NBA Slam Dunk Contest: Power Ranking Every NBA Slam Dunk Champion Of All-Time

The slam dunk contest is the most popular All-Star event in sports, and it has featured incredible battles between some of the NBA's greatest players over the years.

The quality of the dunks have improved nearly every year as the competitors have the upped the ante with each new contest, always trying to come up with the most innovative dunk. The early years of the contest featured some great dunkers doing things that had never been seen before, and the early part of this century featured some of the most mind-boggling dunks of all-time.

There have been 19 different NBA All-Star dunk contest champions and here is a list of how each have stacked up.

These rankings take into account the impressiveness of the competitors' dunks, as well as their career track records in the contest.

19. Dee Brown

Dee Brown won the 1991 contest with his 360 dunk, defeating the Reign Man Shawn Kemp and, interestingly enough, long-range bomber Rex Chapman.

Brown's dunks were nice but we are looking for better, and we will be sure to find it as this list continues.

18. Kenny Walker

Kenny "Sky" Walker lived up to his nickname in 1989, defeating Clyde Drexler to win the dunk contest.

Walker would finish third the following year in his only other dunk contest appearance.

17. Larry Nance

Nance was the first-ever slam dunk champion as he defeated an impressive field in 1984 consisting of NBA Hall of Famers Julius Erving, Dominique Wilkins and Clyde Drexler.

Nance's dunks weren't spectacular but who would expect them to be when he had no previous contests to go off of.

16. Cedric Ceballos

Ceballos won the 1992 contest with his blindfolded dunk that brought something new to the table.

The dunk itself wasn't all that impressive, but completing the dunk without being able to see was.

15. Kobe Bryant

I feel like I've seen this between the legs things before...

14. Isaiah Rider

Oh that's right I have, and I liked it better the first time it was done. Isaiah Rider set the stage for the outrageous between the legs dunks that have followed him with his rendition of the dunk in 1994.

13. Brent Barry

White men can't dunk?

We know Brent Barry can after he tried to be like Mike in this 1996 takeoff from just inside the free-throw line. It didn't seem quite as graceful as when MJ took off from the free throw line, but we can't knock him for trying, and completing, the dunk.

12. Fred Jones

Jones was a one-hit wonder after winning the contest in 2004, as he never returned to defend his title.

The former Oregon star defeated Jason Richardson, but, unfortunately for him, it was the highlight of his career as he never panned out in the league, playing for five different teams and doing so unsuccessfully.

11. Harold Miner

Miner finds himself at No.11 on this list largely because he was a two-time champion, winning the competition in 1993 and 1995.

Miner never received the playing time that some believed he would after being selected by the Heat with the 12th pick in 1992, but he did live up to the expectations of being a great dunker.

10. Josh Smith

Josh Smith dominated the 2005 event, taking down Amar'e Stoudemire by recording a perfect score of 50 on three of his four dunks and on both of his dunks in the finals.

His dunk over Kenyon Martin was the highlight of the contest.

9. Desmond Mason

Mason was touted as a high-flyer when the Sonics made him the 17th pick in the 2000 NBA Draft and the 6'5" shooting guard failed to disappoint.

Mason was by far the star of the 2001 contest, which he won over a somewhat watered down field consisting of players such as Baron Davis and Corey Maggette.

There was nothing watered down about Mason's winning performance and he may have won a few more times if not for Richardson's presence in 2002 and 2003.

8. Spud Webb

There is no doubt that Spud Webb changed the course of dunk contest history forever when he won the competition in 1986 at just 5'7" tall.

Webb is still the shortest to ever win the contest and although his dunks were extremely impressive for his height, it was his lack of height that won him the contest.

7. Gerald Green

Green is the only dunker to defeat Robinson and he did so by winning the contest in 2007 while jumping over the 5'9" guard.

Green's win came against one of the toughest fields of all-time, considering Robinson, Dwight Howard and Tyrus Thomas were his competitors.

6. Dwight Howard

Superman flourished in his cape during the 2008 contest which took place in Vegas.

Howard defeated defending champion Gerald Green in the finals with his powerful dunks and, by doing so, proved that big guys can win too.

5. Dominique Wilkins

"The Human Highlight Reel" was as smooth as it got when it came to dunking the basketball and he was involved in some of the best contests in the competition's history.

Wilkins won in 1985 and 1990, and he finished second in two other contests.

4. Nate Robinson

Nate Robinson followed in the footsteps of Spud Webb when he won the contest in 2006 as a member of the Knicks.

The 5'9" Seattle native is the only player to ever win the dunk contest three times, and he has done so impressively each time, jumping over guys like Webb and big man Dwight Howard.

Despite being the shortest contestant in each of the contests he participated in, Robinson proved that he belonged in 2006 and he has continued to do so since.

3. Jason Richardson

Richardson is one of the greatest dunkers of all-time and he proved that with consecutive wins in the 2002 and 2003 events.

J-Rich continued on the impressive performances that Vince Carter and Mason displayed in the two contests prior and he helped build a lot of the excitement for the competition that continues today.

2. Michael Jordan

MJ is the greatest player to ever step foot on the hardwood, and if not for the one man ahead of him he would have been the greatest slam dunk champion as well.

Jordan had everyone wanting to be like Mike when he took off from the free throw line with his tongue wagging to win the contest in 1987.

"His Airness" followed that win up with another impressive array of dunks in 1988 to defeat Dominique in a battle for the ages.

1. Vince Carter

Carter took the dunk contest to a whole new level when he won the competition in 2000, posting scores of 48,49,50,50 and 50 on his five dunks.

Unfortunately this was the only time we got to see Carter participate in the dunk contest.

There is little doubt he would have had many more wins if he would have ever defended his title and because of the spectacular dunks he completed in 2000 he is the greatest slam dunk champion of all-time.