In this episode of The Draymond Green Show, Draymond Green and NBA star Zach LaVine reminisce about past NBA Slam Dunk Contests and debate who would win a hypothetical showdown among the sport’s most iconic dunkers. The conversation opens with Draymond recalling his bright yellow jacket from the 2015 contest, where LaVine faced Aaron Gordon and DeMar DeRozan. LaVine describes his first successful between‑the‑legs free‑throw‑line dunk and reflects on why that contest remains one of the best due to pure skill and athleticism. They discuss the legacies of Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Vince Carter, and LaVine himself, predicting fan reactions and creative potential in a fantasy matchup. The hosts also share anecdotes about practice dunk culture, mentioning T‑Mac, “Wiggs” (Wiggins), and the casual after‑practice dunking that impressed them. Throughout, they emphasize the blend of athletic prowess, creativity, and cultural impact that defines a great dunk contest, while acknowledging that LaVine’s focus has shifted away from contests as his playing minutes increase.
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Hi, it's Colin Cowherd. I started The Volume to bring you some of the most authentic voices in sports. While you're here, make sure you hit subscribe.
Thanks. I wanna backtrack a little bit and talk again about Zach, pre-star Zach LaVine. And what I wanna talk about is actually an event that I attended with a bright-ass yellow jacket on Yeah. That was the dunk contest. I'm not sure I would ever wear that. Well, I actually, I didn't believe I would ever wear that jacket again. I actually gave the jacket to Mr. Fab because I'm like, I'll never wear this again. I was thinking about that jacket a couple nights ago. Like, man, I should have kept that jacket. I'll throw that on with some all black nowadays and rock out. But I personally thought that was, and I've watched, —A ton of dunk contests. I'm 31. I've probably been watching the dunk contest since I was 4 or 5 years old. I personally thought that was one of the best dunk contests I've ever seen. And it was pretty much what it came down to was you and Aaron Gordon. And if I'm not mistaken, DeMar was in that dunk contest.
No, DeMar, DeMar, what he was going to be. I remember talking to him.
Okay.
'Cause we played, we played Toronto like 3 days before the All-Star break. And he said, man, I was gonna be, 'cause it was in Toronto.
Yeah.
Said, bro, I was about to be in the All-Star, the dunk contest until you put your name in there.
And I remember correctly, he was like, man, I'm not about to jump with them young ones.
Yeah, exactly.
But like I said, do you feel like that was one of the best dunk contests ever?
Yeah, I mean, obviously you can't base any things on era and impact like what Dominique and Michael had or like fancy dunk contests.
Absolutely.
But you have to put that up there to be one of the best dunk contests just on the pure skill, athleticism, and the 50s that we were doing. And it was a toss-up and it just came down to who had the best dunk at the end in the overtime. And I tried to go between the legs in the free throw line. That was the first time I tried that and I made it.
That's the first time you ever tried it?
That was the first time I ever tried it. First time and only time. Happy, you know, so. Wow.
Yeah. That's interesting. That's interesting. And obviously that was up against Aaron Gordon, who went on to give himself the nickname Mr. 50. What do you think or make of that?
I mean, A.G., look, he's had a bunch of times where he could have won a dunk contest.
Absolutely.
And you know, it's, Sometimes it's unfortunate 'cause not everybody can win. And I mean, at the end of it, even said like, "Hey man, look, we should both be sharing this 'cause just for the culture and for what we did for this event." You know, it was big time. But you know, A.G. definitely is gonna be cemented in dunk contest history, even if he didn't win it.
No, I agree 100%. I actually thought the same thing. Like, "Man, just stop this now. Let them both win." Yeah. And we go on about our night 'cause Toronto was definitely a great time. Can you ever see yourself participating in a dunk contest again or are those days behind you?
Oh, it's over. Yeah, it's over. It's done. I try, I can still get up, you know that, but it's not the forefront of my mind anymore. And you know, now with me logging more and more minutes, you know, I was only playing like 28 minutes a game then. So I could go out there and jump all the time. So no, I'm saving my dunks for the, you know, if you try to come over and set a charge or something like that.
That's the thing though. I'm never coming over and trying to set the charge. I think you done tried before, I blocked it.
Yeah, you blocked it.
And then you try and I got out the way. I ain't no fool. What you're not dealing with here is a fool. I'm not crazy. Listen, I keep trying to tell Miles Bridges, who infamously went out and said publicly that the one guy he wants to dunk on is me. I try to tell Miles all the time, you're not going to dunk on me. And the reason you're not going to dunk on me is because I'm only going to jump if I know I have the advantage.
Yeah.
And if there is even an inkling of not having the advantage, and when I say advantage, I don't mean advantage to block your shot.
Even if I—
Oh, you wanna block your shot.
I'll the hell outta here.
I need to be in a position to where I can foul you where you can't make that shot. And I try to tell Miles this all the time, like, Miles, I'm only going to block your shot, foul you, or move out the way. Those won't equal out to you dunking on me. It's just not gonna happen. So you may wanna take that word of advice too. But Prime MJ, Kobe, VC, and you, what's happening in that dunk contest?
See, a lot of people don't put Kobe in there. Kobe was a dunker, man.
Hey now. That's how I first learned about Kobe was in the dunk contest with the French. Throw between the legs. Like back then between the legs wasn't common.
Yeah.
Exactly. Isaiah Rider had did it, but there wasn't a common dunk and Kobe was doing all that. But who you, what's happening in that dunk contest?
I mean, MJ's gonna get the biggest fan reaction. You can argue that. Vince is gonna come with like the most, I would say creative, 'cause he, it's gonna be a toss-up, man. I don't never put myself against anybody. I think it would be me and Vince in the final, you know? But I think Vince might take me, 'cause Vince, I always go against the guys that, you know, came before me. And Vince came with some stuff. It'll be me or Vince. It just depends on who makes the first dunk. That's what I'll say.
Ladies and gentlemen, Zach Levine just eliminated Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant. Let that marinate for a minute. No, that's—
It's a dunk contest.
Let that marinate. It's funny because last week, as I said, we had T-Mac on and I asked T-Mac, I said, T-Mac, back in those Raptor days, you know how you jumping guys do after practice, y'all doing all the dunks while I go sit down and watch and talk my junk. But I was asking him, I said, "You or Vince back in those days dunking?" And with, like, he didn't even blink. Vince Carter by far, like not even close. And so it's interesting that— Draymond Green. That's who you went with as well. Because I think, I don't think people realize, number one, how athletic Vince was, but number two, how good of a player Vince was.
But it did, how good of a dunker almost trumped how good of a player he was. Like, dude's a straight up Hall of Famer, 26,000 points average, you know what, 28, 29, 30 points per game a couple times. Like, that's, you don't do that by dunking, you know, you're off the charts.
Absolutely. Absolutely. No, I think I always tell people, I think Vince had an incredible career and I think he is one of the most talented players that has ever stepped foot in the NBA. So it's great to see you give him his flowers because that doesn't happen often. And like I said, when you're talking any category that includes Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant, And the two other guys are the ones that walk outta that conversation because I too believe that you would've been up there. You put on one of the greatest dunk contest performances that we've ever seen and not once, but twice. And so I, two times, right?
You wanna, what's funny about it, you remember how you just said T-Mac and Vince would dunk after practice? You wanna know who beat me in a dunk contest that you wouldn't think of? Wiggs? Exactly.
Listen, man, I have this picture on my phone.
I tell you.
I have this picture on my phone of Wiggs jumping and he literally jumped for a rebound and his neck is above the square.
Yeah.
The top of the square. Like I couldn't believe it.
He never wanted to do it. He would just casually, like after practice, he would just casually do some stuff I'd never seen before. I'll be like, "Wow." And that's going, you know, I'm, you know, I did what I did in dunk contest. It was crazy. Yeah.
