"Artistic ability, imagination, body-flow, and fan response"—this was the judging criteria for the 1976 ABA Dunk Contest, the first major dunk contest in history. This contest gave us Dr. J's renowned free-throw line dunk and spawned decades of free-throw line dunks from Michael Jordan, Clyde Drexler, Brent Barry, Vince Carter, and most recently, Zach LaVine. In this episode, we dive into the history of the dunk—an act that was rebellious and subversive from its origin. We outline the dunk’s creative and aesthetic evolution, from its first cage-hanging iteration in 1910 to Derrick Jones Jr. in the 2020 NBA Dunk Contest. We re-examine the NCAA’s dunking ban—which robbed David Thompson of countless highlights—and the racial tensions which may have led to the ban. We journey backwards in time, dissecting the 1976, 1985, 1988, 2016, and 2020 Dunk Contests.