Back In The Day NBA

NBA Great Explains Conspiracy Behind Michael Jordan Winning 1988 Dunk Contest

Shandel Richardson

Bulls guard Michael Jordan and Suns forward Charles Barkley face off in the 1993 NBA Finals.
Bulls guard Michael Jordan and Suns forward Charles Barkley face off in the 1993 NBA Finals. / Rob Schumacher/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
In this story:

Former NBA player Dwight Howard is no stranger to controversy. And he's back at it again. Howard recently caused a stir during an appearance on the PBD podcast last week. He started off by saying he was better than Michael Jordan in the dunk contest.

Jordan won the event twice while Howard was a one-time winner.

"I had more dunks than Michael for the dunk contest," Howard said. "What did Michael do in the dunk contest. He did the free throw line dunk and the windmill from outside the paint. That's easy."

Howard took the critique to another level with the next claim. Jordan was part of one of the most controversial dunk contests in league history. In 1988, he defeated Dominique Wilkins in the finals. Many felt Wilkins won because he had lots of powerful, new dunks. Jordan, meanwhile, earned a 50 for doing his signature free-throw line dunk for a second straight year.

Howard said Wilkins was robbed. He then offered the reason for the snub. At the time, Jordan was in the middle of building his Nike endorsement empire. He was arguably the most popular athlete in all of sports. The Nike Jordan Brand is still thriving today.

"He wasn't supposed to [win]," Howard said of Jordan. "Dominique won but they gave it to Mike. Nike cannot see anybody outside of Nike winning."

MORE BACK IN THE DAY HOOPS COVERAGE

Webber weighs in on LeBron James' recent comments

T-Mac makes shocking claim about Kobe

Another ex-NBA player goes after Stephen A. Smith over Memphis comments

Published
Shandel Richardson
SHANDEL RICHARDSON

Shandel has covered the NBA since 2010, with previous stops at The Athletic and South Florida Sun-Sentinel. He has covered six NBA Finals, one Super Bowl, the NCAA basketball tournament. He has also been a beat writer for the Miami Hurricanes and contributed on every major beat in South Florida since 2003, including the Miami Dolphins and Miami Marlins. He can also be read in the Sportsbook Review for gambling coverage from around the NBA. A native of Bloomington, Illinois, Shandel attended Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. He's also worked for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Kansas City Star. TWITTER: @ShandelRich EMAIL: shandelrich@gmail.com You can subscribe to our YouTube channel here Follow all of our Miami Heat coverage on Facebook here