Guide to Will Barton Winning the NBA All-Star Dunk Contest

4. Chris Andersen

It’s the craziest thing to see Birdman without his whole body covered in tattoos, but that’s what he was in Los Angeles circa 2004 when he took flight in the slam dunk contest. He did still go with the wild hair-do that Charles Barkley had a field day with.

Only getting two dunks, Andersen had to make the most and did a pretty decent job. At 6’ 10”, it’s hard for the big men to make their dunks look extravagant, but earning a 42 and 46 respectively, he had a real chance to make his way to the finals.

Unfortunately, he ran into the two-time defending champ, Jason Richardson and the high flying Indiana role player, Fred Jones who went on to win the whole thing. In another year, Birdman might have had a real shot to take home the title.

Coming out the gate quickly has to be the moral of the story here. Barton needs at least a 45 on his first dunk to set the stage going forward. Sometimes the player that has the best dunk to start, builds enough hype to carry him the rest of the way. Some people like to save their best for last, but I think The Thrill needs to put his best foot first and let the hype machine carry him away.

Next: 3. Darvin Ham