Slam Dunk Contest: Who is the best dunker of all-time?

With the Slam Dunk Contest approaching, who is the best dunker of all time?

Every year, the Slam Dunk Contest is a staple of NBA All-Star Weekend. The contest is home to the best dunkers in the NBA and it elicits memories of some of the most memorable moments off all time. That’s just how special the event is and every year it brings up the debate of who is the best dunker of all time?

Everyone certainly knows the greats that have revolutionized the way that dunks were thrown down back in the game. Names like Julius Erving, Larry Nance, Dominique Wilkins, Michael Jordan and others helped establish what it was today.

A man by the name of Vince Carter came in and took everything that those individuals had done and took it to another level that had never been seen before by dunkers. Blake Griffin even leaped over a car on a dunk. Jason Richardson had multiple spinning dunks in a reign of dominance. Cedric Ceballos took off from the free throw line blindfolded and won the 1992 contest.

Gerald Green even once blew out a candle on a cupcake on the back of the rim while once dunking a basketball.

The list of great dunkers never ends and it makes the debate that much harder. If there was to be a debate between just who is the best dunker ever, it would have to be between Julius Erving and Vince Carter.

Erving was the original man to take off from the free throw line and put ludicrous dunks on the map, while Carter brought the flash and the absolute ridiculous moments that no one ever thought was possible on a dunk.

The old school fanatics might say Erving, while the more current generation would be partial to Carter. However, if there was a contest between the two in their primes, it would be the smooth artistic beauty of Erving’s dunks against the style and flash of Carter’s.