NBA Players Slam Dunk Photo Galleries

What is a slam dunk?

According to Wikipedia, a slam dunk or simply a dunk is a type of basketball shot that is performed when a player jumps in the air and manually powers the ball downward through the basket with one or both hands over the rim.  This is considered a normal field goal attempt; if successful, it is worth two points.  Los Angeles Lakers announcer Chick Hearn coined the term “slam dunk”.  Prior to that, it was known as a dunk shot.

The slam dunk is one of the highest percentage shots one can attempt in basketball as well as one of the most crowd-pleasing plays.  Slam dunks are also performed as entertainment outside of the game, especially during slam dunk contests.  Perhaps the most popular such contest is the NBA Slam Dunk Contest held during the annual NBA All-Star Weekend.  The first slam dunk contest was held during an American Basketball Association All Star Game.

Dunking was banned in the NCAA from 1967 to 1976. Many have attributed this to the dominance of the then-college phenomenon Lew Alcindor (now called Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) upon his entry into the NCAA.  Subsequently, the no-dunking rule is sometimes referred to as the "Lew Alcindor rule."

The phrase "slam dunk" has since entered popular usage, meaning a "sure thing" – an action with a guaranteed outcome.

Below are photo collections of NBA players doing the slam dunk: