In the history of the NBA, there have been few players who made the art of dunking the basketball look as creative, effortless, and borderline unbelievable as the legendary Vince Carter . Throughout Carter's incredible 22-year NBA career, the man nicknamed "Half-man, Half-Amazing" turned the court into his personal runway, showcasing over two decades' worth of highlight reel throwdowns.
Yes, even during the twilight of his career, Carter still wowed everyone with the occasional throwdown that a player in his late thirties shouldn't be able to do. This is pretty much why fellow NBA veteran Jason Williams strongly claims that Carter is the best dunker in NBA history.
"Vince Carter is the best dunker that will ever, ever, walk the face of this earth," Williams said on a recent episode of his "Hoopin' and Hollerin" podcast. "No one will ever be a better dunker than that man."
Coming from someone like Williams, who shared the court with a number of elite rim-rockers throughout his own 12-year NBA tenure, crowning Carter the best is pretty high praise.
So what made Carter a great dunker?
Simply put, Carter had all the tools to be one. More than just his ability to jump out of the building, Carter stood at 6-foot-6, had the explosiveness and body control to weave through traffic, and the strength to throw it down over even the biggest defenders, even with contact.
Carter routinely turned in-game dunks into Slam Dunk Contest-worthy highlights. Even more impressive was that a lot of the time, there was someone on the opposite end of that dunk, getting himself put on a poster.
Even back when Carter was in college, people were already aware of his dunking prowess. Being that he was also a 6-foot-6 slasher from the University of North Carolina, he was even getting comparisons to Michael Jordan .
And just like Air Jordan himself, Carter cemented his status as one of the game's greatest dunk artists in the league's annual Slam Dunk Contest.
During All-Star Weekend in Oakland, California, in 2000, Carter put on arguably the greatest performance in Slam Dunk Contest history.
While dunk contest competitors usually take it easy in their first dunks, Carter brought out the big guns as he uncorked a now-iconic 360-reverse windmill that famously had commentator Kenny Smith telling everyone that it was time to go home. He followed that up with a windmill from behind the backboard, and then an Eastbay or between-the-legs dunk off a bounce pass from then-teammate Tracy McGrady. In the final round, Carter went up so high for a one-hander that he was able to hang from his elbows, and then finished things off with an emphatic two-hander from just within the free throw line.
This was just two years into Carter's career.
While the 2000 Slam Dunk Contest will go down as a career-defining moment for Carter, perhaps his most popular dunk came on the world stage later that year.
Selected to be part of Team USA for the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia, Carter was able to thrill an international crowd with his otherworldly throwdowns.
The biggest, however, came during their game against France.
After stealing an outlet pass, Carter drove to the basket and jumped over 7-foot-2 French big man Frédéric Weis for the dunk.
It would later be called "The Dunk of Death ".
From his 2000 Dunk Contest masterclass to one of the greatest plays in Olympic history, maybe calling Carter the best dunker is pretty justified.
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This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Oct 13, 2026, where it first appeared in the Latest News section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
