There was a period for about three to five years where the Slam Dunk Contest took a serious turn for the worse.  It was around the time that Cedric Ceballos did that blindfolded crap.  Don’t get me wrong, the Dee Brown pumping up of his Reebok’s was funny but it was in that mid to late 90′s where the dunk contest was kind of becoming a joke.

The creativity was lacking and you just didn’t get the vibe that players were taking it seriously like Jordan and Dominique did (check out the description in Wikipedia).  But then all of a sudden guys like Vince Carter, Tracy McGrady, and Kobe Bryant (1997) come out of nowhere to bring the dunk contest back.

And now?  Now the new crop of guys have been outstanding.  From guys like Jason Richardson to Dwight Howard,  I’m now looking forward to the dunk contest again.

Here are 10 awesome slam dunk videos (not just from the dunk contest).

Michael vs. Dominique

Vince Carter Dunks over Wiess

720 Dunk from Air up There

Dwight Howard’s Superman Dunk

Vince Carter’s 2000 Slam Dunk Contest Performance

2008 NBA Slam Dunk Contest

2007 NBA Slam Dunk Contest Recap Mix

Jason Richardson 2004 Slam Dunk Contest

2006 NBA Slam Dunk Competition

Spud Webb vs Dominique