Happy Birthday, MJ: Remembering Jordan's iconic Dunk Contest slams
Before Aaron Gordon jumped over a mascot, Dwight Howard donned a Superman cape, and Kobe Bryant went between his legs, the great Michael Jordan took to the skies as a regular in the NBA's Slam Dunk Contest during the early stage of his legendary Hall-of-Fame run.
Jordan didn't use props, elaborate music, or cheesy gimmicks to get his dunks over. None of that was really prevalent in the competition during the '80s, anyway. It was all about finding the perfect combination of power and grace for No. 23, and when Jordan got off the ground, he consistently delivered.
It's been 30 years since Jordan - who turns 55 today - last participated in the contest. On the eve of this year's event, and in honor of the former five-time league Most Valuable Player, here's a look at some of his dunks that should forever stand the test of time.
Free-Throw Line
The image of Jordan taking off from the charity stripe - which he did on multiple occasions - is etched in our collective memory.
He wasn't the first to pull it off and certainly wasn't the last, yet when Jordan did it, he made it seem as if he were literally walking on air, flailing his legs to strengthen that illusion.
The likes of Brent Barry, Serge Ibaka, and Zach LaVine have all done their best impressions over the years, and you can make a case for some of their efforts being better. Regardless, Jordan is the one we associate most with the dunk, and that's never going to change.
Leaning Windmill
"Look at the air, look at the hangtime, look at the flying motion. Look at his head above the rim."
Thank goodness for slow-motion instant replay. Because of it, we can truly appreciate how magnificent a dunk this was, with Jordan maneuvering his body to make it appear he was floating.
He kept elevating to the point where you thought there was no bringing him back down. It was mesmerizing, and worth a second, third, and fourth look.
Double-Clutch Reverse
Such a dunk wouldn't win over the judges in the modern era, as they expect more creativity from today's participants. Gordon went with the double-clutch reverse in his effort to dethrone LaVine during their epic head-to-head battle in 2016, and only mustered up a score of 47.
Jordan earned a 50 with his version in 1988, which was well deserved. It was a relatively fresh dunk, which he made look effortless in execution. A reverse slam is complicated enough, and to include an added clutch just raises the difficulty further.
The sound the rim made was just nasty.