The Slam Dunk Contest is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) competition held during the NBA All-Star Weekend. The contest was inaugurated by the American Basketball Association (ABA) at its All-Star Game in 1976 in Denver, just as the slam dunk was legalized in the NCAA. It enabled players to showcase their dunking skills and try to "out-dunk" each other. However, this contest would be short-lived as the ABA merged the following year with the NBA. Realizing the popularity of slam dunks, the NBA soon created a contest of its own, which made its first appearance in 1984. The contest currently uses fan voting, via text-messaging, to determine the winner.
The very first slam dunk contest was won by Julius Erving at the 1976 ABA All-Star Game. The current champion of the NBA Dunk Contest is Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic.
