I wrote the first iteration of this blog post in 2013 on my old roheblius.net blog. It was originally a list of 15 dunkers. I changed it to 20 after Zach LaVine and Aaron Gordon happened. It will stay at 20 for this version of the post.
I consider myself one of the top NBA Slam Dunk contest aficionados. No, I'm not like Kenny Smith where very little impresses me. Instead, just the opposite. Damn near everything impresses me.
I'm old enough to have seen every NBA Slam Dunk Contest live. I remember Dr. J hitting his head on the backboard. I remember the name Terance Stansbury. I remember when Otis Smith (yes the same guy who used to run the Orlando Magic) dunked in his Golden State Warriors warm-up shirt. I remember in the mid-90s when they decided to give dunkers 90 seconds to put together a routine and a bunch of dunkers couldn't even finish. And I remember when they changed it back, thankfully (at least until they went with a team format in 2014, which was the worst idea of all-time). I go way back. Way back before Dee Brown pumped up his Reeboks.
Some housekeeping notes:
A contest dunker is much different than an in-game dunker. You have to be creative. You have to be charismatic. And you have to act like what you just did was the greatest dunk of all-time. There have been many excellent dunks that the crowd slept on because the dunker acted like it too easy.
How will I rank dunkers? There's no algorithm, but it's based on a few things.
Winning: While there are guys on my list who didn't actually win a contest, it still matters. Winning more than once matters more.
Memorability: When I name a player, does a specific dunk or dunk contest come to mind? Guys don't participate more than once or twice these days, but those that did and fared well in more than one contest are much more memorable for it.
Importance: When announcers are comparing new dunkers, who are they comparing them to?
Influence: Which dunks are copied and remixed?
Creativity: It matters, but so does time and place. The between-the-legs-off-the-glass can't happen without Isiah Rider first going between the legs.
Before we get to the top 20, these guys are on the honorable mention list.
Jeremy Evans: Evans won a decent dunk contest in 2012 and then was a runner up in another decent dunk contest in 2013. But only the hardcore fans would even remember him. Solid, but unspectacular.
Brent Barry: He did one dunk and then did it again. He won in the dark era of the dunk contest.
Cedric Ceballos: He could see.
Fred Jones: Fred is one of the most underrated and forgotten dunk winners. However, if Jason Richardson does the between the legs dunk off the bounce, he beats Jones and Jones might not even be all that honorable of a mention
Stevie Francis: He was a great small dunker. If he could palm a basketball, he would've won one of these.
Tracy McGrady: McGrady only took part in one contest and was overshadowed by Vince Carter, but he had a great contest.
Kenny Smith: Sadly, I had to move Kenny out of the top 20 to make room for some new jacks. Don't let Chuck tell you different; Kenny was the best early small dunker of the contest.
Amar'e Stoudemire: He paved the way for Dwight Howard. Amar'e helped bring the big man dunker back.
Terence Stansbury: His "Statue of Liberty" dunk was the second most memorable signature dunk in the early years of the contest. It was second to only Dr. J's free throw line dunk.
Josh Smith: He was the remixed version of Kenny "Sky" Walker. If he performed better as the defending champ in his second contest, he finishes in the top 20.
Andre Iguodala: He would've easily beaten Nate Robinson if Nate Robinson didn't get 14 tries to finish his final dunk.
Dr. J: The fact that Dr. J competed in 1984 and 1985 with all the young bucks was pretty incredible because he was clearly the crowd favorite, even when Michael and Dominique were involved. But he was also at the tail end of his athleticism. If we counted all the early dunk contests that we lost to history, Dr. J would be on the actual list. He and David Thompson were pioneers in this thing.
Terrence Ross: Ross had two issues; he was so athletic that he made dunks look too easy, and he was light on the showmanship.
Kobe Bryant: Kobe won in his only appearance, but they skipped the contest the next year (and then again because of the lockout). Not his fault, but it's on his record.
John Wall: Wall's mean streak and explosiveness made for an impressive performance in the 2014 contest. Damian Lillard is just as good of a dunker as Wall, but Wall had that GTFOH attitude and put funk on everything he did. Sadly, his performance may be forgotten because it was in the awful 2014 team format contest.
Victor Oladipo: He tried some really hard dunks and was hit or miss. But the ones that hit were amazing, including the two-foot reverse 360 that Kenny Smith kept calling a 540.
Larry Nance Jr.: Jr. doesn't finish as high as his pops on this list, but it's mostly because he didn't realize it was a show until the very end. The crowd wanted to love him, but it took him too long to put on the necessary show.
Dennis Smith Jr.: He was a runner-up in 2019 mostly because he couldn't hit the dunk that he did the year prior. But he went for it and I always commend guys who go for it.
Glenn Robinson III: He had a pretty strong contest in 2017 and did some dunks that hadn't been done before. Love the baby Big Dog.
Obi Toppin: Much respect for Toppin doing back-to-back contests (the 2021 pandemic contest where he finished second and then winning 2022), but his win in 2022 was the sleepiest contest in quite some time.
Kenny "Sky" Walker: Sky Walker took over the year that both MJ and Dominique decided not to participate. Thus, he's often forgotten because of his lame duck status. And to be fair, outside of him, it was one of the weaker dunk fields in history. Walker's strength was his power, but he also had tremendous athleticism. He was a slightly shorter version of Larry Nance, all the way down to Nance's reverse windmill.
Dwight Howard: Howard was in the top 20 in previous editions, but was bumped out because of Derrick Jones Jr's rise in the contest and Mac McClung's near perfect contest in 2023. Gotta give Dwight respect for coming back to the contest in 2022 after being out of it for a full decade.
And now, the top 20...
20. Donovan Mitchell
Signature Dunk: Cupped windmill off the glass
Highest Finish: 2018 winner
Mitchell was one and done. He wasn't the most athletic or versatile dunker, but he was explosive and he dunked hard. He also had to close the show because Larry Nance Jr. was hot on his heels. The best dunk contests are tight competitions and that was the case in Mitchell's victory.
19. Hamidou Diallo
Signature Dunk: Arm in the rim over Shaq
Highest Finish: 2019 winner
Had Diallo had competition in the 2019 contest, he might've put on a contest for the ages. But he was so far ahead of Dennis Smith Jr. in the finals, that he cruised in the end. His first two dunks were ridiculous, but the last two were just enough to win. Would be fun to see Diallo come back one day.
18. Gerald Green
Signature Dunk: Birthday cake
Highest Finish: 2007 winner
Green's 2007 win was tremendous. It was the little man's dunk contest and he was the better little man. He dunked over Nate Robinson by remixing the famous Dee Brown dunk where he covered his eyes. He lost the year of the "Birthday Cake" dunk, but that dunk was very creative. Just don't dunk without your shoes again!
By the way, dunkers don't do what Green did in 2013, except Dwight Howard in 2020. He came out of a five-year dunk contest retirement to join the 2013 contest. He didn't make it to the finals, but scored a 50 on his first dunk back. Respect.
17. Shawn Kemp
Signature Dunk: Pump from inside the free throw line
Highest Finish: 1991 runner-up (Dee Brown)
Kemp's main problem was missing very difficult dunks. On one hand, you compliment the degree of difficulty, but you still have to flush the dunks. If he performed in later years where you didn't get punished for missing dunks as quickly, he may have won one or two contests. He went after the win four times and ran into Dee Brown in 1991 and Isiah Rider in 1994. Kemp was big and tall, but he was more athletic than most of the guards he dunked against. He was also great with the bounce dunks. He and Dee Brown helped bring the dunk contest back to the forefront of All-Star weekend after an off two years.
16. Larry Nance
Signature Dunk: Reverse windmill
Highest Finish: 1984 winner
In 1984, the NBA brought the dunk contest to the forefront of All-Star weekend. The contest was an ABA idea that goes back to 1976. Dr. J was the winner that year. So in a sense, the 1984 contest was a way to bring Dr. J back to the contest. But Larry Nance upset the good doctor to win the first NBA version of the contest. Nance was long and powerful and paved the way for guys like Shawn Kemp, Dwight Howard, and Aaron Gordon.
By the way, in the first contest, Nance and Dr. J had to dunk nine different times. Nine!
15. Mac McClung
Signature Dunk: Reverse 360 with a two-handed windmill
Highest Finish: 2023 winner
McClung had a near perfect competition, only missing four perfect dunks because Lisa Leslie was a hater. Okay, she still gave him a 49, so she's not really a hater. After two years of average contests, McClung put the showmanship back in the contest. He is set to defend his title in the 2024 contest.
14. Dee Brown
Signature Dunk: No look
Highest Finish: 1991 winner
He was only in it one time, but he was very memorable. Like I mentioned above, he and Shawn Kemp brought the dunk contest back into focus after two off years. Brown brought showmanship and crazy athleticism to the stage. He pumped up his Reeboks, got a shoe deal and became a bit of a sports celebrity for a little while.
13. Spud Webb
Signature Dunk: Reverse off the bounce
Highest Finish: 1986 winner
For one dunk contest, Spud Webb was awesome. In two others, he wasn't so much. But no single other basketball player parlayed his dunk contest victory into celebrity quite like Spud. Every basketball fan from that era knows who Spud Webb is. Nate Robinson is more explosive, but Spud couldn't be as daring with his dunks because the rules were different and you would get penalized way more for misses. He beat defending champion Dominique Wilkins and 'Nique didn't even have to dunk in the first round because he received a bye. So Spud was also more tired.
12. Isiah Rider
Signature Dunk: East Bay funk dunk
Highest Finish: 1994 winner
In 1994, Rider incorporated music into his showmanship. He danced in between dunks and got the crowd involved. And he brought out a something that hadn't been seen before, at least the way he did it. All contest long, Doug Collins was teasing that Rider had a signature dunk and he pulled it out at the perfect time. Charles Barkley called it the best dunk he'd ever seen at the time. And in his Alabama accent, said it was, "Awesome!"
At some point, someone was going to put it between the legs. Rider just did it first. Kobe Bryant would copy it for his win a few years later.
11. Desmond Mason
Signature Dunk: Left-handed between the legs
Highest Finish: 2001 winner
If not for Jason Richardson, Desmond Mason is probably a three-time dunk contest champion. After winning in 2001, he was beaten by J-Rich two years in-a-row in close battles. Mason was super athletic and one of the most underrated contestants of all-time. His 2003 contest was one of the best contests for a guy who didn't win.
10. Nate Robinson
Signature Dunk: Jumping over Superman
Highest Finish: 2006, 2009, and 2010 winner
Like I mentioned above, winning matters and Nate won three times. He was a buffed out Spud Webb. He was able to do all of Spud's dunks, but do them more powerfully. He also had tremendous control of the basketball. He was creative. He danced. He hyped up the crowd. And he sold himself. The only thing that takes him down a notch was that it took him 14 turns to finish his dunk in 2006 to beat Andre Iguodala. Because of him, they added a shot clock.
9. Blake Griffin
Signature Dunk: Two-hand Statue of Liberty
Highest Finish: 2011 winner
Blake Griffin is the perfect dunk contestant. He's athletic enough to jump from far places and he's powerful enough to throw down as hard as anyone. Being that he was only in the contest once and is as highly ranked as he is, shows how much of an impression he made on the contest. His most lauded dunk was the gimmicky one in which he dunked over the hood of the car, but his most impressive one was the ode to Terance Stansbury, but with two hands.
8. Derrick Jones Jr.
Signature Dunk: Reverse 360 through the legs
Highest Finish: 2020 winner
Derrick Jones Jr. won the great dunk contest that time forgot. It happened about a month before we all had to stay inside our homes due to the pandemic. It's unfortunate because Derrick Jones Jr. vs. Aaron Gordon was right up there with Zach LaVine vs. Aaron Gordon and Michael Jordan vs. Dominique Wilkins. Some forget, he also finished second in a good dunk contest in 2017, losing to the baby Big Dog, Glenn Robinson III. He had two 50 bombs in that contest.
7. Harold Miner
Signature Dunk: Power windmill from the baseline
Highest Finish: 1993 and 1995 winner
What's better than participating in one contest, winning, and bouncing? Doing it twice. Baby Jordan took the dunk contest by storm for two years. While his 1995 performance was good, his 1993 performance was one of the all-time greats. He wasn't showy on the court, except when he dunked. I'm not sure I even know what Miner's voice sounds like. Everything was power. And everything was clean.
6. Aaron Gordon
Signature Dunk: Anything with a mascot and wheels
Highest Finish: 2016 and 2020 runner-up
Everyone after Shawn Kemp on this list is a winner. So why is Gordon, a two-time runner up, ranked this high? It's because he ran up against two of the greatest dunk contest champions ever Zach LaVine and Derrick Jones Jr.. He scored three 50s in a contest he lost. That's how incredible he was. When he took the ball from the mascot, jumped over it, and put it between both his legs before finishing, it was something you'd think was only capable on a video game. The one ding on his record is his awful performance in the 2017 contest.
5. Dominique Wilkins
Signature Dunk: The windmill
Highest Finish: 1985 and 1990 winner
I didn't put any specific windmill dunk as a signature for 'Nique because nearly every dunk he did was some version of a double pump or windmill. Everything he did was crisp, clean, powerful, and perfect. And the best ones usually involved him rotating his shoulder violently. He's a two-time winner and could've won twice more. He lost close battles to Spud Webb in 1986 and Michael Jordan in 1988. When the players say that he may have been robbed in both contests, they might not be wrong.
4. Michael Jordan
Signature Dunk: Pump from the free throw line
Highest Finish: 1987 and 1988 winner
Some think that Jordan lost to Dominique in 1988. Even if you believe that, their contest was so damn close that it might've been a coin flip. Both men scored two 50s in the final round and it was just a 47 for MJ and a 45 for 'Nique that separated them. Because he was Jordan, his imprint is just a little bit bigger than 'Nique's. Even in 1985 when 'Nique beat MJ, it was Jordan in his Air Jordans, gold chains, and his approach to the contest that made it a must-see event. He improved on Dr. J's famous foul line dunk. He gave other dunks names like "Kiss The Rim." Rick Barry said Jordan was simulating flying with his legs.
3. Jason Richardson
Signature Dunk: Between the legs reverse
Highest Finish: 2002 and 2003 winner
At that specific point in time, Richardson's final dunk in the 2003 dunk contest was the best dunk I've ever seen in the dunk contest, Vince Carter included. It was truly unimaginable for me. But not for J-Rich. Richardson needed a 49 to beat out Desmond Mason and on his final dunk, he came baseline, jumped off two feet, put the basketball under his legs, and in one motion, reversed dunked it. And you know who gave him the idea? Gilbert Arenas. Amazing. Oh yeah, and he won the previous year and would've won the following year if he didn't try to do the off-the-glass arm-stuck-in-the-rim dunk that Blake Griffin would do seven years later and Diallo would do while jumping over Shaq.
2. Zach LaVine
Signature Dunk: Between the legs from the (almost) free throw line
Highest Finish: 2015 and 2016 winner
LaVine was the most hyped dunk contest competitor to join the competition since Blake. Just looking at him, you wouldn't know that he'd become the fiercest dunk contest winner since Vince Carter. He's long and skinny, but once he gets into the air, he cuts through it like a knife through butter. He's done dunks that I never thought were possible, like going behind his back off the bounce. But it was his 2016 battle with Aaron Gordon that brought out the best in him. LaVine pulled out four 50s in a row in the finals and tie-breakers to beat Gordon. The MJ and Dominique battle was great. J-Rich and Desmond Mason was amazing. The future Derrick Jones Jr. and Aaron Gordon contest was fantastic. But this was the best dunk contest final in the history of the contest.
1. Vince Carter
Signature Dunk: Windmill 360
Highest Finish: 2000 winner
If not for Vince Carter, the dunk contest might not exist in its current form. After Kobe won in 1997, the contest went dark in 1998 and 1999. Because it went away for two years, fans had an appetite for it in 2000 and Vince Carter was the perfect person to bring it back. After Vince Carter put on his show, you couldn't put it back in hibernation. Carter had the single greatest repertoire of dunks for one contest. He started with the windmill 360 from the baseline, then did it again from underneath the basket, did a between the legs off a bounce pass from Tracy McGrady, stuck his arm in the rim, and finished off with his weakest dunk which was a two-handed rip in which he took off from near the free throw line and still scored a 48. He had three perfect dunks out of five. His legacy is also perfect because he did it once, shocked the world, and never went back. Others have done that too. But they didn't do like Vince did.
