Slam Dunk Contest
The NBA 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. Sports Illustrated wrote "the dunk contest was the best halftime invention since the bathroom."
Obi Toppin in the 2022 dunk contest | |
| Sport | Basketball |
|---|---|
| Competition | National Basketball Association |
| Discipline | Dunking |
| Sponsored by | AT&T |
| History | |
| First award | Larry Nance, 1984 |
| Most wins | Nate Robinson: 3 times |
| Most recent | Mac McClung, 2023 |
| Website | NBA AT&T Slam Dunk |
The contest was conceived of and started by the American Basketball Association (ABA) for its 1976 ABA All-Star Game in Denver. The winner was Julius Erving of the New York Nets. As a result of the ABA–NBA merger later that year, the contest moved to the NBA for the 1976-77 season.
There was not another slam dunk contest at the professional level until 1984. 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.