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Vince Carter: Greatest NBA Dunk Contest never happened

Updated Feb. 18, 2023 12:51 p.m. ET

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Vince Carter had one of the most legendary performances in the history of the NBA Slam Dunk Contest, in 2000 for the Toronto Raptors. Nicknamed "Air Canada," Carter most memorably pulled off a 360-degree, windmill jam to seal the victory.

Now imagine if the NBA had strung together a combination of All-Stars and potential Hall of Famers in the prime of their careers like Carter, an eight-time All-Star, for the most star-studded dunk contest ever seen.

According to Carter, the NBA once tried to entice a handful of stars financially — including himself — to participate in the Dunk Contest.

"I know for a fact, some years back, the NBA tried this tactic as far as upping the ante a little bit, a million dollars," Carter said on "The VC Show with Vince Carter," his own podcast (9:00 mark). "They threw around some names, I remember it was LeBron, Kobe, T-Mac — my name was thrown in there of course, and it was a few other people for $1 million. But you obviously couldn't get the commitment of everyone to do it."

Like Carter, McGrady, a seven-time All-Star, pulled off countless highlight-reel jams to cap off his prolific scoring. Of course, the late Bryant and James have their own career reels of attacking the rim.

As for Saturday night's dunk contest in Salt Lake City, Mac McClung (Philadelphia 76ers), Kenyon Martin Jr. (Houston Rockets), Jericho Sims (New York Knicks) and Trey Murphy III (New Orleans Pelicans) will duel it out. Knicks forward Obi Toppin won last year's NBA Slam Dunk Contest in Cleveland.

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