For the first time in more than a decade, the NBA Slam Dunk Contest was actually exciting. Minnesota Timberwolves' Zach Lavine and Orlando Magic's Aaron Gordon made a Dunk Contest finals one could never forget.

The NBA Dunk Contest has been lackluster for the past decade. Sure, there was Blake Griffin, undeservingly dunking over a Kia and Howard vs. Robinson. But neither of those came to the creativity and athleticism of the 2016 rendition. The opening round featured Will "The Thrill" Barton of the Denver Nuggets, Andre Drummond of the Detroit Pistons, and the aforementioned Lavine and Gordon. Will Barton had an impressive first dunk but couldn't complete his second. Andre Drummond had a boring first dunk but his second he got Dunk Contest assistant-veteran, Steve Nash, to contribute. Nash using his soccer past, rainbowed a basketball for a dunk from Drummond. That second dunk took about six tries, but Drummond completed it. Aaron Gordon's first dunk was near-identical to Barton's first but scored higher. Gordon's second dunk, though, shook the Six. Gordon went over Stuff the Magic Dragon and stuffed a through the legs dunk. That was enough to secure the Orland Magic's forward spot in the Finals. Finally, the reigning Slam Dunk champ, Zach Lavine showed out for his first two dunks. The cradle below the back was only an appetizer for the night. Lavine for his second had to somehow show up Gordon's dunk. Lavine went from the free throw line courtesy of an alley-oop from Andrew Miller.

Now the finals. This wasn't like previous dunk contests, where we saw the best in the beginning. This was an onslaught of perfect 10's. The dunk-off was fantastic, but the best dunk of the night didn't even win. Aaron Gordon's over the mascot, under both legs jam, should have ended the competition. Of course, Zach Lavine showed up with a windmill from a little closer than the FT line to extend the competition. The creativity ran out for Gordon, which led to Lavine's final dunk. Lavine took off from the FT line and went through the legs to cap off a stellar night in Toronto. Zach Lavine won back-to-back NBA Slam Dunk competitions for the first time since Nate Robinson in 2010. Aaron Gordon's dunk will go down as the best to not win a dunk title behind Jason Richardson's off the backboard, between the legs in 2004.

This was what the dunk contest is supposed to be. Full of creativity, athleticism and fun. Sure, the Dunk Contests have lacked star power, we're looking at you LeBron James, but if the NBA has the best athletes in the world, why not show them off? We had "hoverboards", retired NBA MVPs, and more participating in the dunk festivities. Maybe we'll see more dunks from the FT line or jumping over human pyramids in the future. 

At least until next year, the NBA Slam Dunk Contest will be back to the most-anticipated event at the NBA All-Star Weekend.