dwight howard has the most slam dunk contest wins.
dwight howard has the most slam dunk contest wins.
who has the most slam dunk contest wins?
dwight howard
historically, the dunk contest drew some mild criticisms. one is that players who often compete in these contests are seen as dunkers only (with the obvious exceptions of michael jordan, kobe bryant, and julius erving), which is why notable high flying athletes like shawn marion and lebron james have sometimes refused to participate. high-profile players such as dwyane wade and charles barkley have also declined to participate citing it as an unnecessary risk to injury. in the 2000 nba slam dunk contest, tracy mcgrady injured his wrist while performing a dunk. also in the 1995 nba slam dunk contest, tony dumas hurt his knee while performing his "texas twister" dunk. although a longtime critic, lebron james said he would perform in the 2010 slam dunk contest. this decision was made after watching the 2009 dunk contest when dwight howard and nate robinson went at it. however, he withdrew his statement once the all-star weekend came around.
slam dunk contest
in 1990, dominique wilkins of the atlanta hawks edged out kenny smith of the sacramento kings to win his second slam dunk contest (first won in 1985 over michael jordan). kenny smith scored high points for originality with his signature dunk – he started by turning his back to the basket, bouncing the ball backward between his legs and off the backboard, then turning and grabbing it in the air and reverse dunking it. after 1990, interest in the slam dunk contest began to wane and lasted throughout the 1990s. initially, it was because many players lost interest in competing; some cited concerns of injuries, while others felt that the full repertoire of humanly possible dunks had already been exhausted. with most of the superstars – jordan, wilkins, drexler, etc. – choosing not to participate, lesser-known players began to compete, leading to either watered-down competitions or surprises. fans complained that players were beginning to win contests with boring or unoriginal dunks (witness the relatively forgettable early-'90s wins by the likes of cedric ceballos and brent barry). harold miner was a standout in 1993, winning the contest with a reverse power dunk, reaching between his legs and down to his feet in mid-air before sending the ball down. in 1994 and 1997 respectively, isaiah rider and kobe bryant won the contest. rider would win with a spectacular, between-the-legs dunk, reminiscent of the orlando woolridge effort in the 1984 contest, but wasn't able to repeat in 1995, missing the same dunk on several tries, opening the way for miner to grab his second slam dunk title in three years. in 1998, the slam dunk contest was replaced with the wnba-nba 2ball contest. in 1999, there was no all-star game due to the nba lockout.
slam dunk contest