REVISITING THE 2016 NBA SLAM DUNK CONTEST
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When we first watched the 2016 NBA Slam Dunk Contest, it didn’t feel like it would still be iconic ten years later. Aaron Gordon came out in the cheesiest fashion imaginable, while Zach LaVine entered with a clear mission to defend his title—and make it look easy.
I’ve said this before: centers usually have the lowest ceilings in dunk contests because they can reach the rim so easily that creativity tends to take a backseat. That became the issue for Andre Drummond, who was hoping to use the contest to elevate his superstar status. As for Will Barton, he wasn’t exactly known as an elite in-game dunker at the time, so like Drummond—and initially even Gordon—it felt like he was just there to say he participated.
But ten years later, we now regard that contest as one of the greatest of all time.
The only comparisons are when Michael Jordan and Dominique Wilkins tore the roof off in the ’80s, and when Spud Webb had his unforgettable moment. Usually, a dunk contest becomes legendary either because of one transcendent performer or because of a heated rivalry between two explosive competitors.
It’s typically one or the other—not both.
The 2016 Slam Dunk Contest was both.
It was the kind of showdown that felt like it shouldn’t have had just one winner. In fact, you could argue that Aaron Gordon should be a two-time dunk contest champion.
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Zach LaVine eventually became an All-Star, but Gordon was the first of the two to win an NBA championship after being traded to the Denver Nuggets.
Anyway, I just bought Gordon’s rookie cards on COMC. I’ll probably revisit that video for years to come—especially whenever the league rolls out a group of seldom-used players in a contest that’s supposed to serve as a jetpack to NBA superstardom.
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