random quotes and facts found online leading up to the NBA dunk contest.

From Wikipedia:
"At the University of Kansas, Wilt Chamberlain was able to dunk from the free throw line while starting his movement from within the free throw circle; this led to a rule change prohibiting shooting free throws by dunking the basketball.^{[4] (WHAT?!)}

Notable dunks

• The first free throw line dunk in an official slam dunk competition by Julius Erving (1976 ABA Dunk Contest).
• The free throw line double clutch jam by Michael Jordan (1988 NBA Dunk Contest).
• The East Bay Funk Dunk by Isaiah "J.R." Rider (1994 NBA Dunk Contest).
• Vince Carter's inverted 360 Windmill (which drove everybody off their seats) as well as the off the bounce, between the legs dunk and the tomahawk, which left Vince hanging on the rim with his elbow. (2000 NBA Dunk Contest). Later Carter would cite Sacramento California's Jameel Pugh as the source of these dunks.
• The 2003 reverse between the legs and the 2004 off-the-backboard between the legs dunks by Jason Richardson.
• The behind the back dunk by Patrick Ewing, Jr., done again by J.R. Smith (2003 Indiana Hoosiers Slam Dunk Contest, then 2005 NBA Slam Dunk Contest). The behind the back dunk was modified in the 2006 NBA Slam Dunk Contest by Andre Iguodala when he dunked it off an alley-oop.
• Also in the 2005 NBA Contest, the dunks using a prop from Josh Smith and Amare Stoudemire (read below for more information).
• The first "Rider"(Between the legs) dunk from the free throw line was completed by James "Flight" White.
• In the 2006 NCAA Dunk Contest, James "Flight" White completed a windmill from the free throw line.
• 2006 NBA Slam Dunk Contest, Nate Robinson jumps over Spud Webb and then dunks.
• 2006 NBA Slam Dunk Contest, Andre Iguodala's alley-oop dunk from behind the backboard.
• 2007 NBA Slam Dunk Contest, Dwight Howard's "Sticker Dunk." Howard had a sticker in his hand, stuck it at 12'6" on the backboard while dunking simultaneously off an alley-oop from teammate Jameer Nelson.
• Dwight Howard's kiss the rim dunk

Notable Facts:

• The Atlanta Hawks have had the most NBA slam dunk champions with a total of three players as slam dunk champions (Dominique Wilkins, Spud Webb, and Josh Smith.)

• The showdown between Dominique Wilkins and eventual champion Michael Jordan in the 1988 NBA Slam Dunk Contest is widely considered to be the best slam dunk contest ever. Famous dunks during their epic showdown include Wilkins's off-the-glass, one-handed tomahawk, Jordan's reverse double pump, Wilkins's trademark windmill, and Jordan's immortal double-clutch, free throw line dunk.

• Michael Jordan and Jason Richardson are the only players to win the NBA Slam Dunk Contest back-to-back.

• Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant and Brent Barry are the only players to have won a NBA championship and a slam dunk championship. Jordan was the first (he won his slam dunk championship in 1987 and 1988 and won his NBA championships 1991-1993 and 1996-1998). Kobe won his Slam Dunk Championship in 1997 and his NBA championships in 2000-2002. Brent Barry won his slam dunk championship in 1996 and his NBA championships in 2005 and 2007.

• Dominique Wilkins holds the record of participating in the most NBA slam dunk contests. He has participated in 5 slam dunk contests.

The 2006 NBA Slam Dunk Competition between Nate Robinson and Andre Iguodala was the first time ever that the competition had to go into a sudden-death dunk-off. [1] However, this contest drew many criticisms due to the fact that players were not penalized for missing a dunk attempt. Consequently, Robinson attempted a single dunk over 14 times before completing it.[2] Prior to the 2007 competition, the NBA changed a few rules to prevent excessive dunk attempts. Each participant has two minutes to complete their dunk. At the end of the two minutes allotted, they then have their number of dunk attempts limited to two.