Nba 2k8 Dunk Contest

[Chapin Ratte]

TheNBA Slam Dunk Contest (officially known as the AT&T Slam Dunk) is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) competition held during the NBA All-Star Weekend.[1] Sports Illustrated wrote "the dunk contest was the best halftime invention since the bathroom."[2][3]

There was not another slam dunk contest at the professional level until 1984.[5] The contest has adopted several formats over the years, including, until 2014, the use of fan voting, via text-messaging, to determine the winner of the final round. The current champion of the Slam Dunk Contest is Mac McClung of the Osceola Magic.[6]

There was a format each competitor had to follow in which they must attempt five dunks in a row under two minutes, with the clock stopping after each shot to allow the player to plan their next attempt.[9][8] One required dunk was from a standing position under the basket, and another from a distance of ten feet away from the basket in the foul lane.[9][8] The next three required dunks were freestyle positions, one coming in from the left side of the basket, one coming in from the right side of the basket, and finally from either corner down the baseline to the basket.[9][8] At the contest, it was announced that the competitors were judged on artistic ability, body flow, fan response, and imagination, earning up to ten points in each category.[8] There were $1,200 in prizes provided by the Denver Nuggets and KHOW radio station.[8]

There were five competitors: Artis "A-Train" Gilmore of the Kentucky Colonels went first followed by George "Iceman" Gervin of the San Antonio Spurs, Larry "Special K" Kenon of the San Antonio Spurs, David "Skywalker" Thompson of the Denver Nuggets, and finally Julius "Dr. J" Erving of New York Nets.[2][9]

All competitors had to perform a dunk from ten feet, but Julius Erving started marking his steps from the free throw line which is fifteen feet away.[2][5] Erving then completed a dunk from the free throw line, winning the contest.[9][5] He said, "I just wanted to make a nice, soaring play that would get the fans out of their seats. I really started going at half court and got a good running start and made sure that I made the shot authoritatively."[7]

In 1976, Arthur Erhat filed a patent for "a rim that had give but immediately returned to its original position," making dunking safe for the first time by significantly reducing the shattering of backboards.[10] That year, NBA held its first Slam Dunk Contest as a one-off, season-long event similar to NBA Horse event held the following season.[11][4] During halftime at each game, there was a one-on-one slam dunk competition.[12]

The NBA reintroduced the Slam Dunk Contest on a permanent basis as a free-standing event during All-Star Weekend in 1984 at its birthplace in Denver.[5] Phoenix's Larry Nance defeated the original Dunk contest winner Julius Erving in the final round. Dominique Wilkins won the contest the following year, but in 1986 his Atlanta Hawks teammate Spud Webb made history when he defeated Wilkins in the final, preventing him from retaining his title.[11] Standing a mere 5 feet 6 inches tall, Webb became the shortest player ever to win the contest, a distinction that he still holds. Chicago's Michael Jordan won back-to-back dunk contest victories in 1987 and in 1988.[11] His victory over Wilkins in 1988 in Chicago finished with a perfect 50 dunk from the free-throw line for his third dunk to win the contest. However, the announcers did note that Wilkins was given abnormally low score for his breathtaking third dunk, a 45, allowing Jordan to win it by 2 with his perfect 50. To this day, the allegations of "home cooking" still float around surrounding the event (it was held on Jordan's home court; one of the judges was former Chicago Bears star Gale Sayers; and another judge, former NBA star Tom Hawkins, is a Chicago native) and until the competition in 2020, was considered arguably the most controversial of the slam dunk competitions. Extensive debate continues whether Wilkins 3rd dunk should have scored higher than a 45 and whether Jordan's second dunk, which scored a 47, was a superior creative effort to Wilkins third dunk. The following year in Houston would have been the first time where all the previous dunk champs would've faced off against each other; but Jordan, Wilkins, and Nance, who were going to play in the All-Star Game that Sunday, decided to skip the contest due to minor injuries. New York's Kenny "Sky" Walker, a last-minute replacement whose father died just days beforehand, upset Portland's Clyde "The Glide" Drexler, the hometown favorite and Houston native who was seen as the favorite to win. 1986 champ Spud Webb finished 3rd, while Shelton Jones finished 4th.[14]

The NBA brought the Slam Dunk Contest back for the 2000 All-Star Weekend in Oakland, California. The 2000 contest was widely acclaimed, featuring a showdown between eventual winner Vince Carter of the Toronto Raptors, his cousin and then-teammate Tracy McGrady, and the Houston Rockets' Steve Francis. Carter won after performing a number of very impressive dunks, including two 360 windmills, a honey dip, and a between-the-legs dunk off a bounced alley-oop from McGrady.[15][16] The next four contests did not feature superstars like Carter and Bryant, and despite innovative efforts by the likes of Desmond Mason and Jason Richardson, the lack of A-list superstars willing to participate hurt the appeal of the contest.

In 2005, the Slam Dunk Contest returned to its birthplace in Denver. With the spectacular dunks of prior contests, there was buzz[citation needed] that the dunk competition could regain the popularity it had in the 1980s. The Phoenix Suns' Amar'e Stoudemire alley-ooping 360 off a soccer-style header from teammate Steve Nash; J. R. Smith putting it around his back and dunking, and the new champion, Josh Smith alley-ooping over Kenyon Martin all wowed the crowd with their maneuvers. With the change in the rules requiring an additional teammate starting in the second round, they proved there were indeed many ways to dunk a basketball that had not been done before. Amar'e Stoudemire received rave reviews, as did Smith when he did a tribute dunk to Dominique Wilkins while donning Wilkins' jersey.

Again in 2006, the Dunk Contest in Houston revitalized the interests of audiences as 5'9" Nate Robinson of the New York Knicks took the title with a great dunk-off. One of his most exciting dunks was a high-flying dunk over former Slam Dunk Contest winner, 5'7" Spud Webb. The 2006 Slam Dunk Contest was also the first Dunk Contest in history to have a "Dunk Off", the equivalent to a Dunk Contest overtime, between Knicks point guard Nate Robinson and shooting guard Andre Iguodala of the Philadelphia 76ers. Many fans argue that Iguodala should have won the contest, as it took Robinson fourteen attempts before finally completing his dunk. Iguodala pulled off a dunk where he started out of bounds from the right side of the baseline while teammate Allen Iverson bounced the ball off the back of the right side of the backboard. Iguodala caught the ball in mid-air behind the backboard, spun around to the other side while ducking his head (to avoid colliding with the backboard) and dunked it with his right hand.

On February 16, 2008, the contest was held in New Orleans. Judges for the event included Darryl Dawkins, Dominique Wilkins, Karl Malone, Julius Erving, and Magic Johnson. The title was taken by Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard. Howard's most noteworthy dunk came during the first round, his second dunk overall, when he took off his jersey to reveal a Superman shirt and cape.[18] With teammate Jameer Nelson's assistance he would make a leaping dunk from just in front of the free-throw line after a running start, throwing the ball through the rim from a few feet away.[19] Other noteworthy dunks included the first round slam by Jamario Moon while the previous year's winner, Gerald Green, relied heavily on theatrics by blowing out a cupcake with a birthday candle on the rim before dunking (a jam he termed "The Birthday Cake"). For the first time ever, fan voting determined the outcome of the final round of the contest; Howard beat Green for the trophy by claiming 78% of the fans' votes.

Nate Robinson won the 2010 contest on February 13 in Dallas, becoming the first 3-time Slam Dunk champion.[11] Robinson took on Shannon Brown of the Los Angeles Lakers, Gerald Wallace of the Charlotte Bobcats, and DeMar DeRozan of the Toronto Raptors. DeRozan earned his spot in the competition by defeating Los Angeles Clippers guard Eric Gordon in the inaugural Sprite Slam Dunk-In held the night before the actual dunk contest. Robinson and DeRozan advanced to the final round, where Robinson's double-pump reverse dunk helped seal a 51% to 49% victory.

Blake Griffin won the 2011 slam dunk contest by jumping and dunking over the hood of a Kia sedan on February 19 in Los Angeles. JaVale McGee of the Washington Wizards, DeMar DeRozan of the Toronto Raptors, and Serge Ibaka of the Oklahoma City Thunder all competed against Griffin. Griffin and McGee advanced to the final round, where Griffin stole the show, winning the contest with 68% of the vote.

Jeremy Evans won the 2012 Sprite Slam Dunk Contest by performing a dunk over Kevin Hart on February 25 in Orlando, Florida with 29% of the votes. Joining Evans were Chase Budinger of the Houston Rockets, Paul George of the Indiana Pacers, and Derrick Williams of the Minnesota Timberwolves. While George awed the crowd with a dunk with the lights turned off, Evans had perhaps the dunk of the contest by jumping teammate Gordon Hayward, catching two balls from Hayward, and dunking it.

Terrence Ross won the 2013 Sprite Slam Dunk Contest after a tomahawk dunk in tribute to former Toronto Raptors player Vince Carter, as well as a between-the-legs dunk performed while jumping over a ball boy. Ross took on Jeremy Evans of the Utah Jazz, Eric Bledsoe of the Los Angeles Clippers, Kenneth Faried of the Denver Nuggets, Gerald Green of the Indiana Pacers, and James White of the New York Knicks. Evans advanced to the final round to defend his title of slam dunk champion, but was thwarted by Ross. Ross carried the momentum of his near-perfect first round, in which he scored a 99 out of a possible 100, with a stellar final round. Ross won the competition decisively, earning 58% of the vote.

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