Chicago Bulls all-time lists: Top five All-Star moments

2. Jordan wins first Slam Dunk Title

I admit that sometimes when I watch old slam dunk competitions, I find them to be a bit stale at times.

The creativity and athleticism players eventually brought to the Slam Dunk Contest surprised pretty much everything 80s and 90s dunkers were doing in the early 2000s, especially. Though they’ve since started tapering off, aside from Zach LaVine’s epic showdown with Aaron Gordon, I generally still find them more exciting now than they used to be.

However, there’s still something about watching young Michael Jordan dunk that looks unreal.

It’s not that no one from today could do the dunks that he did in 1987, when he won his first slam dunk title. Windmills, double-clutches and free throw line leaps are old hat now.

But no one could duplicate the unique grace and athleticism with which he does things.

He just seems to float through the air on the iconic free throw line dunk, just drifting in the sky toward a target that just seemed comically far away when you watch him take off.

And with the windmill dunks he did?

He looks like Russell Westbrook before Russell Westbrook was even born, angling himself like a rocket toward the rim. He also basically jumps from outside the paint on both and hangs in the air forever before pounding the ball through the cylinder.

There have absolutely been more creative dunks in history. And I’d personally argue that Vince Carter’s 2000 Slam Dunk Contest was better than this one.

But as far as pure dunkers go, Jordan remains hard to top.