10 NBA Players That Could Challenge Blake Griffin for Dunk Contest Title

Last year after watching the NBA Dunk Contest, most people fell into one of two categories. They were either; a) fine with everything that went on and were happy with Blake Griffin as their King of Dunks, or b) slightly outraged that such an average dunk over the hood of a car would be the dunk most remembered from that year.

I like to think that I'm fine with Griffin winning the dunk contest, after all, JaVale McGee struggled in the second round and was unable to live up to his amazing first round. However, I can't help but continue to remember that DeMar DeRozan displayed some of the best non-gimmicky dunking that we've seen since the beginning of last decade, and Serge Ibaka was awarded just 45 points for a dunk that was legitimately from behind the free throw line.

Something seemed amiss, although it may have just been me and others like me looking for yet another thing to complain about David Stern and his goon squad tampering with.

I enjoy the antics of Blake Griffin during actual games, but when it comes to the dunk contest, I just don't think he was the best dunker last season. So here are a group of guys that could give him a run for his money if they ended up competing against the big fellow.

10. Serge Ibaka

Serge Ibaka is one of the most intimidatingly powerful big men in the league today, and the athleticism that he displays along with that makes for some extremely awe-inspiring and powerful dunks.

Ibaka failed to impress the judges last season even after dunking from the free throw line like it was nothing but a dunk from five feet away from the hoop. He just made it look too easy and pedestrian.

However, I'm confident that after being in the dunk contest once, Ibaka would be able to come up with something to beat Griffin at his own game.

9. Kenneth Faried

For some reason, people really enjoy high-energy guys with wild hair, it's two things that just go together naturally. You see a guy sprinting up the floor to slow down a transition bucket and he's got a mane flowing behind him and you're just enthralled.

Kenneth Faried is a guy like that, only he brings that energy everywhere he goes, including up into the air.

Faried already has one of the most impressive dunks of the year on this alley-oop fast break from last week, and he made it look easy and exciting at the same time.

People would like to see the high-intensity and powerfully athletic Faried sprinting around the court on All-Star Weekend while just looking for something to top his last dunk.

8. Amar'e Stoudemire

Amar'e Stoudemire may be a bit creakier than when he competed in the dunk contest back in 2003 and 2005, but he still dunks with an amazing amount of power combined with finesse.

There's something about the way he glides when he goes up for a dunk that is just mesmerizing. It's almost enchanting the way he can just linger in the air for what seems like a tad longer than he should be able to, which gives his dunk a bit of flare that overly powerful dunks don't have.

Given the right motivation (that's the big kicker here with Amar'e, who probably wouldn't just do it to do it, there would have to be something behind it) Amar'e could pull a few tricks to take down the mighty Griffin.

7. Josh Smith

For whatever reason, guys that do things with a bit of an attitude in the dunk contest seem to fare better. Add an emphatic grunt on the end of your dunk or just scowl a bit afterward and it makes the dunk seem just a tad bit cooler.

Josh Smith, with all the power of LeBron James and nearly as much athleticism would come in and put down dunks ferocious enough to make you fear for the safety of the rim, but at the end of the contest, he could easily be the one hoisting the trophy over his head.

6. Derrick Rsoe

Having the latest superstar to don a Chicago Bulls uniform would do wonders for the basketball world, and Derrick Rose would have a legitimate chance at winning if he decided to throw down the gauntlet in the dunk contest.

He's a quick-footed fellow who can get up to the rim in a heartbeat and slam the ball home with a fair amount of power when compared to the average guy his size, plus he's on the shorter end of the dunkers spectrum, and people always tend to like smaller dunkers.

Get him into the final round and then have him tear off his jersey revealing a Michael Jordan jersey underneath and pull off something like this and all of Chicago will be calling in and voting for Rose, as if they weren't already.

5. Nate Robinson

Sure, we don't really know if Nate can still get up there like he once did, as he's nearly two years removed from his last dunk contest, and that's one of the only points in a season that he actually dunk, but I think as long as he still has the hops he has the power to bring down the big man.

For whatever reason, people love to see the little man dunk, and when it's a guy with a flare for the dramatic like Nate Robinson doing the dunking, it becomes that much more entertaining.

Nate may not be as good a dunker as he once was, but put him out on the floor and have him start dunking and I'm confident that people will want to vote for him as much as they ever did, giving him a shot to take down Griffin.

4. DeMar DeRozan

When it comes to straight up dunking ability, DeMar DeRozan may very well be the best dunker in the NBA. The only problem is that fans today want to see something gimmicky come along with a dunk in the contest, and DeRozan refuses to conform to the new dunking mentality.

He's truly got the mentality of an old-school(ish) dunker like Vince Carter or Tracy McGrady, or even the guys that came before them.

DeRozan was robbed in 2010 when he lost a popularity vote to Nate Robinson and he was robbed last year when Blake Griffin took the second spot in the finals over him, but give him one more shot and I think he could step it up even further to the point where he couldn't be denied his title.

3. JaVale McGee

If you want somebody who's going to go step for step with Blake with the new-aged gimmicky dunks, then look no further than JaVale McGee.

We're talking about the guy that dunked with three balls and the guy dunked on two hoops in the same dunk contest. The only problem is that he ran out of steam at the end there and couldn't match the same level of intensity that he displayed in the first round.

Give him another shot and I'm sure he would bring his "A" game for both rounds instead of just fizzling out in the end again.

2. Dwight Howard

Dwight Howard may have semi-formally retired from the dunk contest, but that doesn't mean I can't dream about him coming back, creating the showdown of the best two big man dunkers since Shawn Kemp.

Howard won the dunk contest once himself until Nate Robinson came and derailed that train, as everybody likes to see a little man dunk.

Still, bring Howard back into the dunk contest and I'm sure he makes it to the final round against Blake, and from there it's all a question of who wants to be the champion more, and in this case I think it would be Dwight.

1. LeBron James

The majority of the basketball world may continue to view LeBron James in a negative light, but almost everyone out there still likes to see him dunk.

The strange thing is that his highlight reel dunks have been fewer and farther between lately, as he usually just sticks to a tested and true old windmill or just a power slam when he ends up on a fast break. However, when the crowd is jacked up and the energy from the game is flowing, he pulls something out that just brings down the house.

We need to get a feud going between the two, because if LeBron gets goaded enough, he just may want to take some of the attention away from Blake Griffin, although this seems to be a highly unlikely scenario as the years go along.

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