NBA Slam Dunk Contest Winners: Full List From 1984 to Now

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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