The 1997 NBA Slam Dunk Contest featured 6 competitors; Darvin Ham of the Denver Nuggets, Michael Finley of the Dallas Mavericks, Chris Carr of the Minnesota Timberwolves, Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers, Ray Allen of the Milwaukee Bucks, Bob Sura of the Cleveland Cavaliers. The 1997 Dunk Competition featured a final round of 3 competitors, Chris Carr, Michael Finley, and Kobe Bryant. Kobe Bryant stole the show with a confident between the legs dunk that registered the best score of the night and awarded him the title of the 1997 NBA Slam Dunk Champion.
First Round
Chris Carr -Score 44.0
Darvin Ham - Score 36.0
Ray Allen - Score 35.0
Kobe Bryant - Score 37.0
Bob Sura -Score 35.0
Michael Finley - Score 39
Final Round - Dunk 1
Kobe Bryant - Between the Legs Dunk - Score 49.0
Michael Finley - Missed Dunk - Score 33
Chris Carr - Windmill Dunk off the bounce - Score 42
Final Round - Dunk 2
Kobe Bryant - Missed Dunk - Score 35.5
Michael Finley - Missed Dunk - Score 30.5
Chris Carr -360 Dunk off the bounce - Score 45.8
Champion - Kobe Bryant
I miss this era. The 90s and early 2000s were the best time.
Best of everything brother, music, people, sports, girls, and all fun time
Word!! Especially for the NBA and Hip Hop. Golden era
La mejor época de la historia
I remember recording this with my pops vcr for him..hitting pause to cut the commercials out..the good ol days 💯
I used to forget to un-pause when my show came back on and missed all kinds of stuff.
Lol happens all the time 😂
RIP Craig Sager and Kobe Bryant crazy to think both gone. Kobe’s demeanor and that mamba mentality still the same from 18 to after basketball. Love it! Miss you Mamba! ❤️🙏
franklin
Kobe dunks were trash
@@franklincrayton8830 sat2axezzz2seez2z2zzs2 zzw
@@___Anakin.Skywalker
kzhead.info/sun/mbConLWli6Rtn68/bejne.html
Judges teleported to another planet for Ham's set 🚀 🥼
The 18 year old boy just gave the best he could and he carried the same style till his last game.
R.i.P Kobe you will be missed
Kobe was a decent dunker but not on same level as Zach Lavine or Aaron Gordon.
Aaron Gordon didn’t win some how
Stop
@@Flam1nK0 Because of Dwayne Wade
Which one is Kobe fam...
The hardest thing is to know Kobe is not here anymore, you see this young man with so much to look forward and just to see what happened, just breaks your heart, we miss you man
He did more than most people in his short life. He achieved his dream of being in the NBA and being one of the goats. So he was blessed. :)
Oh please... people post the most ridiculous things on KZhead. Very few people really miss the guy. Not like you knew him or he cared one iota about you. And anyway he was retired. You sheep post such nonsense because you've read where other sheep have posted the exact same 💩
@@donarthiazi2443 you must be in a bad mood lol or have a heart of a stone
@@AdamSmith-us1rm Nah... just honest
@@donarthiazi2443 well I followed his career and watched him at a game, ofcourse you dont have a personal connection, but any person along with his daughter and innocent lives in a tragic accident is heartbreaking.
That Ham touch the glass 360 was damn nice.
he was robbed
Indeed
by far the best contestant
I remember watching this contest. His last dunk was superb, but Judges and fans didn't understand it at all. One of the most underrated dunks.
That sht was clean af. I couldn’t believe that was him 🤣
Nostalgia brought me here... rest in peace Kobe❤
Nostalgia? Is that like a lady from Eastern Europe?
Love seeing the young ray Allen dunking in a slam dunk contest.
🔥🔥🔥🔥
They really underrated Ham's dunk
1997 = "this guy" / 2022 = "legend"
0:14 Cameraman is sleeping 😂😂
Please Rest In Peace Kobe My Dude You Will Be Missed And You Was Only 41 My Dude. Rest In Peace.
Jody Kidd my dude
I dunno what makes me feel older. Seeing this live as a kid, or the VHS flicker. 🤣
Thanks for sharing this throwback!
You can see the mindset of a champion that Kobe embodied. Everyone knew he was gonna be something special. And he was. Love and miss you Kobe fly with the angels 🙏
bla bla bla, i just see arrogance. his dunks were common, even for that period of time. nothing great or special. stop kissing ass
@@PharaoahMonk hate.
Really? Cheering on others' misses is the mindset of a champion???
@@kevinmichael503 7777
@@PharaoahMonk your just hating. if kobe 100% tried then his dunks arent, "common," as you say they are. His dunks were actually quite creative.
You gotta love how during this era they were actually trying to take it kinda seriously. Haha
Thank you for this rare Vdo 👍🏻
Lol I was told to watch this because it is apparently "the worst dunk contest ever" and it starts out with the cameraman showing the wrong person 😂😂😂
Not this one bro
2022 is now the worst I've seen.
@@100briancooper have to agree with you there
Off the top of my head 2001 and 2022 were both worse than this
Very trueee😂😂
One of the greatest to ever play the game. RIP Kobe. We all miss you. ❤
P0
Imo he was the greatest
THE GREATEST**
@@rasheedjeffries5754 o
@@davidgutierrez4606 stop the cap lol
Ray Allen played for a lot of teams but him playing for the Celtics with Pierce Rondo and Garnett made me a basketball fan
Had to watch this again. Dude was great!
Ray Allen still looks a day older than this day
Ray got his titles in Boston and Miami.
@@hectorlopez1069 what does that have to do with this?
M. Finley final dunk has to be one of the funniest dunk of all time 🤣🤣🤣
A good attempt but an epic fail. That wasn't even a cartwheel, lmao
@@tj2084 funny how nobody cared about corey maggetes front wheel leap and he made the dunk as you could tell if Finley didn't miss he would've gotten a perfect by the dumb judges of that contest
Hahaaaa
What was he thinking? ! 😂
"It's hard to see him as a tough guy!" Looking back... they don't come any tougher than KOBE!!
The announcers we're atrocious. Arrogant plus stupid is a bad combination
he said that sarcastically but little did he know kobe was TOUGH
Kobe ruptured his Achilles tendon, hit 2 free throws, and then walked off the court! That's super hero level toughness.
Darvin Ham had the best first round and didn’t even advance. Ridiculous.
RIP Legend
That was the worst cartwheel in history LMAO
Kobe always showed he wasn’t afraid at anything and a super self confidence. Something Lebron never had at that stage of his life. And had to come years to show something even close. That’s why I would always put Kobe ahead of him by far…
just say you hate lebron lol, why did you even mention him in a vvid he's not even a part of lmao, you haters are just everywhere.
@@ruffgodz9543 Yes, I am a Lebron hater.
@@chironjo I mean why though? He never did anything to you yet you hate him like he killed your dog whatsoever.
My favorite player, and forever LEGEND!!! R.I.P
That matombo reaction is legendary
Anyone here after this past all-star weekend slam dunk contest? People thinking 2022 was bad... they ain't never seen this atrocity lmao.
You read my mind
Nice video!👏Thanks for sharing it. I wish you all the best. Stay safe and keep it up! 👍
Even though they were misses, Micheal Finley's finals were great 😄 The creativity of it all!!
They said Allen Iverson was suppose to participate but couldn’t because of a sore shoulder 😮😮😮 I would have loved to see that!
Agreed
If he wasn't injured back that Year, he would have Dunk 360s though
Iverson would have won this contest easy!! Watch them Georgetown dunk highlights people 4get!!!
RIP KOBE 🙏🏼
It's hard to imagine Kobe was this fearless at only 18.
Young kobe in this clip
I miss Kobe so much! He’s my favorite for 23 years! Eversince! I was just 7 yrs old when he starts making name in the NBA and we even name our first dog after him. I remember I won’t watch basketball if it’s not kobe playing. Just making me sad that when he visited Philippines I did not make it to see him. My heart hurts whenever I see his videos when he was alive.
Nobody at this dunk contest ever thought Darvin Ham would be coaching the Lakers in two decades later wow I am so happy for him 💯🔥Lakers4Lyfe
Darvin Ham could Yack more than any player in the comtest ..big time 😂
Or that Doc Rivers would win a Championship w/ Ray Allen...
Always good to see Kobe Bryant in these old videos. RIP champ! 🙏🙏🙏
C0
‘97? I feel like it’s only 10 years ago. Lol, but it’s actually over 20... I feel old.
Sarim Sok
We are old af
Damn. Close to 30 years now
Rest in Peace Kobe and Gia. Kobe Bryant is the greatest basketball in NBA. ( If he was still playing, he will bring championship to Lakers team until now, keep the same roster and coach ) We miss you Kobe!!
And everyone else on the helicopter that died.
Most surprising thing for me was seeing Ray Allen in a dunk contest lol. Also the evolution. Standard between the legs dunk 1996 = 49 Between the legs from free throw line 2016 = " that ain't a 50 " from Barkley lol
Ray had bunnies early in his career. Caught a few bodies !
P
97' was a great year in Sports. As a Wildcat fan, Arizona winning it's first NCAA Basketball national title. Kobe, busting into the Scene. And remember when Mike Tyson,.And bit off Evander Holifield's ear? 😂 That was 97. And another youngster bursting I to the scene, Tiger Woods winning the Masters at 21 😊
Even wrestling was great- Stone Cold was starting to pop off in ‘97.
@@gone.golfing yep Stone cold was da man
Thanks for the comments tho, imma look into these specifically if i can find videos of them
Facts 97 was da shit not to long after GOLDENEYE!!!!!!
Rock Chalk Jayhawk
Damn, I cried watching this video. This was who I wanted to be like. This who I molded my game after. R.I.P KOBE
You cried over a celebrity who never gave a fuck about you? Time to focus your life in something real.
@@KMT15 not only you negative, but also ignorant AF
@@KMT15 not so smart are your?
Should of molded your game after MJ TBH...
I think we all not over his death
LITERALLY THE BEST ERA OF THE NBA!!! GOLDEN LOGO!!! BEAUTIFUL THREADS!!! I MISS THIS!!
You never lied
EPIC NBA TIMES! 🔥👆😎
EVERY YEAR IS BETTER THAN THIS YEAR SLAM DUNK
@@sleeper9728 there, you are wrong
This year was complete trash
@@WolfKitchenStudios this year was the greatest slam dunk competition of all time.
@@jluck1590 The crowd thinks different..
Darvin Ham's dunks were nice. He got screwed. Should have been in the second round.
He got screwed harder than anybody Ive ever seen.
The most ass backward judging I've ever seen. Darvin Ham was the only one that landed all 3 dunks, he easily had the crispest execution, and his 3rd dunk was easily the most creative of the round. And yet the whack ass judges gave him one of the lowest scores.
I don’t know HOW Carr got higher when he misses his 3rd dunk!!! And Ham’s dunks were better 🤯
he was the best in that round
Absolutely Carr did 1 good dunk one okay dunk and a miss and he gets a higher score then a guy who did 3 great dunks. They should have stopped everything right there and investigated.
The immortal Kobe Bryant, to this day I still get goosebumps watching him play and dunk!!!
I don’t think you know what immortal means.
William he means immortal as in he will be remembered forever.
@@rasheedjeffries5754 dude probably chillin in hell with Satan to all eternity TBH
@@DUNGSTA tf is wrong with you?
REAL TALK !!!
I jus got teary eyed watchin my dude... I'll never forget you lord... rip the black mamba!!!
Darvin Ham's score was criminally bad
absolutely. That touch and turn around dunk difficulty level is off the hook. Only real players know this.
Doc said of Kobe after his first, final round dunk: "it's hard to take him as a tough guy, he's so skinny" 🤣🤣🤣 Little did he know at the time
Who's here after the passing of Kobe. R.I.P Legend
Dang. I miss my GOAT. Rest easy, Mamba. Thanks for the 20-plus years of commitment to my team 😓🫶🏾
The evolution of the dunk contest is interesting. How the older contests dunks are so simple compared to the last 10-20yrs dunks. The dunks they've done in the 70s-90s are dunks players do in games the 2000+ seasons
yeah that's with anything...it usually goes full circle...eventually people stop running out of silly stunts to do and like 20 years from now, we'll be "back" to more like the old school dunks...do we really need to see someone bring a lion in a cage onto the court?
Ya but this shit is way BETTER than what we got today bro. It's all about the cameras now and showing off to your friends theres no competitive nature. And Vince Carter's dunks will be the greatest ever nobody will ever beat what he did that year.
@@davidgutierrez4606 Vince was amazing, the best dunker of all time period. Jordan, Shawn Kemp, Traci McGrady, Julius Erving and Dominic Wilkins were also some of the best too.
But during games dunks have become basic as compared to this era
Todays kids do it soo much better... kzhead.info/sun/rL2tnMlufWZ5q6s/bejne.html
R.I.P. Kobe Bryant Never forgotten still remembered
Darvin ham drunks was crazy how he touched the backboard twist and slammed
We just got 20 years on him,the best,legendary “I’m Kobe Bryant “ 🏀 he said
Kobe used to have a Philly accent but morphed into MJ over the years 😯
Anthony Gray being over in Italy then moving back to America meant his accent was always going to be different, listen to the way he says his daughters names you can tell that time in his life meant a lot and he will be fluent in their pronunciation. But then talking to America media he has a mixed American accent which we all know
Him talking has nothing to do with Michael Jordan bro.. 😑
I became a fan of basketball and a stan of Kobe as an eight year old kid watching this. Literally the first memory I have of watching basketball. Kobe, Gianna R. I. P. 🖤🙏
89 baby myself! 💯
this is the dark ages of the nba!!!to see ray allen on a dunk contest is crazy
Damn seeing Kobe and the music back then… great memories
You'll be missed Kobe.
We get it. He’s missed. Now stfu.
@@jsl6155 fuk you that was a year ago. Find something better to do with your time.
@@ryanmatzner7757 seriously tell him Ryan
@@ryanmatzner7757 - A year is a fucking long ass time. You didn’t know the man personally. Move on.
Wow that was a yr ago so then why in the FUCK ARE YOU GUYS SO FUCKING TALKING THIS KINDA SHIT NOW.YOU NEED TO GET OFF THE FUK KOBE BANDWAGON.like from now on I don't have any idea what these people are like for real but I'm betting that they do nothing at all worth a SHIT.atleast KOBE gave us a little more additude to the BULLSHITUDE.to the nba that was already there
Ray allen is not just a great 3 point shooter back then. He was one of greatest shooting guard in the league.
I see him as mj back then thou😂🔥
@@johnedmillapre6139 nah, ray allen said mj was a monster in both end of the court. He was a great offensive player and he is a great defensive player. And he has no weakness. Actually mj was in the era where 3 pointers are not a big part of the game. Jordan, evolved the game from what it is today. Then ray allen, tmac, and kobe introduced the 3 point game to everyone and then curry evolved it into what it is today. While lebron was a disgrace to the NBA because of his flopping and always complaining to the refs whenever there was a slight contact. Lebron james became the reason so many players do flops today and lebron is the reason why it is too soft today. Imagine you can shoot and drive all you want without anyone who'd be able to touch you or guard you. Easy points. Lebron is just top 7 that's all
Came back to watch how crazy frobe's dunk package was🔥🔥🔥 DUNK CHAMP 🏆 WORLD CHAMP 🏆 OLYMPIC CHAMP🏆
Two legends in the same footage.
Damn! It's the 90s again! Im still lovin the 90s dance baby! RIP kobe
Jalen Rose sitting behind Kobe bring back so many memories in that 81 point night
I remember watching this back in "97
Still can't believe you are gone kobe miss you bro Rip
Rest In Peace Kobe!!! Love You Idol!!! You will be missed!
I'm so happy Kobe have this trophy. R.I.P. Kobe ❤️ just came here to watch you winning the dunk contest once again.
He also has an Oscar
Kobe was so cool, i used to write Kobe on my black basketball sneakers with white out lol. Kobe made me feel great when i played basketball as a kid, thank you Kobe, RIP to you and your daughter, you made allot of nba players on the court shit on there under ware, a dozen nba players even have ptsd lol.
Lmao damn imagine being 6’5 and still considered the shortest in a dunk contest. Wow 🤩
Finley had me weak in the beginning. He like that’s not me lol 😂 Classic dunk contest tho 💯
When the announcer said "Another Rookie" Kobe took it Personal.
Rip Legend!! Miss these good old days
Miss these kind of NBA ALL-STAR’S JUST GETTING AT IT. BRING THESE RULES BACK
Darwin Ham had some sick dunks. The backboard slap and reverse was great.
Darvin Ham, he's the assistant coach for the Bucks now. He also shatter the backboard when he was in college .
Who cares
@@ampoysolis5789 ?
Ham was utterly robbed. He should have slapped the judges.
@@chrisyu327 I remember that dunk. Nasty putback.
Let’s just appreciate how much better dunking has gotten.
u havent watched the 2022 dunk contest 😭💀
@@playboyant it peaked at 2015-2016. After that, it was either mediocre dunks, missed ones, or 50 pt giveaways.
@@playboyant 😭 facts
Ummm idk man I get what your saying, but I love the old school power and funk on the dunks back then. Plus they actually bent the rim too. That my opinion though.
Yeah good point, I didn’t mean the NBA dunk contest, I meant dunking in general.
Those was the good old days i was 16 legendary times
“This kid is for real”truer words have never been said
I wanted to watch this after this morning I was 3 when this contest happened: this really reminds me of young days
Young Kob’s Phili accent was HEAVY right here.
Darvin Ham was a replacement for AI. That's crazy.
Ohhhh Kobe! RIP 🙏🏽..and Finley with that cartwheel...I hollered 🤣🤣🤣
This will always be special to me. As a 16y/o who lives away from the city and didn't have cable TV and only local TV channels are available. I am only familiar with our local leagues that time. This slam dunk contest was my first glimpse of the NBA, a Sunday after church and got invited to a birthday party. Don't get wrong I heard about MJ, magic, bird already but didn't seen them play. I thought Ham was going to get it, until Kobe Bryant pick the ball and get that reverse dunk and the rest is just special. That also made me one of the biggest fan of Kobe Bryant and for me one of the GOAT in the history of the game.
Ham should have been in the Finals, he got royally screwed by the judges.
The Goat
Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, the guys who'd inspire me the most to play basketball and I was really good too! Impersonated their moves in elementary, Jr high, High School! Actually in elementary I was the only one in my school dunking at the age 10 1/2! True story! And in high school they'd call me Baby Mike😀😄😎🙏🏿✌🏿♥️✊🏿💪🏿 #goodoledays
Weh di nga? lol
Yeah, bs. Nobody dunks at age 10.
@@philipchampion566 Elementary courts are small my friend! And I said I was 10 1/2 almost 11! I'm very tall! My dad is tall and was athletic! But, it's ok! Your opinion! 😁🙏🏿✌🏿♥️✊🏿💪🏿
@@eldezethatruth ok, if it was a short hoop, then i believe it
@@eldezethatruth i don't really consider that "dunking" though. I can say i was dunking at age 2. And leave out the fact that I'm talking about one of those plastic nerf hoops! ^^
Crazy playing that music which are songs we go back to remince
We love you in Humboldt County ,CA. Forever Kobe
Kobe Bryant......The Greatest Of All Time
I love how the commentators speak about Kobe as just some kid, but I know years later they all that change for them. R.I.P mamba
RIP Kobe legends never die 🙏🏾🕊
The most overrated player in NBA history.
@@ME-kd1ko how is he overrated when you typing in his name on KZhead just to come cry 😂
I was here at this dunk contest in Cle!!
Best Dunk Contest Performance Ever Kobe Bryant Ol Jelly Bean.....
2022 still you my idol and we miss you and your game 😔
That Lavine and Gordon Dunk contests were perhaps the best ever performances by a dunker including Vince Carter and Jordan.
0:50 Kobe like, "Wait, thats it, thats all you gonna say, im the man, i need a better intro than that"
Kobe had Swag off the rip 🔥🔥💪🏾💯