April 17, 1977 – While the NBA’s modern slam dunk contest format didn’t debut until 1984, the league’s first foray into organized slam dunkery actually occurred in 1976, just after the ABA debuted their own contest months prior. Contrary to the modern, single-event format, the NBA’s inaugural dunk contest took place over the course of the 1976-77 season with players from various regions battling head-to-head for the right to advance. Rounds were generally televised during halftime of NBA on CBS broadcasts.
Here, Darryl Dawkins and Elvin Hayes met at a neutral site for the right to advance to the quarterfinals. Required to dunk from five different locations on the floor—the left & right baseline, the left & right wing, and from the top of the key—Dawkins shot himself in the foot by missing his final attempt, finishing with a score of 23.5. Hayes, in turn, countered by merely converting each of his routine dunks, edging Dawkins with a final score of 24.5.
The final round of the 1977 dunk contest was broadcast at halftime of the NBA Finals. There, Darnell Hillman defeated Larry McNeil with an array of dunks that featured significantly more flair than what Dawkins and Hayes offered in their own rounds. In 2017, Hillman was finally gifted an official NBA Slam Dunk contest trophy in a surprise presentation in Indiana:
Hillman’s winning round:
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