10 Slam Dunk Contest Sneakers You (Probably) Forgot About

The slam dunk contest has been a huge part of NBA All-Star Weekend since it debuted in Denver in 1984. (Except when they cancelled it in 1998, but that's beside the point.) There have been many memorable sneakers in the contest, from Michael Jordan's Air Jordan IIIs in 1988 to Gerald Green's outlandish Reeboks in 2007. But it's the sneakers that don't get remembered that we'd like to shine a little light on. So check out 10 Slam Dunk Contest Sneakers You (Probably) Forgot About and see what you can recall.

Player: Chris Andersen
Year: 2005
Place: 4th (of 4)

Chris Andersen is possibly the worst thing to happen to the NBA Slam Dunk contest since the Wheel. Remember the Wheel? It's best you don't. Like Nate Robinson, Andersen took roughly 350 attempts to complete one dunk, sucking all of the air out of the arena. At least Robinson made up for it by becoming a three-time champion. All Birdman did is wear Huarache 2K4s in consecutive years.

Player: Tyrus Thomas
Year: 2007
Place: 4th (of 4)

Maybe it was lost in all the 30th anniversary hoopla of 2012, but the 25th anniversary of the Nike Air Force 1 in 2007 was an as big - if not even bigger - deal. Nike introduced the Air Force 25 that year, an ultra-premium, ultra-tech update of Bruce Kilgore's original design. There were dozens, if not hundreds, of colorways, made to commemorate both teams (college and pro) as well as individual players. Both Tyrus Thomas and then-Bulls teammate Ben Gordon wore them in 2007. Didn't do them much good.

Player: Fred Jones
Year: 2004
Place: 1st

Do you remember Fred Jones' Air Jordan 2 Nu Retros? Hold up. Rewind. Do you remember Fred Jones? The journeyman guard won the 2004 contest when two-time defending champ Jason Richardson tried to get a little too fancy in the final round. Forget what you may have read elsewhere, Richardson's second dunk of the first round (off the glass and through the legs, first try) was the best NBA contest dunk ever.

Player: Cedric Ceballos
Year: 1992
Place: 1st

Sure, Cedric Ceballos couldn't see through that blindfold. The funny thing is, had Larry Johnson not missed his last dunk, Grandmama would have won, and Ced would have been nothing but a footnote. Would anyone have remembered his Air Bounds then?

Player: Steve Francis
Year: 2000
Place: 2nd (of 6)

Had Steve Francis turned in his 2000 Slam Dunk Contest performance in virtually any other year, he would have been the clear winner. Instead, he went up against Vince Carter and finished the most distant second of anyone in anything ever. Oh well. Reebok hasn't brought these DMX joints back yet, and for Steve's sake, we hope they never do. (Although the red pair he wore in the Rookie Game were outstanding.)

Player: Otis Smith
Year: 1988
Place: 4th (of 8)

Before he became a GM best known for answering questions about Dwight Howard, Otis Smith was a high-flying guard with the pre-Run TMC Golden State Warriors. Like Larry Bird in the three-point shootout, Smith competed with his shooting shirt on. Unlike Bird, Smith lost. And not only was he robbed by the judges (he should have at least finished third), he was more or less ignored by the photographers. Nice Alpha Forces, though.

Player: Corey Maggette
Year: 2001
Place: 6th (of 6)

One of the many young athletic swingmen who were going to revitalize the Clippers, Corey Maggette finished dead last in the one and only Dunk Contest he ever entered. Didn't do much for the Clippers, either. At least he had the sense to wear his Air Jordan XVIs with the shrouds removed.

Player: James Robinson
Year: 1994
Place: 6th (of 6)

Everyone remembers Scottie Pippen wearing the red Air Maestros en route to MVP honors in the 1994 NBA All-Star Game. What no one remembers is that Trail Blazers guard James Robinson wore the exact same shoes the night before in the Slam Dunk contest. That's because he came in last.

Player: Richard Jefferson
Year: 2003
Place: 4th (of 4)

If Michael Jordan's 1988 Slam Dunk Contest performance in the white/cement Air Jordan IIIs was perfection, then Richard Jefferson's 2003 performance in the retro versions was more or less the exact opposite. February 8 was the 10th anniversary of this ignomious event - what, no Jumpman Air retro to commemorate it?

Player: Clyde Drexler
Year: 1987
Place: 4th (of 8)

Clyde Drexler was more or less a one-trick pony in dunk contests, but what a trick it was. Drexler would come steaming downcourt, launch from outside the circle, tuck his legs up under him, and throw down the best tomahawks in the world. He never managed to win a title, competing as he was against the likes of Michael Jordan and Dominique Wilkins, but his dunks - and his red Roos - are still worth reminiscing over.