The 10 greatest dunk contest moments you probably don't remember

Over the past 30 years, the NBA's slam dunk contest has gone through its fair share of highs and lows. Rule changes have ranged from questionable to inane, but nothing has been powerful enough to endanger the pure gravity-defying artistry that makes the event so irresistible.

Said artistry makes ranking the best dunks in the contest's history basically impossible. Summing up three decades of unforgettable moments that have allowed dozens of players to transform into legendary heroes? No thank you! 

So instead of selecting the 10 "best" dunks ever (everyone already knows 2000 Vince Carter is a one-man Mount Rushmore), here's to honoring 10 of the contest's most overlooked moments. If you forgot a few even happened, happily let this list refresh your memory.

10. John Wall double pumps over Wizards mascot (2014)

This technically happened less than a year ago but occurred during a night that has been blocked from everyone's mind because it made no sense. So here's a brief refresher (3:10 in) on a breathtaking physical act no point guard should be able to pull off. John Wall is a bad man.

9. Steve Francis needs no warm up (2000)

The aforementioned 2000 dunk contest belonged to Vince Carter. That was his night, and deservedly so. But if Carter were never born, Steve Francis would've held Oakland in the palm of his hand. Watch that first dunk again. Francis looks like he just rolled out of bed! He bends his knees, rubs the ball and feeds a soft yelp to the camera before uncoiling his 6-foot-3 frame into the rim. It was flawless, and Francis had you thinking he entered the night without having practiced a single thing. What a freestyling genius.

8. Allan Houston throws it off his head (1994)

Long before he became smooth-shooting Allan Houston, the 22-year old rookie found himself in a situation he probably couldn't handle. After about a minute of failing to entertain the crowd with a string of cliche theatrics, Houston reached deep into his bag of tricks and pulled out something that made Charles Barkley say, "That was the most original dunk I've ever seen." So you just know it's a classic.

7. Desmond Mason goes between the legs with his off hand (2003)

Judging by the TNT team's reaction, you'd guess this dunk already had at least four oral histories written about it by now. Maybe it was killed by hyperbole. Who knows. But nobody talks about this dunk, or Desmond Mason, for that matter. (Shout out to Desmond Mason!) It, and he, deserves more than that. Do watch.

6. Andre Iguodala from behind the backboard (2006)

This dunk probably could've started the NBA's own steroids scandal. 

5. Fred Jones' tomahawk on the bounce (2004)

Fred Jones logged just over 10,000 minutes in a very forgettable seven-year career. He played for five teams, and finished the 2006-07 season with an impressive-for-all-the-wrong-reasons 38.5 percent field goal shooting. But Jones won the dunk contest in 2004, and this freakish throwdown is a pivotal reason why his name will live forever – even if you’ve forgotten it.

4. Gerald Green goes between the legs in his socks (2008)

Gerald Green is arguably the most impressive NBA dunker of the past 10 years, and this moment encapsulates why. There's nothing casual about slamming the ball between your legs without wearing any shoes. But Green somehow makes it feel that way, doing in his socks what Kobe Bryant needed a pair of Adidas Crazy 8's to accomplish a decade earlier. Green’s Cupcake Dunk was cute (and also freaking awesome), but the degree of difficulty on this move goes through the roof. Green made it look so easy. 

3. Clyde Drexler's existence (1989)

Sure, he won his NBA title with the Houston Rockets while Michael Jordan was playing baseball, but Clyde Drexler's competitive experience in the NBA Slam Dunk contest still sadly mirrors the rest of his career. He participated five times (tying Dominique Wilkins for most in league history), advanced to the finals once and never won. In chronological order: Drexler finished second-to-last, dead last, fourth, third and second. This clip is from that fifth and final contest, when Drexler narrowly fell to Kenny (Sky)Walker. Poor guy. (He'll always have that one-handed 360.)

2. JaVale McGee does two dunks in two baskets (2011)

Due to its subjective nature, the dunk contest is unlike anything else in the NBA. The winner is ultimately decided by a panel of judges and vote-casting fans. It's always entirely possible that the most deserving participant will not win. In recent years, no example is more clear than the legendary dunk off between JaVale McGee and Blake Griffin. Griffin infamously won by clearing a Kia (and being every 12-year-old's favorite player). But McGee ... oh, McGee. This dunk was conceived in a laboratory.

1. Scottie Pippen from the free-throw line (1990)

The judges were real jerks for not giving Scottie Pippen a 50 on his (better-than-MJ's?) jam from the free-throw line. Things spiraled out of control after that, and he eventually lost to a more-deserving Dominique Wilkins, who at the time also happened to be the most powerful dunker in the world. Still, don't you wish Pippen had gotten the W?