Dunk Contest Rules

Dunking used to be against the rules, but became prevalent in the ABA and then the NBA. The first slam dunk contest was at the 1976 ABA All-Star game in Denver. After the Merger between the NBA and ABA the next professional dunk contest wan't held until 1984. Players must follow certain rules when participating in the dunk contests.

  1. Officials

    • NBA referees serve as the officiating crew and have the final say on what is considered a dunk attempt and what counts as a made dunk. Officials can also check instant replays for rule violations

    Judging

    • Five judges are used for this event. Judging for the NBA slam dunk contest is provided by former athletes. Each judge ranks the completed dunk on a scale of six to 10 points. The lowest possible score is 30.The maximum is 50. The scores from both attempts are added together to produce the composite score.

    Props

    • Each contestant must receive approval of any prop use from the Basketball Operations department. Another NBA player, in uniform, is considered prop usage.

    Time Limits

    • Once the player is given the ball from the official, he has two minutes to dunk. He can take as many attempts as needed during the two minute period. If the player has not completed a dunk before the time limit, he will have two more attempts to complete a dunk.

    Round 1

    • Each contestant is given two dunks during the first round. The order contestants is chosen before the event starts. The score of the first dunk determines the order of the second dunk attempt. The order for the second dunk will begin with the player with the lowest score. From that point it will continue from lowest to highest.
      During the first round, each player is required to have another NBA player assist with a dunk attempt. How the selected player assists must be cleared with the Basketball Operations department.
      The two contestants with the highest composite scores at the end of the first round advance to the final round of competition.

    Round 2

    • Each contestant has two dunk attempts. The scores from each attempt will be added together for their final score. The contestant with the lowest composite score from round one will dunk first.
      After both players have attempted their first dunk, the player with the lower score will be the first to attempt his second dunk. The player with the highest composite score is the winner.

    Tiebreakers

    • If both players are awarded with the same score at the end of the final round, a one-dunk "dunk-off" will begin.The players will continue dunking until one player is awarded the highest score.
      The two-minute time limit is in effect for each dunk attempt.