The Slam Dunk Contest is arguably the highlight of the NBA’s All-Star Weekend, as the league's most gravity-defying athletes take flight and unleash their creativity in the air.
We've covered all you need to know about the Slam Dunk Contest, including event schedule, participants, scoring, past winners, and more.
The next NBA Slam Dunk Contest is expected to be held on Saturday, February 15, 2025.
The Slam Dunk Contest typically starts between 9 PM and 10 PM ET on All-Star Saturday. It is the final event of All-Star Saturday, taking place after the Skills Challenge and Three-Point Contest.
In the United States, the Slam Dunk Contest is available to watch on TNT.
The announcement of dunk contest participants typically happens around 1-2 weeks before the event itself.
In 2024, the participants were Jaylen Brown (Boston Celtics), Jaime Jaquez Jr. (Miami Heat), Mac McClung (Osceola Magic), and Jacob Toppin (New York Knicks).
With five appearances each, Dominique Wilkins and Clyde Drexler have appeared in the dunk contest more than anyone in the event's history.
The Dunk Contest itself sees each of the contestants attempt two dunks, which are scored out of 10 by a panel of judges. Each dunker has 90 seconds to pull off their attempted dunk, with a limit of three attempts.
The top two scoring players move on to the final round. They attempt two more dunks and the player with the highest score from the judges is named the Dunk Contest champion.
Players go to great lengths to add some flourish to their dunk attempts. They can use props, such as Blake Griffin leaping over a car on his way to the basket in 2011. Players can also jump people, as Aaron Gordon did when he leapt over the 7-5 Tacko Fall in 2020.
The Dunk Contest has five judges, who range from former NBA and WNBA players to celebrities.
Each judge scores each dunk out of 10. The scores are combined to give the player’s total score, which can range anywhere from 0 to 50. The two scores are then combined and the highest-scoring players progress to the final.
The previous scores are wiped for the final, with the finalists attempting two more dunks, with their scores then combined. If the players are level then tie-breakers are used to decide the winner. That happened in a classic 2016 showdown, where Zach LaVine beat Aaron Gordon after two tie-breakers.
Year | Champion | Team |
1984 | Larry Nance | Phoenix Suns |
1985 | Dominique Wilkins | Atlanta Hawks |
1986 | Spud Webb | Atlanta Hawks |
1987 | Michael Jordan | Chicago Bulls |
1988 | Michael Jordan | Chicago Bulls |
1989 | Kenny Walker | New York Knicks |
1990 | Dominique Wilkins | Atlanta Hawks |
1991 | Dee Brown | Boston Celtics |
1992 | Cedric Ceballos | Phoenix Suns |
1993 | Harold Miner | Miami Heat |
1994 | Isaiah Rider | Minnesota Timberwolves |
1995 | Harold Miner | Miami Heat |
1996 | Brent Barry | LA Clippers |
1997 | Kobe Bryant | LA Lakers |
2000 | Vince Carter | Toronto Raptors |
2001 | Desmond Mason | Seattle SuperSonics |
2002 | Jason Richardson | Golden State Warriors |
2003 | Jason Richardson | Golden State Warriors |
2004 | Fred Jones | Indiana Pacers |
2005 | Josh Smith | Atlanta Hawks |
2006 | Nate Robinson | New York Knicks |
2007 | Gerald Green | Boston Celtics |
2008 | Dwight Howard | Orlando Magic |
2009 | Nate Robinson | New York Knicks |
2010 | Nate Robinson | New York Knicks |
2011 | Blake Griffin | LA Clippers |
2012 | Jeremy Evans | Utah Jazz |
2013 | Terrence Ross | Toronto Raptors |
2014 | John Wall | Washington Wizards |
2015 | Zach LaVine | Minnesota Timberwolves |
2016 | Zach LaVine | Minnesota Timberwolves |
2017 | Glen Robinson III | Indiana Pacers |
2018 | Donovan Mitchell | Utah Jazz |
2019 | Hamidou Diallo | Oklahoma City Thunder |
2020 | Derrick Jones Jr. | Miami Heat |
2021 | Anfernee Simons | Portland Trail Blazers |
2022 | Obi Toppin | New York Knicks |
2023 | Mac McClung | Philadelphia 76ers |
2024 | Mac McClung | Osceola Magic |
Name | Number of wins |
Nate Robinson | 3 |
Harold Miner | 2 |
Michael Jordan | 2 |
Jason Richardson | 2 |
Dominique Wilkins | 2 |
Zach LaVine | 2 |
Mac McClung | 2 |
Year | Name | Perfect dunks |
2016 | Zach LaVine | 5 |
2020 | Aaron Gordon | 5 |
2020 | Derrick Jones Jr. | 4 |
1986 | Spud Webb | 3 |
1988 | Michael Jordan | 3 |
2000 | Vince Carter | 3 |
2003 | Jason Richardson | 3 |
2005 | Josh Smith | 3 |
2016 | Aaron Gordon | 3 |
2023 | Mac McClung | 3 |