The 2000 All-Star Slam Dunk Contest was one of the best, if not the best ever. It would certainly rival the Jordan-Wilkins showdowns, and it saved the dunk contest from oblivion. It also crowned the best dunker ever-Vince Carter.

However, it was not just Carter. There were also other great dunkers in that field. 'Vinsanity' coerced his teammate, Tracy McGrady to join since he was definitely qualified. ESPN has a history of the events that led to that great basketball moment:

"Tracy McGrady (guard/forward, Toronto Raptors): I just felt like I wasn't a creative dunker like that. I was like, "Why would I want to get into it knowing that [Vince is] gonna win?" I see his dunks every day and how creative he is. [1]

Vince Carter: Until the last minute, I think after [practice one day] we were fooling around -- he was doing some stuff, throwing the ball off the wall, just all kinds of stuff -- and he finally was like, "All right, I'm gonna do it." It was tough. Even prior to [All-Star Saturday], maybe Thursday, he was like, "Man, I don't think I wanna do it." He was gonna back out!"

The field also included Steve Francis, a rookie of the year candidate at at the time. Francis had an 'edge' being the smaller dunker, which increased the degree of difficulty points he would get from the judges.

However, Vince Carter was already known as a dunk god as early as high school. Even his peers..no, actually players senior players like Kevin Garnett and Stephon Marbury, were in awe of his ability.

Grant Hill said it best:

"I played in Detroit, and in '95 they had a Magic Johnson All-Star Game at the Palace [of Auburn Hills]. I was a judge, and [Kevin] Garnett and Stephon Marbury and Vince Carter and all those guys were there -- it was their class. And Vince Carter went out and did one dunk and then everybody quit. So he won the slam dunk contest in '95 just off of default.

I think he just did a windmill, but it was how high he was and how powerful it was. I was sort of in my prime and jumping and dunking and considered a good athlete, and it was like I couldn't have gone out there and competed with that. And he was in high school."

This dunk contest was particularly important because in 1998, the last All-Star Break, they actually cancelled the event. There was no All-Star Break in 1999 due to the shortened season arising from the lockout. (info from nba.com)

Thus, the last Slam Dunk Contest was in 1997, won by then-rookie Kobe Bryant. Fans were craving, and not just ordinary fans. Steve Francis observed: "I was just looking at all the celebrities there. Denzel. Spike Lee. I think Halle Berry was there. There was a lot of Hollywood people."

Vince was the clear favorite prior to the event. How did a competition with someone heavily favored end up being the best contest of all time? The video will further explain.