Michael Jordan competed in the NBA Slam Dunk Contest the last time the All Star festivities were held in Chicago back in 1988, so it’s only right that he fielded some Dunk Contest questions during the NBA’s return to the Windy City. In an interview with the Associated Press prior to All Star Weekend, Jordan spoke about that memorable 1988 contest where he narrowly defeated Dominique Wilkins, as well as some of the other memorable performances.
Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images
And when it comes to memorable dunk contest moments, Jordan pointed to Vince Carter’s epic run in 2000, specifically the “honey dip” dunk when he dangled from the iron from his elbow.
“The most amazing dunk I have ever seen is probably Vince Carter when he hung his elbow in the rim,” Jordan said, according to Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press. “To me that was, without question, just unbelievable.”
Jordan and Dominique also discussed how today’s NBA superstars simply don’t compete in the contest like they used to, and both mentioned LeBron James as the one guy they wish had competed at least once.
“I’d have loved to have seen LeBron,” Wilkins said.
“What we did in the game and excitement that we created when we did dunk,” Jordan said. “People wanted to see that. Is it the same today? Maybe not.”
The 2020 Slam Dunk Contest certainly brought that excitement – but the ending was controversial, just the way it was when MJ bested Nique in Chicago back in ’88.
