations because he literally threw the ball through the rim. If it wasn't so sick, I'd actually take a little off since it wasn't clean). However, his off the back of the backboard dunk, while cool, was a rehash of an Andre Iguodala dunk from '06 (Kenny Smith erroneously noted that we had "never seen any" of Howard's dunks). Iguodala's off the bounce, behind the back dunk is Hall of Fame, too (I'll get to that). In other words, despite popular opinion, the demise of the dunk contest prior to Green and Howard was greatly exaggerated. Like I said, I am an unabashed fan of the dunk contest, always have been. I've always loved All-Star Saturday Night, in fact, more so than the game on Sunday. It definitely went through a lull but it's better than ever now. Dudes are really thinking outside of every box and coming up with not only amazingly athletic dunks, but artistic and amazingly innovative ways of doing them. I love to see it and I hope it continues. Kudos to Dwight Howard, a superstar player/All-Star starter, for participating. I hope more stars will do likewise (Jamario Moon was nice, but I had never heard of Jamario Moon until about 30 seconds before the contest). So now, after a TON of thought and deliberation, I give you the 10 Best Dunk Contest Dunks of All-Time:
First off, some honorable mentions: Vince Carter(R) /Josh Smith (L) reverse 360 windmill; Dee Brown arm over eyes (or even better, Gerald Green same dunk, over Nate Robinson); Jordan baseline windmill; Harold Miner full pump between the legs; Dwight Howard sticker dunk; Dwight Howard off the bounce, tip off the backboard dunk; Desmond Mason through the legs left; Desmond Mason windmill with the off hand; Vince Carter two step, two feet windmill from behind the basket dunk; Nate Robinson over Spud Webb; Gerald Green birthday cake dunk; Dominique Wilkins off the backboard, jumping from the bottom of the circle dunk; J.R. Smith behind the back in air. And, even though he never got it down, J. Rich off the bounce, through the legs 360. Had he gotten that one down, that is no doubt 1 to me.
10.) Michael Jordan from the foul line, 1988. Arguably the most famous dunk of all-time (at least in terms of posters). Won the contest over Wilkins, where M.J. needed a 48 to tie and a 49 to win. He got a 50. Let the record show he first did the free throw line dunk in '85, which is the only reason it isn't higher.
9.) Josh Smith windmill in the Wilkins jersey, 2005. The homage and symbolism (old blood/new blood for the Hawks) of this dunk were awesome. But go back and watch it-Smith takes off outside the lane and gives us a smooth, full windmill; the lefty aesthetic make it sick as well.
8.) Jason Richardson off the backboard, through the legs, 2004. We'd seen dudes go through the legs many times, but no one had ever done it off the backboard. Think of how high the ball was at its apex, and the dexterity and athleticism it took to bring it through. Plus, taking it straight on looks so much cooler.
7.) Andre Iguodala off the back of the backboard, pump reverse, 2006. Again, the innovation here is unbelievable. This was the first time anyone thought to use the back of the glass. Ridiculous. Plus, to grab the ball, duck under the board, then dunk is crazy.
6.) Jason Richardson off the bounce, reverse 180 windmill, 2002. Richardson, from the left wing, goes off the bounce and catches the ball squarely facing the basket. Then in the most graceful, yet violent way, while bringing the ball down, turns 180 degrees and slams the ball backwards, and as purely as could be. This is one of the more "Cirque Du Soleil"-type of dunks I've seen. Beautiful.
5.) Dwight Howard Superman, 2008. This wasn't truly a dunk in the strictest sense, but the fun factor, imagery, and the fact that he took off from behind the bottom of the circle, make this one immortal. It's my current desktop wallpaper in fact.
4.) Vince Carter hanging off the rim, 2000. This was one of those dunks that made you laugh hysterically, wondering if you really saw what you thought you saw. To get high enough to hang off the rim by your elbow is amazing, and to pull it off cleanly on the first try puts it in the HoF. Gerald Wallace and Richard Jefferson have attempted it in competition, only VC did it.
3.) Andre Iguodala off the bounce, behind the back, 2006. I can watch this one ten times a day and never get sick of it. I kind of tune out when guys go off the bounce since it's so played out, but to go up and bring the ball around your back with the off hand--in mid-air--and dunk it-with all that timing-is incredible.
2.) Jason Richardson off the bounce, backwards through the legs, left-handed blind reverse, 2004. Several things about this dunk make it outstanding-it was from the baseline, off the bounce, and he dunked it blind with the off hand. Plus, it was a contest clincher. And having Kenny Smith go bonkers only adds to the luster.
1.) Vince Carter off the (teammate) bounce, through the legs, 2000. This dunk is now the godfather of any through the leg variation. Before this, no one had done anything but a "standard" through the legs dunk, typically from the baseline and jumping off one foot. To time it to take McGrady's bounce, and then to go off two feet, and cleanly through (from head on left lane) was sick. Carter's pointing to the sky with both hands pose only added to how sick it was. The crown jewel dunk of the crown jewel dunk contest performance. This was the resurrection of the dunk contest.
In summation, I think Jason Richardson is the 1 Dunk Contest Dunker of All-Time. Vince Carter was amazing, but he only participated once. Jordan and Dominique of course get honorable mention status, as does Desmond Mason. I suppose that would be my top 5. Shout to J. Rich, who, oh by the way, isn't exactly Craig Hodges. He's 19 a night career.
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