Blake Griffin: How His Best Dunks Would Score In NBA Slam Dunk Contest

Blake Griffin's been a sensation in the NBA so far. His team might be in the midst of another lottery season, but he's become the league's latest star with his highlight dunks. Griffin has helped revitalize the Clippers (at least in theory), now he'll be faced with revitalizing one of the premier events at All-Star Weekend.

Griffin will be the marquee player in this year's Slam Dunk Contest, as he'll try to put the life back into a contest that was once one of the highlights of the season. Now, save for Dwight Howard pulling a Clark Kent, the event's become played out and unimaginative at best.

So with that in mind, and on the heels of yet another monster dunk last night against Denver, here's how some of Griffin's best dunks would fare in the dunk contest. Like the dunk contest, it'll be rated on a scale from 1-50 (with 50 being the highest score), and it will be based on execution, imagination, and the wow factor.

Here we go...

15. B to B In The Windy City

It's so hard to judge some of these dunks because they're all so impressive. Compared to some of the other one's we've seen from him, this is relatively tame in the presentation. Then you actually watch Griffin reach up almost to the ceiling and throw down a monster dunk.

The reach, the coordination, and the athleticism is amazing. It's a solid score, but he's had better.

Total Score: 38

14. The Court-Wide Alley-Oop

Again, Griffin's had much flashier dunks than this. But the coordination and the athleticism to pull off a move like this, especially since the alley-oop came from clear across the court, makes it impressive. It takes a lot of timing to pull off something like that, and that's not including the hops Griffin shows to almost tuck himself like he was performing a cannon ball.

Total Score: 38

13. Griffin Gets Air Against Golden State

When Griffin moves up and down the floor, he's so tall and so athletic that he almost jogs down the floor. For this dunk in Oakland against the Warriors, he almost effortlessly moves down the floor. Of course, what makes Griffin unique is that he combines that gracefulness with the power and fury of his amazing vertical leap, which shows itself in this alley-oop.

Total Score: 39

12. Griffin's One-Handed Dunk Against Denver

Even before he became a household name for his dunks, Griffin was throwing them down in the preseason the last two years. This dunk about 10 seconds into this highlight package was extremely impressive, considering Griffin was able to get a rebound and throw it back down, all with one hand.

Total Score: 40

11. Griffin Jumps Over Shelden Williams

We can all admit we've seen players jump over other players before, but you'd be hard-pressed to find a player (a power forward at that) jump over and dunk over the back of another power forward, especially someone as big as Shelden Williams. Remarkable power and vertical leap.

Total Score: 40

10. Griffin Finishes On D.J. Mbenga

This dunk was from Griffin's first rookie year, and it's just a great example of the power of Blake Griffin. Griffin was able to completely overpower Mbenga and be able to finish strong on top of it. Speaking of which, i'm surprised more players haven't tried this move in the dunk contest.

Total Score: 40

9. Griffin with The Alley-Oop Over Three Players

It takes a lot of skill to be able to pull off this dunk. First, the ability to go up and get the ball surrounded by three defenders (and Utah's frontcourt isn't small). Second, the freakish athletic ability to not only to catch the pass, but also to reach back almost a mile behind his head and be able to throw down a gigantic dunk.

Total Score: 41

8. Griffin Brings the Thunder

Bad pun aside, the dunk at the beginning of the video is extremely impressive. Not only to be able to get that kind of vertical leap to finish that dunk, but also finishing strong to boot. Tucking the legs to add a little bit of showmanship was a nice little touch as well, especially with the finish.

Total Score: 41

7. Griffin Takes Off Against Houston

Again, I apologize for the bad pun, but it's hard to think of many more superlatives when you're watching videos of Griffin throwing down monster dunks. This one, on an alley-oop against Houston, was another one-handed gem. I'm still trying to figure out how any player has the strength and athleticism to do that with only hand.

Total Score: 42

6. Griffin Embarrasses Danilo Gallinari

What else can you say.

First the spin move and crossover to get Gallinari completely turned around and out of the play. Then the leap to completely clear Gallinari's futile attempt to block Griffin before he's almost jumped over. And that's with Gallinari's back turned to Griffin. And then, like any great dunk, the ball bounces off of Gallinari at the end for good measure.

Total Score: 43

5. What a Debut

It seems like we've heard this so many times already, but how can he do that with one hand? Unreal, remarkable, outstanding. I'm just at a loss for words after some of these dunks.

Total Score: 44

4. Griffin's Latest Eye-Popper

How much more can you really say?

That's something you'd see in a video game. He hangs in the air and pauses for almost a second, before he throws down another one-handed dunk against the Nuggets. The power, the agility, the vertical leap. It's one of the best dunks I've ever seen.

Total Score: 45

3. the Reverse Behind the Back

Griffin is not a small guy, that's what makes his skill set so spell-bounding. But a lot of the dunks we've seen have been of the alley-oop variety. This dunk shows off his post moves and his nifty ball handling. That's before he pulls a reverse under the rim windmill that has the entire building out of their collective seats.

Total Score: 46

2. Blake Griffin, Skywalker

This is another one from the 2009-2010 preseason, and if anyone was doubting the ability of Blake Griffin to translate into the NBA, this play proved he can play. A fantastic block on the defense which led to a transition opportunity the other way.

That all happened before Griffin took the ball at the free throw line and took off for an amazing dunk.

Total Score: 46

1. the Dunk That Started It All

There are no words.

There really are no words. Tim Mozgov is a big man, but that doesn't seem to matter to Griffin. Forget about Griffin not really dunking the ball and throwing it in a la Dwight Howard in the dunk contest, Griffin showed a great deal of vertical leap and athleticism. That's not including that he used Mozgov as a step ladder and leap frogged him like a human hurdle.

Total Score: 50