Without a doubt, the NBA Dunk Contest is one of the best parts of All-Star Weekend. The three point shooting contest is nice, and the game has had its moments, but both fail to entertain the way the theatrics of the dunkers do. The past few years have been the best in its storied history.
With the contest only a day away, we took time to look back at past dunk-offs and the sneakers worn in them. From the oldest of old school dunks, up to recent high-flying antics by today’s best athletes, we’ve examined them all and assembled our list of the best sneaker moments in Dunk History.
1976 – Julius “Dr. J” Erving
Shoe: Converse Pro Leather
A concession had to be made to include Dr. J in this list, as he wore these particular Converses to capture an ABA crown. Still, the contest was the first of its kind at the professional level. While the sneakers, and definitely the uniforms, were less flashy than the ones we see in the contests presently, this shoe starts our list for what it represents in history. Dr. J. would ultimately take home the crown with a dunk we still see today, as he would leap from the free throw line and throw it down. He’d compete again and take second 8 years later in the NBA’s first Dunk Contest.
