Gallery: The Arkansas-tied players that have won the NBA Slam Dunk Contest

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – This weekend in San Francisco, the NBA celebrates its annual All-Star Weekend which includes events like the 3-Point Contest and the Slam Dunk Contest on Saturday night.

In its history, the dunk contest has been won by legends of the game like Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, Vince Carter and Julius Erving as well as a pair of players with ties to the Natural State.

Fred Jones

Indian Pacers' Fred Jones flies through the air during the Slam Dunk contest at the NBA All Star Weekend in Los Angeles Saturday, Feb. 14, 2004. Jones won the contest. (AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian)
Glenn Robinson III, center, is the third Indiana Pacers player to win the NBA dunk contest with his victory at this year's NBA All-Star competition. Fred Jones, right, won in 2004, and Darnell Hillman won in 1977. The three players were recognized before the start of an NBA basketball game against the Detroit Pistons in Indianapolis, Wednesday, March 8, 2017. (AP Photo/Doug McSchooler)
Indiana Pacers Fred Jones, lefts, jokes with teammate Ron Artest during a shooting contest following practice in Indianapolis, Wednesday, Oct. 6, 2004. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)
Indiana Pacers' Fred Jones eyes the basket as he goes up for a dunk in the second quarter against the Milwaukee Bucks' Tuesday, March 30, 2004, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
Oregon's Fred Jones, the Indiana Pacers first round pick, talks about joining the team as he was introduced in Indianapolis, Friday, June 28, 2002. Jones was the 14th overall selection in Wednesday's draft and it was the second straight year the Pacers drafted a four-year collegian. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Scottie Pippen was the first Arkansan to compete in the contest when he went up against stars like Shawn Kemp, Kenny Smith and Dominique Wilkins in 1990. However, the first one to win it was 6’4 Malvern-born guard Fred Jones in 2004.

Representing the Indiana Pacers at the time, Jones beat out back-to-back champ Jason Richardson as well as Chris Andersen and Ricky Davis with a tomahawk dunk after catching the ball on a bounce. He was one of 28 players in the history of the contest to get at least one perfect 50 score on an individual dunk.

Jeremy Evans

Utah Jazz's Jeremy Evans holds up the trophy after winning the NBA basketball All-Star Slam Dunk contest, Saturday, Feb. 25, 2012, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Utah Jazz's Jeremy Evans hangs onto the rim after his attempt during the NBA basketball All-Star Slam Dunk Contest in Orlando, Fla., Saturday, Feb. 25, 2012. Evans earned 29 percent of 3 million text message votes cast by fans to win the competition. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Utah Jazz's Jeremy Evans jumps over teammate Gordon Hayward during the NBA basketball All-Star Slam Dunk Contest in Orlando, Fla., Saturday, Feb. 25, 2012. (AP Photo/Jeff Haynes, Pool)
Utah Jazz's Jeremy Evans jumps over teammate Gordon Hayward for his attempt during the NBA basketball All-Star Slam Dunk Contest in Orlando, Fla., Saturday, Feb. 25, 2012. Evans earned 29 percent of 3 million text message votes cast by fans to win the competition. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Former Utah Jazz center Mark Eaton hands the ball to Jazz's Jeremy Evans during the dunk contest at NBA basketball All-Star Saturday Night, Feb. 16, 2013, in Houston. (AP Photo/Pat Sullivan)
Jeremy Evans of the Utah Jazz leaps over a portrait of himsef at the slam dunk contest during NBA All-Star Saturday Night basketball Saturday, Feb. 16, 2013, in Houston. (AP Photo/Pat Sullivan)

Eight years later, Utah Jazz forward and Crossett High School alumnus Jeremy Evans competed in the 2012 dunk contest as a last-minute replacement for Iman Shumpert when he beat Paul George, Chase Budinger and Derrick Williams for the title.

During the contest, he jumped over his teammate Gordon Hayward who threw two basketballs in the air which Evans simultaneously dunked with each hand before hanging on the rim. He competed in the contest again in 2013 but lost to Terrance Ross in the finals.

This year, the competition features players like back-to-back champion Mac McClung, Matas Buzelis from the Chicago Bulls, Stephon Castle from the San Antonio Spurs and Milwaukee’s Andre Jackson Jr.

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