The Greatest Duel of the NBA Slam Dunk Contest

February 13th, 2016. The day before the NBA All-Star Game, held for the first time outside of America in the Air Canada Centre in Toronto. The thoughts of most observers, though, are on tomorrow and the game itself, seeing hometown players Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan and the sports biggest stars, including Steph Curry, LeBron James and Kobe Bryant, the last time he would play as an All-Star.

The events of the day before the All-Star Game are often seen as an also-ran, with the exception of the Slam Dunk Contest. Vince Carter's legendary performance at the 2000 game had made it into an event, a show of the sheerest athleticism and skill NBA players had to offer, though for years afterwards no one could quite match his display in Oakland.

That was until 2016, when two players still in their NBA infancy would capture the attention and imagination of the crowds and set Toronto alight that Saturday.

Zach LaVine of the Minnesota Timberwolves was returning to defend the title he won emphatically at the previous contest in New York - outperforming everyone else and showing superior athleticism to be named the unquestioned dunk champion at just nineteen years of age.

In Toronto's contest he faced three new opponents from the year before and, in the preliminary round, showed the same athleticism and skill to make him the early favourite to take back his title. One of his competitors, though, showed he had the ability and power to compete and challenge LaVine - Orlando Magic sophomore Aaron Gordon, in what would be the event that truly announced him in the NBA.

Clearly on a different level to their fellow competitors Andre Drummond and Will Barton, LaVine and Gordon advanced to the final round where it would be between them to decide the victor. Little did they or anyone know the sheer spectacle that was about to follow. Their exploits stunned everyone in Toronto that night, including themselves - both were visibly in awe of what each other was doing, even they were finding it too hard to set themselves apart.

After each opened the championship round with equally spectacular mid-air spin moves, LaVine's variation on the free-throw line dunk and one of Gordon's career moments, dunking over and picking the ball up from Snuff the Magic Dragon, could not be separated by the judges. After two dunks both players had a perfect score and so the contest would have to go on.

The two had time to think and prepare for what they had done so far, now they both had to come up with a dunk to equal or top those that had come before. Gordon's next dunk earned a fifty from the judges, as did LaVine's. For the first time in dunk contest history, a second tie-break round was required.

This was when the wheels started to fall off - Gordon's fourth dunk was solid but easily the least spectacular and technical of all, the first time he had fallen short of a maximum score.

LaVine then stepped up for his final dunk and put together all the moves he had made in the championship round so far: starting at the line, threading the ball under one leg, finishing off with a one-handed slam. A combination that brought an end to the competition with him once again lifting the trophy.

It was a close call, though, few envied the judges having to make the decision on the night. This began something of a rivalry between the players - no future meeting between their teams could go by without mention of their battle in the Toronto dunk contest. It had literally become the stuff of legend. One that, for a long time afterward, some thought had gone the wrong way and it was Gordon who should have been named the winner.

What basketball fans want is a true rematch between the two, but that may never happen. LaVine declined to participate in the dunk contest following his double in 2016, but Gordon put in an appearance in 2017. However, he finished last overall, with Glenn Robinson of the Indiana Pacers taking home the title.

It would be three years before Gordon would return to the dunk contest, where the same thing happened again: he and fellow finalist Derrick Jones could not be separated after two dunks and had to perform two more to break the deadlock. In the end he fell short once again, losing to Jones by a single point.

Calls that Gordon was in fact the deserving winner on the night were far more vocal, but in the aftermath Gordon vowed the 2020 contest would be his last. While it is a shame that seeing either Zach LaVine or Aaron Gordon again in the dunk contest will be unlikely, it does mean they will reserve their standing as two of the best ever to take part in the competition - with their battle in Toronto in 2016 being some of the very best sights seen in the NBA.