1976: The very first slam-dunk contest is won by Kentucky Colonels center Artis Gilmore, who electrifies the crowd by making airborne love to one cheerleader from each ABA team en route to a windmill slam

1988: The greatest slam-dunk rivalry of all time reaches its apex when Michael Jordan and Dominique Wilkins are unable to agree whether "slam dunk" is one word or two

1994: A mysterious man named Isaiah Rider appears out of nowhere, wins the slam-dunk contest with an amazing backboard-level between-the-legs dunk, and then disappears, never to be seen again

1996: With a single foul-line dunk, Brent Barry breaks the foul-line-dunk color barrier

1997: Air Bud stuns the crowd by dunking with his hind legs

1999: As there was no contest this year due to the lockout, commissioner David Stern awards himself the title

2000: The judges award the trophy to Vince Carter after the unfortunate young man gets his elbow caught in the rim

2002: A touching 9/11 tribute goes horribly wrong when Desmond Mason slips while attempting an Airplane Slam and crashes directly into "Twin Towers" Shawn Bradley and Rashard Lewis