Media, former players and A-list celebrities of all kinds will descend on New Orleans to witness the best talent the NBA has to offer compete in the 2014 All-Star Game. It will be the 63rd All-Star Game in the league’s history, and in the years since the first contest was held in the iconic Boston Garden in 1951, the event has grown from a single-day experience into a three-day extravaganza known as NBA All-Star Weekend.
All-Star Weekend has given rise to competitions such as the Slam Dunk Contest, the Three-Point Shootout and the Rising Stars game. Over the years, there have been more than a few incredible performances from in these competitions, courtesy of some of the greatest players to ever set foot on the hardwood.
What follows is a list of the greatest of these performances from the competitions during All-Star Weekend (including the All-Star Game itself, of course), based on a combination of performance and memorability. If you think I missed one, let me know in the comments section. Let’s go!
Dylan Sinn is a freelance contributor for CraveOnline Sports. You can follow him on Twitter @DylanSinn or “like” CraveOnline Sports on Facebook.
Photo Credit: Getty
Greatst All-Star Weekend Performances
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10. Blake Griffin, 2011 Slam Dunk Contest
Staples Center - Los Angeles, CA
Putting this one on the list might offend some old-school fans out there, but Griffin’s performance makes the cut on showmanship alone. This was a hyped contest thanks to the Clippers’ star’s presence. Griffin, just a rookie at the time, had already become a walking YouTube clip thanks to his ferocious dunks, and he lived up to his advance billing with a performance for the ages in front of his own fans.
Griffin threw down a bevy of impressive dunks, including a two-hand 360 slam, an off-the-side-of-the-backboard windmill, and an arm-in-the-rim Vince Carter homage (see No. 5). His final dunk, in which he jumped over a car parked in the lane, is the one everyone who saw it will always remember, and for good reason. The execution of the outrageous stunt was flawless and putting Baron Davis in the car for the pass was genious. The dunk itself wasn’t overly impressive (just over the car’s hood), but it was a moment that has become part of Dunk Contest lore, therefore Griffin gets his place on this list.
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9. Dwight Howard, 2008 Slam Dunk Contest
New Orleans Arena – New Orleans, LA
Everyone remembers Howard’s incredible throw/dunk after he donned a Superman cape, but the hyper-athletic big man’s overall performance was just as impressive. Howard started with a technically beautiful left-handed windmill from behind the backboard. The signature caped throwdown came next and featured the Orlando center taking off from just in front of the free throw line and throwing the ball in from about five feet away while hanging in the air. A less remembered but equally impressive dunk in which Howard tipped the ball off the glass with his left hand and dunked with his right clinched his victory. All three were big-time slams and the Superman dunk was an ultimate “Wow” moment in contest history.
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8. Larry Bird, 1986 Three-Point Shootout
Reunion Arena – Dallas, TX
Bird’s victory in the inaugural Three-Point Shootout (at the time called the Long Distance Shootout) is impressive primarily for one reason: he called it. Before the competition, the former Indiana State star walked into the shooters’ locker room and wondered aloud, according to Craig Hodges, “Man, who’s coming in second?”
At a time when the Three-Point Shootout, (and the 3-pointer in general, which was just seven years old in the NBA in 1986) was under scrutiny in terms of long-term staying-power, Bird’s bravado, and his eventual triumph over Hodges -- including nine makes in a row in the final -- helped lend legitimacy to the fledgling contest. In the end, it was just another chapter in the tale of Larry Legend.
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7. Wilt Chamberlain, 1962 All-Star Game
Kiel Auditorium - St. Louis, MO
This game was played during a time when the All-Star Game was the only attraction of the All-Star break. Chamberlain makes the cut here despite not winning MVP of the game (that went to Bob Pettit) and his East team losing 150-130. The Big Dipper was spectacular in defeat, notching 42 points on 17-for-23 shooting and grabbing 24 rebounds for good measure. Those 42 points are still an All-Star Game record over 50 years later and are a testament to Chamberlain’s statistical mastery. Quick tangent -- It’s a mark of how far the NBA has come in the last half-century that this game was played in a place called Kiel Auditorium in front of just 15,112 fans.
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6. Spud Webb, 1986 Slam Dunk Contest
Reunion Arena – Dallas, TX
Webb’s performance is best described with a 30 for 30-like introduction. “What if I told you a 5-foot-7 guard could beat a man nicknamed the Human Highlight Film and win the Slam Dunk Contest?” The diminutive Webb gave hope to every vertically-challenged kid watching at home and defied both the odds and gravity with his dunks. The Atlanta Hawk threw down a variety of slams, including a 360, and he won the contest with an off-the-backboard one-hander that earned him a perfect 50 in the Finals. Webb’s tremendous vertical leap is more than enough to merit inclusion on this list.
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5. Vince Carter, 2000 Slam Dunk Contest
Oakland Arena - Oakland, CA
The Dunk Contest returned in 2000 after a two-year hiatus due to a perceived lack of variety by participants and Carter, with a little help from teammate and cousin Tracy McGrady, made sure that it wouldn’t be canceled again for years to come. The second-year guard’s dunks included a reverse 360 windmill, a 180 windmill from behind the basket, and a between-the-legs throwdown complete with a skyward point. His best, however, was the “cookie jar” slam in which he dunked and put his entire forearm in the netting, letting his elbow dangle on the rim. Carter never participated in the Dunk Contest again, but once was enough as his skywalking helped give birth to the legend of Vinsanity.
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4. Michael Jordan, 1988 All-Star Game
Chicago Stadium – Chicago, IL
MJ was underwhelming in his first two All-Star appearances, averaging just nine points. In front of the Bulls’ faithful in ’88, however, Jordan stepped up in a big way, dropping 40 points on 17-for-23 shooting and stuffing the stat sheet with eight rebounds, three assists, four blocks and four steals against a West team that featured Magic Johnson, Hakeem Olajuwon and Karl Malone among others. No. 23 captured his first of three All-Star Game MVPs that day as he led the East to a come-from-behind 138-133 win. The 1988 All-Star Weekend went a long way toward legitimizing Jordan’s claim as the best player in the game.
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3. Julius Erving, 1976 ABA Slam Dunk Contest
McNichols Arena – Denver, CO
I’m technically cheating here because this wasn’t technically a contest in an actual NBA All-Star Weekend competition, but it’s impossible to make a list like this without including Dr. J, the man who started it all. The ’76 ABA Slam Dunk Contest was the first official Dunk Contest and took place at halftime of the All-Star Game. Erving threw down several impressive dunks, including one in which he hung on the rim with his left hand and dunked with his right, but he won mostly based on a dunk in which he took off from the free throw line. The move was inconceivable at the time and paved the way for the success of future dunk contests. We salute the dunking pioneer, Mr. Erving and his tremendous ‘70s Afro.
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2. Magic Johnson, 1992 NBA All-Star Game
Orlando Arena – Orlando, FL
Johnson’s performance in his 13th and final All-Star Game was excellent, as he scored 25 points and dished out nine assists to lead the West to a 153-113 win and capture his second career ASG MVP. What really set this performance apart for Johnson, however, was the fact that Magic had been diagnosed with HIV prior to the 1991-92 season. He retired immediately upon hearing the news and the All-Star Game was the only game that he played that season. Barring a 32-game comeback in 1996, it was also the last game Johnson would ever play in the NBA. The all-time great made a three-pointer with 14 seconds left and the game ended there, as the two teams came together to congratulate an emotional Magic. The game, including Johnson’s outstanding performance, was a seminal moment in NBA history.
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1. Michael Jordan, 1988 Slam Dunk Contest
Chicago Stadium – Chicago, IL
Everyone reading knew this would be No. 1. It had to be. Jordan’s victory over a more-than-capable Dominique Wilkins in the finals will long be remembered for pure athleticism and dunking brilliance, and, in Jordan’s case, even some flying. Jordan had some impressive early dunks, such as a reverse pump and a “kiss the rim” windmill, but they paled in comparison to his winning slam, which came, like Erving’s, from the free-throw line. The picture describes Jordan’s greatness better than I ever could. His Airness gets the top spot for teaching everyone that man can indeed, fly.
