The NBA Slam Dunk Contest is a staple of the league’s All-Star weekend. Each year the contest is held the night before the All-Star Game itself, giving the opportunity for basketball’s highest flyers to show off their creativity and dunking skill. Once upon a time it was the highlight of the weekend and a can’t-miss event on any sports fan’s calendar.
The prestige has worn off in the modern era, though. The risk of injury and a fear of failure in the social media era means stars are largely loath to participate. For the last 10 years the lineups for every dunk contest have largely been made up of lesser-known names and G League players. There are still some good dunks but the shine of it all has faded. It would only take one good dunk contest to reverse course, but the chances of seeing such a contest grow slimmer by the year.
Nevertheless, with the arrival of this year’s event it marks a good time to look back on the rich history of dunk contest winners with another player set to be crowned.
Every NBA Slam Dunk Contest winner
WINNER YEAR CITY
Larry Nance 1984 Denver
Dominique Wilkins 1985 Indianapolis
Spud Webb 1986 Dallas
Michael Jordan 1987 Seattle
Michael Jordan 1988 Chicago
Kenny Walker 1989 Houston
Domonique Wilkins 1990 Miami
Dee Brown 1991 Charlotte
Cedric Ceballos 1992 Orlando
Harold Miner 1993 Salt Lake City
Isiah Rider 1994 Minnesota
Harold Miner 1995 Phoenix
Brent Barry 1996 San Antonio
Kobe Bryant 1997 Cleveland
Vince Carter 2000 Oakland
Desmond Mason 2001 Washington, D.C.
Jason Richardson 2002 Philadelphia
Jason Richardson 2003 Atlanta
Fred Jones 2004 Los Angeles
Josh Smith 2005 Denver
Nate Robinson 2006 Houston
Gerald Green 2007 Las Vegas
Dwight Howard 2008 New Orleans
Nate Robinson 2009 Phoenix
Nate Robinson 2010 Dallas
Blake Griffin 2011 Los Angeles
Jeremy Evans 2012 Orlando
Terrence Ross 2013 Houston
John Wall 2014 New Orleans
Zach LaVine 2015 New York City
Zach LaVine 2016 Toronto
Glenn Robinson III 2017 New Orleans
Donovan Mitchell 2018 Los Angeles
Hamidou Diallo 2019 Charlotte
Derrick Jones Jr. 2020 Chicago
Anfernee Simons 2021 Atlanta
Obi Toppin 2022 Cleveland
Mac McClung 2023 Utah
Mac McClung 2024 Indianapolis
Mac McClung 2025 San Francisco
NBA Slam Dunk Contest history
In case you were unaware, the first true Slam Dunk Contest did not take place in 1984, which is seen as the first “official” dunk contest in the league’s record books. Instead it debuted nearly 10 years earlier with the American Basketball Association.
The ABA birthed the dunk contest for its own All-Star Game in 1976. The legendary Julius Erving placed first and earned the first-ever dunk contest crown. The league merged with the NBA later that year and the Slam Dunk Contest transitioned to the NBA All-Star Game for the 1976–77 season; Darnell Hillman of the Pacers won but didn’t get a trophy until 2017.
The dunk contest then disappeared until ‘84. That year the NBA held All-Star weekend in Denver, the city which played host to the ABA’s first dunk contest in ‘76, so it was fitting to re-introduce the contest that season. It wound up a huge hit and has been a staple of All-Star activities ever since.
Best Slam Dunk Contests ever
As mentioned above the quality of the Slam Dunk Contest has oscillated over the years. Even so, there are a few that stand out above all others as the very best in the history of the event.
The second official NBA Slam Dunk Contest in ‘85 is a strong contender for one of the better contests in the history of the event. Michael Jordan participated as a rookie and his showing helped vault him to superstardom. It also showed the basketball world what “Air Jordan” really meant. The fact that he got to face off against Dominique Wilkins made it all the better. But their rematch in ‘88 was an even more impressive showing. It brought us Jordan’s famous free throw line dunk and took place in front of a rocking Chicago crowd.
As far as the contest with the actual best dunks go, it’s hard to beat the 2000 Slam Dunk Contest featuring Vince Carter. The Hall of Famer put on an absolutely incredible performance featuring some of the all-time greatest dunks basketball fans will ever see. In some ways his performance might have saved the Slam Dunk Contest as an All-Star staple; the league didn’t hold one in the two seasons prior to Carter’s amazing show.
In the modern era there is no better Slam Dunk Contest than the ‘16 face-off between Zach LaVine and Aaron Gordon. Both stars were capable of jumping through the roof and brought a sincere creativity to the floor not seen since Gerald Green blew out a candle on the back of the rim nearly a decade prior. Gordon’s under-the-legs dunk while jumping over the Magic mascot is an indelible image in the history of the Slam Dunk Contest.
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