Reviews for the 2024 Slam Dunk Contest are in, and minus some solid dunks by the now back-to-back champion, Mac McClung, fans are not thrilled with the performances of this year's participants. This is especially true because many feel the contest was predetermined to have Jaylen Brown make it to the final round.
The Slam Dunk Contest is meant to be a spectacle that has all NBA fans tuning in and on the edge of their seats, but it hasn't worked out that way in recent years. Complaints about the event have been expressed loudly because of a lack of star power, uncreative dunks, and now, poor judging.
Underwhelming Slam Dunk Contests have become all too common in recent years during NBA All-Star Weekend, and unfortunately, the 2024 version of the competition was once again a disappointment despite high expectations. It was far from the first Slam Dunk Contest that didn't live up to the hype, though.
Although there have been tons of iconic moments, dunks, and overall Slam Dunk Contest competitions, there has been a fair share of bad as well. We decided to rank the five worst iterations of the event ever.
5. 1993 Slam Dunk Contest
The Slam Dunk Contest was a major hit in its early days. Julius Erving and David Thompson put on a show in the ABA's first dunk contest, which was capped off by Philadelphia 76ers legend famously dunking from the free throw line. When the NBA permanently implemented the dunk contest, stars like Dominique Wilkins and Michael Jordan were putting on a show for fans.
Wilkins won the competitions in 1985 and again in 1990, and his second win seemingly marked the end of the NBA's best players partaking in the event. The competition started to get worse and worse in the '90s, and the 1993 edition of the Slam Dunk Contest was the best example of this.
Harold Miner, Clarence Weatherspoon, Cedric Ceballos, David Benoit, Tim Perry, Kenny Smith, and Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf were the contestants. Only the ladder two of those seven were noteworthy NBA players, and neither of them made it past the first round. Additionally, Abdul-Rauf – known as Chris Jackson at the time – had never completed an in-game dunk before, and it showed in his performance.
The year prior, Ceballos won the contest partly because of a blindfolded dunk he converted on. While his visual impairment in that one is questioned, it was still a memorable dunk. The 1993 Slam Dunk Contest didn't allow props of any sort, though, which led to a bland and boring contest that lacked in the creativity department.
Many of the converted dunks had already been performed in previous years, and it left a lot to be desired.
4. 2021 Slam Dunk Contest
Many people have already forgotten who the winner of the 2o21 Slam Dunk Contest was. Anfernee Simons won the event over the likes of Obi Toppin and Cassius Stanley. This was the only edition of the event with as few as three participants, but that wasn't necessarily by design. Nearly everyone who was extended an invite declined to perform in the event.
That led to an underwhelming contest with players who were clearly not among the best dunkers or biggest names in the league at the time. Some of the dunks this year were solid, but the lack of participants and the fact that this took place during the COVID-19 pandemic, meaning there were no fans, meant the atmosphere and hype of this event were at an all-time low.
3. 2004 Slam Dunk Contest
Jason Richardson – a dunking legend- was looking to three-peat in 2004. He had some good moments early, but he choked late, which led to the worst Slam Dunk Contest ending ever.
In the final round, Richardson and Fred Jones exchanged misses, which led to Jones winning based off of his third dunk attempt. The default win was as anti-climatic as things could get, but there were also some questionable scoring decisions that put a damper on this dunk contest.
2. 2022 Slam Dunk Contest
The was the second Slam Dunk Contest in a two-year period to make this list, as the late 2010s through early 2020s have been the worst era of the event hosted during All-Star Weekend. Many critics, including Stephen A. Smith, consider this to be the worst iteration of the contest in the league's history.
Obi Toppin was back in the event despite disappointing the year prior, and he came out victorious because everyone else was even worse than he was. There were way too many missed dunks in this event by Toppin's opponents: Juan Toscano-Anderson, Cole Anthony, and especially Jalen Green.
Bad Slam Dunk Contests are usually quickly forgotten, but NBA fans have not forgotten Green's missed attempt after missed attempt and Anthony taking forever to put on Timberland boots before punching in an uninspiring dunk on his third attempt.
1. 1997 Slam Dunk Contest
The 1997 Slam Dunk Contest basically led to the event not existing. All-Star Weekend had the competition in every season starting in 1984, but after a letdown in 1997, the league replaced the dunking competition with an event called 2Ball in 1998. There was also no Slam Dunk Contest in 1999, as the All-Star Game as a whole was scrapped due to the NBA lockout.
Rookie Kobe Bryant was meant to show off his dunking skills in 1997, and he was the exact type of young star the event needed. Unfortunately, it wasn't his best showing. It was also all of his opponent's worst showing, as Bryant did enough to be crowned as champion because no one else had an even average performance.
On top of Bryant, Ray Allen, Michael Finley, Bob Sura, Chris Carr, and Darvin Hamm all attempted pretty routine dunks, and they didn't even make all of them. The group blew dunk attempt after dunk attempt, and Bryant basically won by default. Nearly every contestant attempted basic windmill dunks, and they all blew their opportunities.
During the entire night, the crowd was noticeably bored, and this Slam Dunk Contest nearly marked the end of the event if it wasn't saved by a Vince Carter masterclass in 2000.
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