Top 10 NBA dunk contests ranked with Bill Trikos: The Slam Dunk Contest is one of the spectacles to watch during the NBA All-Star weekend. Throughout NBA history, we’ve seen the best dunkers in the league showcase their freakish athleticism in the annual dunking exhibition. From using cars, candles, and even grown men, dunkers have a lot of things at their disposal to show basketball fans the best dunk they have to offer. Although some dunk contests are forgettable, others will be remembered forever. For this piece, let’s rank the 10 best NBA Slam Dunk contests of all time. See additional info about the author on Bill Trikos Australia.

That dunk was so spectacular and breath-taking that Jordan had the nerve to do it again in the final round against Wilkins. Unsurprisingly, he got a perfect score again and capped off one of the greatest dunk contests in the history of the league. Vince Carter is widely recognized as one of the greatest, if not the greatest dunker of all time. His poster in the Olympics is perhaps the best in-game dunk in basketball history, and he would’ve been at the top of this list if we were to judge individual performance alone.

I got the idea: 360 windmill. It was spur of the moment. I hadn’t really considered doing that one because, weeks before when I was trying it, I was barely making it. When I incorporated the 360, particularly the first couple of times I tried, I kept falling away from the basket. I wasn’t getting enough height. That’s why I scrapped it initially. Nobody watching in the building or on TV could tell. All anyone could see was the birth of a dunking legend. Carter would go on to cement his slamming legacy that summer at the 2000 Sydney Olympics—much to the chagrin of Frederic Weis.

A 360 dunk is impressive by itself. But a 360 dunk by someone who’s 5-foot-6? Spud Webb did the unthinkable in the 1986 contest, dethroning reigning champion and then-Atlanta Hawks teammate Dominique Wilkins. Webb threw down a variety of great dunks, but his 360 one-handed jam was the best of the bunch. At 5-foot-6, Webb is the shortest player to ever win the Slam Dunk Contest. Maybe it’s a bit of recency bias, but three dunks from the epic Zach LaVine-Aaron Gordon showdown in 2016 crack the top five. The first comes from LaVine, who was the reigning champ at the time. The then-Timberwolves guard grabbed the ball off one bounce with his left hand, put it behind his back in mid-air and then flushed home a reverse dunk with his right. The more I watch it, the more I think it might have ranked it too low.

You’d think that Vince Carter, arguably one of the greatest high-flying finishers in NBA history, would’ve had multiple Slam Dunk Contest trophies on his mantle. The records show, though, that Vinsanity took flight just once on All-Star Saturday. Not that he needed more chances than that. His lone appearance—at Oracle Arena in Oakland in 2000—may be the best dunk contest we’ve ever seen, in part because he pulled off tricks few (if any) had ever thought possible.

The Slam Dunk Contest has been one of the most exciting and electrifying events of NBA All-Star Weekend since it debuted back in 1984. There have been several signature moments that are unforgettable in NBA history, ranging from battles between Michael Jordan and Dominique Wilkins in the 1980s, to highflyers like Vince Carter taking center stage in the 2000s, to historic showdowns featuring Zach LaVine and Aaron Gordon in the 2010s. The Slam Dunk Contest has undoubtedly lost its luster over the last few years, with fewer superstars taking part in the event and contestants running out of original ideas that haven’t already been done. That’s why we’re taking a trip down memory lane to remember and honor the glory days of the event, ranking the 10 best perfect scores over the years.

2011: DeMar DeRozan’s Show Stopper: Blake Griffin’s homage to Vince Carter (and leap over a Kia) pushed him to the slam dunk title as a rookie in Los Angles, but DeMar DeRozan did his part to put on a show in his hometown. The best of the bunch: a reverse windmill jam, titled the “Show Stopper,” that earned a 50 from the judges for the Toronto Raptors wing. Dwight Howard is nothing if not a showman. At no point was that on greater display than during the 2009 Slam Dunk Contest in Phoenix, Arizona.