The NBA Dunk Contest may not be what it once was, but it has been considered the highlight event at All-Star Weekend for a long time. There have been legendary performances that have cemented players’ legacies. Michael Jordan, Dominique Wilkins, and more recently, Aaron Gordon and Zach LaVine, have all dazzled crowds with innovative and mind-boggling dunks. However, if there’s one man who is synonymous with the dunk contest, it’s Vince Carter.
Vince Carter’s later years in the league saw his career dwindle, but he was as big a superstar as anyone else at the turn of the millennium. Carter was high-flying, explosive, and incredibly skilled, the ultimate human highlight reel. And his mastery over dunking made him a fan favorite from when he was very young, even though he didn’t find a lot of traditional success with his teams.
The show he put on during the Dunk Contest in 2000 is still spoken about to this day. And like always, there were big celebrities in the crowd around to see it happen. Michael Keaton, best known for his role as Batman in the movies Batman and Batman Returns, was one of those, providing an iconic moment following one of Carter’s unforgettable dunks.
Michael Keaton Couldn’t Believe Vince Carter’s Amazing ‘Elbow In The Rim’ Dunk
Keaton had been asked about his thoughts on the three-point shootout and the dunk contest in an interview during All-Star Weekend. He picked Vince Carter as the man who would dazzle and then had an amazing reaction when he was proven right. A clip of this epic situation was recently shared on Twitter.
Happy Birthday Michael Keaton, who had this great reaction to Vince Carter’s elbow dunk pic.twitter.com/IeapIDKfCh
— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) September 5, 2022
Interviewer: “Who’s your favorite in the shootout?”
Michael Keaton: “I’m liking the German from Dallas, that’s who I’m liking. Nowitzki. But I really thought it was going to be Iverson early on, or Terry Porter. But I thought Iverson might just kick everybody’s butt.
Interview: “Are you gonna come to the dunk contest? Who’s your favorite in the dunk contest?”
Michael Keaton: “Oh yeah. I’m liking Vince Carter a lot in that one. But umm, I think it’s his cousin who plays with him. Is it his cousin? Plays awfully sweet too. But I think it’s Vince.”
Carter put on an absolute show, battling the cousin Keaton mentioned, none other than Tracy McGrady, as well as Steve Francis. Vince had too much, though, performing 360 windmills, a between-the-legs dunk, and famously also putting his elbow in the rim. It left Keaton and several others in the audience speechless, with their amazing reactions. The Dunk Contest arguably didn’t manage to hit those heights again, but Vince’s epic performance will never be forgotten.
