Watch: Vince Carter's historic dunk contest win 17 years later

On Feb. 12, 2000, the basketball world witnessed what may be the greatest performance by any single competitor in the history of All-Star weekend's Slam Dunk Contest.

Nearly two decades before young guns Zach LaVine and Aaron Gordon engaged in their duel for the ages, and well after Michael Jordan and Dominique Wilkins threw it down on the big stage, then-Toronto Raptors star Vince Carter set a new standard for dunkers in Oakland, Calif., with an aerial display the likes of which had never been seen before.

"Air Canada" had found the perfect combination of athleticism, power, finesse, and creativity. Every jam told a story. The moral to each of them: If your name is Vincent Lamar Carter, you can make the impossible happen when you take to the skies.