NBA All-Star Slam Dunk Contest: Top 10 All-Time Winners

Even though Blake Griffin has pulled out and LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and other high-flyers won't be competing as well, the Slam Dunk Contest still is one of the All-Star weekend's greatest and most exciting events.

While this year's field of Utah's Jeremy Evans, Indiana's Paul George, Minnesota's Derrick Williams and Houston's Chase Budinger doesn't have the star power of years past, that doesn't mean one of these relative unknowns won't emerge as memorable.

In the meantime, let's take a run down memory lane and pick the 10 greatest dunkers to participate in the event.

Honorable Mention: Blake Griffin

You just knew Blake was going to get it.

The most exciting highlight of last year's All-Star weekend was Blake Griffin's creative dunk. He won by jumping over a car as he caught Baron Davis's alley-oop lob out of the sun roof.

OK, so he only jumped over the bonnet of the car. It was still good enough for everyone in the arena to believe he could fly. Blake also rolled out an impressive array of other dunks, including a 10 out of 10, a 360, a tornado of a windmill, and a honey dip dunk, where he went deeper into the jar than Vince Carter ever did.

Runner-up Javale McGee was also incredible, dunking two balls in two baskets, then jamming three balls in one go. DeMar DeRozen also dipped into his bag of tricks, and Serge Ibaka represented Africa to the full, raising flags, saving kids' toys with his teeth and jumping from farther away from the free-throw line than Michael Jordan and the good Doctor, Julius Erving, ever did.

10. Isaiah Rider

Who shot J.R. that night in '94? Whoever did got the perfect picture, as Rider took it back 10 years to the 1980s and Orlando Woolridge. Rider rode the baseline and put it between his legs before he planted it in the hoop at the dunk contest in Minnesota, representing his Timberwolves.

It's a shame that his playing career was also a royal flush. At one time, he could have been king. At least for that evening, he was on the throne.

9. Harold Miner

Sure, his NBA career wasn't what people expected, but boy, did Minor make a major mark on the dunk contest.

He never may have been the heir to Michael Jordan's throne, but he is in the elite company of "Like Mike"  dunkers who have won the contest more than once.

Plus, his between-the-legs reverse always will be rewound on NBA-TV and YouTube for decades to come. That's a lasting legacy.

8. Dee Brown

Gerald Green paid homage to Boston history with a little help from Nate Robinson and won the 2007 dunk contest by looking to the past and covering his eyes.

Still as good as the Celtics' Green was, nothing beats an original. When Dee Brown took off and covered both eyes with his forearm, he not only dunked but changed the way the dunk contest was seen in the NBA.

From then on, a new style of complicated dunks was ushered in. So we take our hand a little higher over our eyes and salute Dee.

7. Kobe Bryant

Kobe's one of those guys that you wish you'd see more of in the dunk contest, especially in his air-balling, skyrocketing, pre-'fro early days.

These days the dunk contest seems as fashionable as throwback jerseys, but both still are cool. They both like to be enjoyed, but not tried on. Kobe has been one of the most upstanding spectators for performances like Dwight Howard's in 2008.

Still, in 1996, it was this bald-headed rookie who was getting the fans out of their seats. He didn't even take off his warm-ups before executing a complicated reverse jam. Still, it was no sweat. It was just Kobe.

6. Nate Robinson

If it wasn't for Spud Webb before him, Nate would have been higher. Still, this little man with big hops leads all winners as the only player to win the contest three times.

OK, so popular consensus might not have liked the win last year, but everybody loved what Nate was doing en route to his first win in 2006, despite those who thought Andre Igudola should have been the reigning rim-rocker.

In a new decade where tribute dunks have become the trend, Nate did one better and jumped over his idol, the small but big-dunk legend Spud Webb.

Then two years later, Robinson went one better, donning the New York Knicks St.-Patrick green and some florescent green trainers to form ''Krypto-Nate.'' Superman Dwight Howard had met his match as Nate the great cleared him and took off to the rim.

After Robinson dunked over Howard, he performed a little dance that told the crowd, it's over. He may not be in the contest this year, but best believe he will be missed, no matter what they say.

5. Spud Webb

The original, small man was there decades before Nate and even defeated teammate and superior slammer Dominique Wilkins one year.

Spud amazed the crowd with his dunks. He bounced the ball and jumped like he had electric springs in his step. His dunks have all sorts of fans from his performance in the arena in 1986 all the way to Internet blogs today.

At 5'7", Webb looked like a child dunking the peach, but still showed he had the potatoes to risk looking like a fool in front of millions. What the audience witnessed, however, was genius and a dunking revolution.

4. Dominique Wilkins

When it came to the dunk, Dominique dominated. Thanks to epic battles with Michael Jordan, he made the contest more than just exciting. He made it interesting.

Taking the crown 26 years ago in '86, every dunk from this soaring Hawk, even in losing contests, was classic like the American Eagle.

As Wilkins spread his wings, his dunk was expanded into the basketball world. He may have done this in games every night, but in the dunk contest he was able to show it in all its glory, victory or not.

3. Vince Carter

Vince Carter may be one of the most important slam-dunk winners of all time.

Why?

Because with Air Jordan gone and the contest on a two-year hiatus, Air Canada needed to really arrive in Oakland for the new millennium...and, boy, did he ever arrive.

He brought a tornado reaction with his windmill, had people spinning with his 360 and brought people like bees to his sweet, honey dip. He nearly broke his arm on that play.

These where the type of moments that made a man who is now the most hated in Toronto one of the most popular basketball players of all time.

His dunks were so good that he made us forget about Steve Francis's great stuffs and those of cousin and then teammate Tracy McGrady.

Still, when T-Mac threw the alley and Vince got it between his legs for the oop, Carter's reaction to the camera was all she wrote.

Vinsane!

2. Dwight Howard

Dun, Dun, DUUUUUUUUUUUUH!

Just when you thought it was over for the copycat, routine dunk contest, Dwight Howard channelled Vince Carter's redefinition and revolutionized the dunk contest in 2008.

The previous year, Dwight stickered a 12-foot, bible-belting slam, but '08 would be a real testament to his pure power. Not only did he show poise and finesse by tapping the ball of the glass to himself and slamming it home, the big joker also drew trademark smiles by switching from a small basket to a bigger one.

Still, the real big one of the night was when he donned a Superman vest and cape and took off from the free-throw line. He flew so high he literally threw the ball in the hoop.

A year later, he went one better and dunked on a 12-foot rim and entertained everyone from Phoenix to the rest of the world. 'Krypto-Nate' may have beaten him fair and square, but at the end of the day without Superman, Lex Luthor would have no challenge.

1. Michael Jordan

Mike is the best-ever period in any game (well, maybe not rounders). Back-to-back in 1987 and 1988, Mike showed the NBA that the real highlight of the All-Star weekend might just be on a Saturday.

Mike dueled, duked and dunked it out with Dominique, turning him into the dunk-contest version of the Los Angeles Lakers versus Jordan's Boston Celtics. In beating all his opponents, Mike didn't just give us a show, he put on a clinic. Even doctors and scientists couldn't figure out how this man did what he did.

Even if you argue that there have been better dunks, try and think of what image best represents the contest,(or hey, even Jordan's career) than the one of him taking off from the free-throw line with his arm raised, legs cocked and gold chain glistening as he flew to the hoop.

Can't think of anything? That's because the whole reason you watch this sport and even want to dunk begins with this man.

With that, this ends here.