This upcoming weekend is NBA All-Star Weekend, and in conjunction with the game comes the various skill competitions and festivities, such as the Dunk Contest. No wait, I have to be official here and call it the 2009 Sprite Slam Dunk competition (where’s my money Sprite?). This year’s competitors are supposed to be Rudy Fernandez, Rudy Gay, Nate Robinson, and the returning champion Dwight Howard. However, word has leaked that Rudy Gay may pull out, which would lead to a substitute. EDIT: J.R. Smith has been named to replace Gay.

Now, the dunk competition has had its ups and downs. In recent years it has been criticized for lackluster dunks, although Dwight Howard did bring a certain amount of excitement last year. In case this year’s contest ends up a bit lackluster, here are ten great dunks that won’t be a letdown:

10. The Flying Squirrel

Slamball athlete Chris Robbins proves you can dunk from your back.

9. The Mascot Flip

The Raptors mascot shows he can dunk while flipping and with a giant foam dinosaur head.

8. The World Record

Not to be outdone in terms of trampoline dunks, a world record for distance is set.

7. The Backboard Pass Windmill

There are plenty of backboard pass dunks, even a few self-passes off the backboard. But how many threw in a windmill off the bounce?

6. Dunk Fail

Not sure if the dunk actually went in, but make or not when you hurt yourself in the process it’s a fail. This one gets bonus points for the hilarity of it all. It’s funny because it’s not me!

5. Shattered Glass

From Darryl Hawkins to Darvin Ham, the shattered glass dunk is always a great one. This one gets extra credit for the alley-oop and the reverse jam.

4. The 720

Even as the defense backs off, this one is still impressive.

3. The Self Pass

You don’t even need the backboard to do a real self-pass.

2. The Dunk of Death

I think Vince Carter ended Frédéric Weis’ potential NBA career on this dunk in Sydney. The French dubbed it “le dunk de la mort”.

1. Jordan posterizes Ewing

The greatest basketabll player of all time doing his best dunk, right in the face of Patrick Ewing.

Hopefully this weekend’s dunks can live up to some of these highlights.
Need more dunk related goodness? Check out these great posts:

• The Top 10 Dunks All-Time from White Guys (The World of Isaac)
• The Worst Dunks Ever (on 205th Magazine)
• Ten Unbelievable Slam Dunk Videos (Uncoached)
• Dude Fails at Slam Dunking (Double Viking)
• Top 5 Dunks (The Hoop Doctors)
• Who yah got in the Dunk Contest? (Cuzoogle)