Wait a minute!" Nowitzki: On a good day I could have probably put my wrist in. So I was like, "What the heck could I do?" Brand: I was just trying to hype [Steve] up, like, "Let's go." Once he landed, Carter extended both arms upward, one cocked at the elbow, the other straight, and pointed to the sky -- a kind of Usain Bolt salute eight years before the Jamaican sprinter would win gold in Beijing. We wanted to share in the excitement. But that one was worth it. He's got the liveliest legs out here, and I've seen him and T-Mac huddled up so they're planning something." James Posey (forward, Denver Nuggets): Going in, you hear so much about Vince Carter, and you see so many of his highlights on ESPN it was like, now that he's in the slam dunk competition, what could he come up with that we hadn't seen? And that dunk shot bolts through my heart. Jason Kidd (guard, Phoenix Suns): It's something you dream about when you're a little kid, but then to see someone actually do it was amazing. Zero. It was that kind of buildup because you knew any of those three guys could win and come up with something crazy. Once you gave him a 10, you're like, "OK, what next?" That year, a lockout caused a shortened season and wiped out the entire All-Star Weekend. And for me, I didn't think anything of it at first, but he had to explain to me the significance of just being selected into the dunk contest. The crowd did give its approval, but there was a noticeable lack of overflowing enthusiasm. Definitely looking back into it, I would never have had a chance to even compete with those guys and the stuff they were throwing up. As he rose off the floor to try the dunk, a funny thing happened: The NBA players courtside began to recognize what he was trying. If it wasn't a $500 fine, it was, "You had to deal with Oak [Charles Oakley]." So I said, "OK, I'm gonna try it." And a guy like Oakley -- when it came down to it, he might hurt one of his own teammates for trying to dunk on him in practice, right? Instead, to cap off the contest, Carter sprinted the full length of the court and leaped from a step inside the free throw line for a two-handed jam. Though not to McGrady and Francis. I think Halle Berry was there. We gotta get some real food." Their reputations seemed to precede them. It was nowhere to be found. More than 20 years ago, Vince Carter put the Toronto Raptors on the map with one of the best NBA Slam Dunk Contest performances in history, ushering in the era of "Vinsanity." Haggith: Vince and Tracy were both very young, and this was one of their first real experiences like that, being flown out to All-Star on their owner's private jet. Vince Carter: They didn't quite tell us about the partner thing, so we didn't practice that at all. Cooper: We [became] part of the fans. There was no dunking allowed. But ya did good, man.". I'm just gonna ask you again and again." And I was like, "I'm gonna cramp up and I'm not gonna make it. That's one I'll never forget. Carter a joué au basket-ball universitaire pendant trois ans avec les Tar Heels de la Caroline du Nord et deux fois participé au Final Four du tournoi de la NCAA. Grunwald: And Vince and Tracy get on the plane, and they were hungry already and they sort of saw what was there and they said, "Oh, man. So he won the slam dunk contest in '95 just off of default. And I see them right there, and that alone gave me enough adrenaline to do what I did. No one knew quite what to do. Now that you understand the context, are you ready? There's an old saying in my neighborhood where I grew up. But the NBA accomplished a coup in setting its field for the 2000 contest. He's like, "Cheryl, I could've given him a 50." Like, "Come on, Vince. Albert: To me, it was the most memorable since Julius when the ABA first introduced the dunk contest in 1976 and he took off from the foul line. The approval was widespread, but we need more. ", The dunk was a perfect 50. Carter’s creativity on the court helped him win the NBA dunk contest during All-Star weekend on Feb. 12, 2000, in Oakland, Calif. Everyone that was involved kind of knew that something spectacular was going to happen with Vince. It took a lot of convincing. Dirk Nowitzki (forward, Dallas Mavericks): It was my first dunk contest, so I wanted to soak up as much as I could. The roar started before he could finish the slam. My laugh tends to carry. You could see the guys. People were falling over chairs and jumping over chairs. ", Vince Carter: Never practiced it. And he shook his head and said, "Aw, thanks. 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." I don't know, man." Even my cousin." And you're definitely going to have Vince's arm in the rim. Vince Carter revisits his mesmerizing performance in the 2000 NBA Slam Dunk Contest. And a guy like Vince -- he may have appeared to be not very confident, but at the same time, he got out there and when the lights went on he rose to the occasion. Then after Vince started getting hot, it was like, "All right, it's pretty much over, bro. I saw a lot of his creativity from a dunk contest standpoint. The contest began with Hughes missing his first dunk. So what type of ..." And he says, "Cheryl, I kind of have an idea what I wanna do, but that can change.". I'm a Dr. J fan. Vince Carter: I was definitely going for a perfect night. Men's 2021 national championship picks: Can Baylor finish the job and knock off Gonzaga? Brand: It was just like a pause, like, "OK, is that good?" I was young then; I could dunk. Pourtant les choses auraient du être bien différentes, puisque ses dunks initialement prévus […] And Vince Carter went out and did one dunk and then everybody quit. So I was just toying around with some stuff and just seeing if I could do it, how I felt about it and how they reacted to it. I was fired up to be there. He was like, "No, man. [Smith] almost got banned from future judging on the slam dunk [contest] for that. We were stuck on this bridge, and I was worried we weren't going to get there in time. It's done. People tend to forget -- I mean, Vince was unbelievable -- but Steve Francis and Tracy McGrady did incredible dunks. How are you not going to have the slam dunk contest? Following the scintillating showdown between Michael Jordan and Dominique Wilkins in the 1988 NBA Slam Dunk Contest, the league's ugly secret was that the event was hemorrhaging cachet. But then Vince Carter comes out with the most amazing dunks I've ever seen. We're so accustomed at those events to see the players -- it's kind of a jocular-type atmosphere at those Saturday night festivities. You can overhype things sometimes. I was like, "Really? I said, "I'm about to throw it up from half court." Francis: I was quiet. His vision was to catch McGrady's bounce pass in midair, pass the ball from his left hand to his right hand through his legs and slam it through. It was kinda like back and forth, back and forth. As I took that first dribble, and if you watch it on the second dribble I smacked the ball real hard and that's when I felt like I powered up, you know, like Mario Bros. And I just felt like I gained two, three inches [when I jumped]. Every dunk that I did in the dunk contest in Oakland -- I practiced zero dunks. And that was it. He's my idol, the guy who I looked up to. Isiah Thomas (judge, 2000 NBA Slam Dunk Contest): I don't know what made me jump up like that. It's just that everyone expected more. By no means are we taking away from this dunk. And that is exactly what we'll do first. It's one of those -- almost like the Jack Buck call: "I don't believe what I just saw.". And everybody was just like, "What? Woooooaaaahhhhhhhhh!". Look no further than the facial expressions of judges Cynthia Cooper, George Gervin and Isiah Thomas. The yell -- it was so loud, it was like I was in a box screaming with nobody else there. While the official basketball festivities were held at Oakland Arena (now Oracle Arena), most other NBA events happened across the Bay Bridge where the players' hotels were, in San Francisco. Danny [Ainge, broadcasting the event for TNT] was killing him. Nowitzki: The crowd was just going nuts. The dual-colored Toronto Raptors jerseys, the camcorders, and a tasteful dash of personality blended to form “Vinsanity.” Vince Carter: 2000 NBA Slam Dunk Contest The first dunk is my personal favorite. From straight on, he tossed the ball in the air and caught it in a 360-degree turn, pumping the ball between his legs for good measure. But he definitely had some stuff we had never seen before. He beat the best that was out there to challenge him. Limping Man United turn to Greenwood to get them over the finish line, Tuchel: Pulisic felt hamstring 'would not survive', Miami Open takeaways: A surprise champion, a vaccine debate and a looming battle. Everybody could not wait for the next dunk. And Cuttino Mobley was there at that game with me. And then I rubbed my arm 'cause I'm like, "OK, this is gonna hurt.". It was in the best spot at the end of the All-Star Saturday night, but it still clearly was a draw. In the first round of the finals, Francis earned a 43 for a leaning windmill jam while McGrady was given a 45 for a two-hand alley-oop windmill of his own. But then all of a sudden, I was like, "The hell with it. Steele: A lot was riding on this for not only the league but the people who love the league and really care about it. [It was] just, "You come up with one, I'll come up with one." Elton Brand (forward, Chicago Bulls): The slam dunk contest kinda lost a little of its flavor over the years. Though there was a field of six participants set to dunk in Oakland, three especially caught the eye of those around the NBA. I still make fun of his pose once in a while. Francis missed his third-round dunk, but McGrady let loose his best jam of the night. We were on the road in San Antonio at their facility. Which was total B.S. Cheryl Miller (sideline reporter, TNT): Everybody was a little bit nervous but optimistic that this would be the slam dunk [contest] that would bring back the prestige. Albert: It went crazy. That was the first guy that shook my hand and congratulated me once I got off the court. Williams: To come out of the gate with that -- everybody was like, "Whoa, wait a minute! Maybe that's why I'm kind of nostalgic, but there was like a true buzz on that court like I could imagine when Dominique and Jordan went at it, you know what I mean? When the full crowd at The Arena in Oakland realized that Carter's plan was to dunk from the free throw line, the widespread anticipation was immediate. So the players are loose and they all react and overreact to it, but that was genuine reaction. Dave Haggith (manager of media relations, Toronto Raptors): That was the thing that amazed me the most. ), Steve Francis (guard, Houston Rockets): Our trainer, Keith Jones, who's been the USA national basketball trainer for years, pulled me into his office and said, "Hey, they want you to be in this dunk contest." ", Granik: As soon as we finished the All-Star [Weekend] without it, we began talking about, "What should we do next year? But it was jam-packed. Only in the process he continued his arm through the hoop and grabbed on to the rim with the inside of his elbow. Instead, soaring to the hoop as the ball rolled off his right hand, he threw it in off the bounce almost with his wrist. But that's one you remember. Of course, Air Canada was the star of the show, but we decided to take a look back at some of … No? Vince Carter: KG and those guys were like, "All right, that's enough."' All the big wigs, from Shaq, from KG, you had Jason Kidd -- everybody was like, "Oh, my gosh! They were VIPs in northern California, but their schedules were packed tight. 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. We were back and forth over the bridge between Oakland and San Francisco between NBA appearances and events and his practice, and by the time we got to Saturday night, he was already pretty exhausted. And everybody just erupted. He's gonna hurt himself now.". It was basically, "Oh, my god," or, "Wow, did you see that?". And I saw Dr. J and Michael and Dominique. Brand: It was my first [NBA Slam Dunk Contest]. And I said, "Well, I've seen everything." Grant Hill (forward, Detroit Pistons): I played in Detroit, and in '95 they had a Magic Johnson All-Star Game at the Palace [of Auburn Hills]. host, Another lawsuit filed vs. Watson; total now at 22, Spieth heads into Masters with relief after win, Nats to play doubleheader, eye roster moves, Reds' Castellanos suspended 2 for sparking brawl. All the celebrities were there. 0:26. Dee Brown (guard, Toronto Raptors): That was just going to embarrass the older guys. After everything that Carter had done that night, most felt that if anyone could match Air Jordan, it would be Air Canada. You just didn't have that time. ", Grunwald: I thought, "Oh, no. About this high.". It took a while to register. One, Kenny Smith, did not. Wise: David Steele, who at the time was with the San Francisco Chronicle, has this baritone laugh. "If it's time to give it a rest," NBA commissioner David Stern said then, "let's give it a rest.". Then he improvised a masterpiece. While McGrady missed his final dunk, in essence eliminating him from the contest, Francis earned a 48 for his favorite dunk of the night: an alley-oop reverse leapfrog where he coiled his body high in the air and seemed to bring his knees to the bottom of the net for the stuff. In the pantheon of great performances in the NBA Slam Dunk … Duthie: I remember running into the locker rooms after to try to get a one-on-one with Vince, and so we got in there in good position and I ran over and everybody came to scrum him. Some of the most cynical, jaded sports writers who had covered 10 of these are sitting there looking at each other and falling over each other. ...or highflying point guard Steve Francis, who was competing with Carter in the final round of the Dunk Contest. Thomas: It was great for all the fans that weathered the storm. Carter took to the court for his first dunk that night with no true plan. role, Astros make strong opening statement and other observations from MLB's first weekend, From drawing to coffee to jigsaw puzzles: What MLB players picked up with so much free time, How Haley Jones helped Stanford win the 2021 NCAA women's basketball championship, 'Everything we thought he could be': The epic debut of Shohei Ohtani, the two-way player. James Duthie (broadcaster, TSN): As soon as the ball went through the mesh, it was as loud as anything I'd ever been a part of. Brand: I'm kind of in a race [for rookie of the year] with Steve Francis, but we worked out together at Maryland, so that's who I'm rooting for to win the slam dunk contest. Unbridled joy could be found on the faces of those in attendance, even once the initial moment had passed. The arena roared. Reggie Theus (sideline reporter, TNT): When he got up, he was already way in the air, but as he threw the ball between his legs, it was almost like doing the wave. Oftentimes, the best way to contextualize a historic performance from a player is by focusing on the impact made upon their peers. I was in the layup line fooling around, jumping over the rim, dropping [the ball] in and whatever. Yet before Carter could become "Vinsanity," before he could deliver one of the most talked-about, most celebrated All-Star moments ever, there was no dunk contest at all. 3:31. Vufaw. Vince Carter: So I walk it off, and if you notice right before I get to the rim, I say, "Dear God, please don't let me fall off this rim." Francis: I didn't think that. Achetez en toute sécurité et au meilleur prix sur eBay, la livraison est rapide. Vince Carter: KG and those guys were like, "All right, that's enough."' Vince Carter – 2000 Vinsanity , the best to ever to do it in a Slam Dunk Contest. Mike Fratello (broadcaster, TNT): I just remember kind of saying, like, "Forget it. And he walked away. That was all said then, and it's said now, and it'll be said 10 years from now. 13:20. So we said, "We have to take a breath here and see what we oughta do.". 13:20. He said, "What are you gonna do?" The NBA was very accommodating. Everyone was kind of doing what Shaq and Garnett and [Chris] Webber were doing, where they put their arms out like the old Fred Sanford "I'm coming to join ya, Elizabeth" thing, where they had their hands on their heart. Vince Carter: After that first dunk that I made and I had accomplished it better than I had ever practiced it, I was like, "I feel bad for everybody. He is restless because his mind won't stop. I mean, he just did not wanna do it. I just remember sitting courtside there with Shaq, KG. The Fumble. I mean, it was close, for sure. The one thing Kenny did say was that first dunk Vince did set the bar so high that it's like he did it to himself. Miller: In my ear, I could just hear Kenny. It's important that we specify the difference between astonishment and shock, because Carter's fourth dunk of the night brought about the latter. Ranking Vince Carter's best dunks from his legendary 2000 NBA Slam Dunk Contest performance Jordan Greer 6/25/2020 Border Patrol holds migrant families for days under a south Texas bridge Marv Albert (broadcaster, TNT): I normally didn't do [the dunk contest] then 'cause I found afterward that, because I always do the All-Star Game, it kills your voice for the next day. Vince Carter: I didn't hear anything. With no real dunk planned, he scanned the court, drew inspiration and improvised. Men's 2021 national championship: Gonzaga-Baylor matchup is two years in the making, Bryson DeChambeau is ready to take another big swing at Augusta National, Prepped? And my son looks and says, "So, dad, when are you gonna dunk the ball like Vince Carter?" Miller: It was like a huge tsunami in the arena. Back and forth. Iverson: Michael Jackson is my favorite artist of all time, and it was like the closest thing to a Michael Jackson concert to me on a basketball level. McGrady stayed in the field, though like his cousin Carter, he did little preparation for the dunk contest. Carter seemed destined for this stage, ever since his first slam dunk in the sixth grade, a desperate attempt on the outdoor hardtop at Ormond Beach Middle School in Florida. "But I don't recall if we ever made that decision finally or not.". (Jamison suffered a knee injury prior to the contest and was replaced by Charlotte's Ricky Davis. As he walked back toward center court, Carter waved his arms and, to the camera, mouthed his most famous words of the night: "It's over. Today, we look back at the range of emotions that Vince Carter evoked among the masses on February 12, 2000. Jones: The camera went off, and I said, "Good luck, man. It was just every day, 'cause we lived in the same building. To start things off, Michael Jordan’s “Rock-The-Baby” cradle one-handed, pump reverse jam in the 1985 dunk contest, was pitted against Vince Carter’s never-seen-before elbow dunk. And he was in high school. All the players were lined up around the court. So everybody was up against him. He launched into a 360-degree turn, only he was spinning the wrong way, rotating the unnatural direction for a right-handed dunker. All the stars were there. You're going to have Michael doing the same thing in Chicago. But he was right. Now that the disappointment is out of the way, it's time to shift our focus to the approval shown in response to Carter's second dunk of the night, a powerful 180 windmill from under the baseline. The next evening, in Oakland, he is to compete in the NBA Slam Dunk Contest at All-Star Weekend, an event both celebrated and reviled and one Carter does not yet know he has been tabbed by the league to save. There was just a frenzy when that happened. Vince Carter: I wanted there to be a delayed reaction, basically. Vince Carter RECREATES 2000 Dunk Contest Slam - STILL GOT IT! In December 2004, Carter was traded to the New Jersey Nets, where he continued his offensive success. That was kind of my practice time. The league knew its resurrection had to be done right, so its first order of business was to establish a field of marquee stars NBA fans could get excited for. I just remember yelling a lot, a sort of a combination of yell and laugh. Once it went through it was like, "Thank you, God.". The moment … He had barely completed the slam when he practiced it. Miller: Vince and I, before we even [went on] air, I was giving him a hard time. We needed something where we could go, "OK, all right, that first dunk was a 10. Haaland to upset City? [I'd been in ones] in the 'hoods and in the streets, yeah, but nothing professional. It's in Oakland, I knew I had to play in the rookies versus sophomores game, so I was like, "It's a great idea.". When he landed on the floor, he held his head down to listen. Son gagnant, au risque de vous gâcher le suspen’s s’il y en avait un, n’est autre que Vince Carter. And I said, "Sure." Haggith: For both Vince and Tracy, but Vince especially, it was like traveling with the Beatles. Spike Lee. No? You're always going to have Dr. J in Denver jumping from the free throw line. I just said, "We're TSN from Canada. Vince Carter: Once I did it, when I looked over -- 10, 10, 10, 10, 9 -- I was, like, "And he's a Carolina guy!" Thanks. ... That dunk I did in San Antonio. Of course, we must save the best for last. We were fooling around, just whatever. The 2000 Slam Dunk Contest turned Vince Carter into an NBA superstar. Haggith: We pulled up to the arena about a half hour before they were supposed to be on. He was a bona fide NBA All-Star. Theus: I remember my son wanted so badly to take a picture with [Vince] and ironically he was my son's favorite player growing up. And I still have it today. His tenor did not suggest a man about to put on the show of a lifetime. You feel it because it's all about the excitement of the call; it's a little tough on the throat. Even Michael Keaton, known for playing the role of the superhero Batman, was in awe of "Half-Man/Half-Amazing.". On Feb. 12, 2000, in Oakland's Oracle Arena, the awkward, less-than-ferocious dinosaurs bolted onto the basketball scene because of a dunk that shocked the world. Now we're going to the 13s and the 15s. Throughout the 1990s, it failed to draw star participants, and those who did compete were often derided for the dunks they managed. Albert: You look around and see mouths open in astonishment of what they saw. February 12, 2000, was the date of Vince Carter—the leading vote-getter in his first All-Star game—taking his next step approaching superstardom, rising through the air to dunk a basketball in the Slam Dunk Contest. And Vince Carter went out and did one dunk and then everybody quit. Vince Carter: That long drive sitting in between these guys ... it was brutal. So he just asked to be able to come out to the arena for All-Star Saturday night a little bit later because he wasn't on 'til later. Even for all that, there was still a competition at hand. It was probably a week or two [before the dunk contest]. It took minutes for the crowd to calm down, long enough for Stackhouse and Davis to complete their first-round dunks in relative anonymity. ", Thorn: There were conversations [within the league] from time to time, talking about, you know, "Maybe we could do it a little differently," and, "Now we've got some pretty good dunkers out there who might be willing to do it," and, "Maybe we ought to bring it back. I was a little nervous, and as I got the ball, I'm thinking, "Final decision: yea or nay?" Next was Francis' turn. Vince Carter: KG and those guys were like, "All right, that's enough."'. With a somewhat anticlimactic finish, it was impossible for all to hide their disappointment. No matter, for he completed his revolution while simultaneously windmilling the ball before stuffing it through the hoop with a ferocity nearly unseen before. It selected six of the game's brightest young players, big names who would go on to 22 career All-Star appearances among them. I was a judge, and [Kevin] Garnett and Stephon Marbury and Vince Carter and all those guys were there -- it was their class. He has also written for the Toronto Sun, MSN and the New York Times. Are you ready? There was buzz in the arena that, for his final act, Carter might perform a 720-degree dunk -- a slam in which he would spin two full revolutions like an acrobat, an incomprehensible dunk he had actually completed before. Barely made it. But they all sat back while we did this three- or four-question one-on-one before they all stuck their mikes in. It was one of those moments where it almost transported you back to when you started following the game. He was gonna back out! Even prior to [All-Star Saturday], maybe Thursday, he was like, "Man, I don't think I wanna do it." Francis: Even coming into the [2000] dunk contest they said [Vince] was going to win. Butch Carter: I don't think you've ever seen a dunk contest where a guy did a dunk and it stunned everybody to figure out mentally what he had just done. I didn't know. Iverson: Vince was just -- it was just his night. So I said to Tracy: "Just stand here and bounce it and get the hell out the way." 2000: Vince Carter Brings New Life to the Slam Dunk Contest Your ticket to the action: watch the whole league or your favorite team, choose a single game, or check out more options. They arranged a car for us. His whole arm is in the rim? Cooper: There was a sense that we needed to have a new scoring scale for Vince Carter. I said, "Just hear me out.". Vince Carter: Probably a lot of guys [did]. Iverson: That's what takes it even more overboard. I didn't even practice any of them. Select from premium Vince Carter Dunk of the highest quality. And it was sort of one of my proud moments as a reporter. Vince Carter: The only time I remember practicing was in San Antonio. Wise: When you've got reporters falling over themselves, which in some cases we were, you know you've upped the ante for the event. And [Raptors owner] Larry Tanenbaum had -- I think it was a G5 -- one of those ultraluxurious corporate jets. Sa carrière de dunkeur hors pair a eu comme point d’orgue le « Slam Dunk Contest » 2000. "If I know I would have won the dunk contest [with it], that would have been the time to try it."