The NBA Slam Dunk Contest is a lot more fun with props

The NBA Slam Dunk Contest is upon us, and aside from the body-contorting, physics-defying feats of athleticism the four contestants are set to show, fans should look forward to something that has become a staple of dunk contest tradition.

Props.

No, not the props you give your friend for getting a bucket at the park. The kind of props dunk contest participants have grown accustomed to jumping over, around, or on top of in pursuit of glory.

But where did dunk contest props begin? For several decades, it was a gimmick that was occasionally broken out, but around 2008, you began to see props show up more and more frequently. And honestly, the NBA was so much better for it.

(Maybe no drones or D.J. Khaled-led SnapChat selfies this time, though. That didn’t work out so well for Aaron Gordon and DeAndre Jordan last year).

As more and more dunks have already been done, players have naturally had to get more creative. Let’s take a trip down memory lane:

He could totally see through that blindfold. DON’T LET THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA DECEIVE YOU. (Oh, that’s us. Never mind.)

The most important thing for big men who are already seven feet (or close) is showing that they’re still jumping absurdly high, and it’s not just because they’re tall. The sticker dunk that Dwight Howard pulled off in 2007 was a perfect example of how to do that.

Honestly, this was one of the best dunk contest ideas of all time. Who thinks of this? Who could have pulled this off except Gerald Green? The man could damn near put his entire head over the rim.

At the peak of Dwight “Superhero” Howard, he became Superman. This is unforgettable.

Of COURSE the very next year, Robinson comes out as kryptonite, Superman’s infamous weakness. Make the Dunk Contest Fun Again like these were, in our humble opinion.

Hope that Kia sponsorship was worth it. (It might have been, to be honest.)

That’s the thing — nobody’s mad at Blake Griffin for selling out to brands, since that happens all the time. We’re upset that he unfairly beat JaVale McGee, who had one of the best dunk contest performances we’ve ever seen. Especially this dunk.

McGee told us in 2016 how he knows he should have beat Griffin. Can you blame him?

Man, 2011 gave us such a great dunk contest.

Someone already dunked over a car. Dunking over a motorcycle is 1) basically a direct copy, 2) boring because we just saw it and 3) definitely not more impressive. C’mon, man.

This probably won’t ever happen again. Before Jeremy Evans, we thought the Venn diagram for accomplished painters and elite NBA dunkers was just two separate circles. Thanks to Jeremy Evans, we know there’s a tiny, tiny overlap.

One of the best dunks in the history of the dunk contest, and it technically had a “prop.”

Props forever.

This piece was originally published in 2017 and . has been updated prior to the 2018 Slam Dunk Contest.