DUNK YOU VERY MUCH RECOGNITION, WHETHER WANTED OR NOT, ENDURES FOR PAST CHAMPIONS.

Byline: Ross Siler Staff Writer

Dee Brown was an unknown 22-year-old rookie guard from Jacksonville University when he pumped up his Reebok sneakers, covered his eyes with his right arm in midair and delivered one of the NBA's most memorable dunks 13 years ago this week.

Never before had Brown attempted the dunk that made him instantly famous. And never again has Brown done it since.

But the title he won that night at the Charlotte Coliseum as part of All-Star Saturday night - 1991 Slam Dunk contest champion - has followed Brown the rest of his life.

``You know how they say you become a celebrity overnight?'' said Brown, now the 35-year-old coach of the WNBA's San Antonio Silver Stars. ``That really did happen to me.

``I was playing in the NBA, I was having a pretty good rookie year. All of a sudden, people are walking past Larry Bird to get my autograph.''

It will be a less-than-celebrated observance Saturday night at Staples Center, but the dunk contest turns 20 this year. Once the highlight of All- Star weekend, the high-flying exhibition has been in recent years disbanded, then resurrected, and now is mostly forgotten.

Except that is, for past winners such as Brown, who carry with them one of the most unique titles in sports, shared by the likes of Michael Jordan, Dominique Wilkins and Kobe Bryant as well as Harold Miner, Cedric Ceballos and Isaiah Rider.

``I'm amazed,'' said Kenny Walker, the 1989 champion. ``I might be hanging out at a mall, on the beach, at the golf course, and people still recognize me as the Slam Dunk champion. It's an elite group to be in.''

Not all one-hit wonders

Throughout its existence, the dunk contest has both made and broken careers. Roughly half of its winners turned out to be one-hit wonders, and the other half graduated to win NBA titles and make All-Star Game appearances.

After taking home the 1987 and 1988 dunk titles, Jordan went on to enjoy one of the most celebrated careers in NBA history. But after winning the 1993 and 1995 titles, Miner, a former USC standout, played just one more season - 19 total games - in the league.

``You kind of get stuck with that label,'' Walker said. ``People want to see you dunk. The hardest part of getting old is not being able to do the stuff everyone wants to see.''

``Some people are known just as dunkers,'' Brown added, ``and some are known as basketball players who can jump and dunk.''

Both the NBA and USC said last week they have no record of Miner's whereabouts. He is believed to be retired and living in Las Vegas, though efforts to reach him were unsuccessful.

Brown, on the other hand, far from disappeared after the dunk contest. He went on to play 12 seasons for the Boston Celtics, Toronto Raptors and Orlando Magic. He twice scored 41 points in a game and hit nine 3-pointers on a night in April 1999.

Yet Brown's career is remembered for one dunk. He has the trophy on display at home and a few pairs of Reebok Pumps bearing his likeness stored in a closet. The shoe company made them at the height of Brown's popularity.

``I could be known for a lot worse things,'' Brown said. ``It doesn't bother me. I like it. I played 12 years in the NBA and whenever I go anywhere people ask about the dunk.''

But Brown also said victory has had its drawbacks. He played alongside three Hall of Famers in Boston, started nearly half of his games in the league and still was known almost exclusively as a dunk champion.

``The hard thing is that you're working to be known for more than that,'' Brown said. ``I wanted to play in the All-Star Game. I wanted to be captain of the Celtics.''

Walker, on the other hand, spent more than eight months perfecting his winning dunk, a Larry Nance-inspired reverse windmill along the baseline. Walker had to duck to avoid hitting the backboard and never has seen anyone duplicate the dunk.

Walker was a reserve forward in his third year with the New York Knicks when he won the contest. He credited the victory with endearing him to the city's fans, many of whom recognize him nearly a decade after his career ended.

``It's such a high-profile event, even if you're just a so-so player, an average player, just that weekend alone is seen in 100 countries,'' Walker said. ``You can elevate your status in that weekend. It might not stay there, but that weekend is watched by just about everyone.

``You might not be an All-Star,'' added Walker, who now works as a radio host for Kentucky basketball pregame and postgame shows. ``But it's your 15 minutes of fame.''

Three-time champion?

The league will announce the field for Saturday night's dunk contest today. But the problem now is most of the NBA's top dunkers - Bryant, Vince Carter, Baron Davis, Steve Francis and Tracy McGrady among them - no longer enter the contest.

Some choose not to participate because of injury concerns. Others because they believe they have nothing to prove. There also are questions about whether new ground can be broken in the art of dunking.

``A lot of guys are scared of it because you've got to have new stuff at the dunk contest,'' said Golden State Warriors guard Jason Richardson, the two-time defending champion. ``It's hard to come up with something new.''

Richardson nonetheless will be bidding to become the first three-time contest champion. He won last year with a between-the-legs reverse dunk that left Jordan calling him ``a miniature Dominique.''

But even Richardson said of the once-showcase event: ``I don't know where it's going to go after this.''

The NBA pulled the plug on the dunk contest for the 1998 All-Star Game. The 1999 contest was canceled because of the league's lockout. But it returned for 2000 and deputy commissioner Russ Granik said it is not going anywhere for now.

``People love the dunk contest,'' Granik said. ``The issue we have is that the veteran players don't want to do it and haven't wanted to do it for several years. But it's still the most popular event on All-Star Saturday Night.

``We put it on hiatus and a lot of people were upset with us. So we plan on continuing it.''

Rising stars and aging champions

The league will use a ``rising star'' format for the contest, limiting it to third-year or younger players. Davis was asked what it would take to bring him back to the dunk contest.

``A healthy ankle and (turning) back the clock five years,'' said Davis, who finished third in the 2001 contest behind Desmond Mason and DeShawn Stevenson.

The former champions speak only wistfully of the dunk contest's old days. There have been proposals to do everything from increasing the prize money (Saturday's winner will get $25,000) to changing the format to include more players, more dunks and more fan scoring.

But for now the dunk contest will celebrate its 20th birthday, aging steadily, if not gracefully.

``Back when the Slam Dunk contest first started, guys were there because they loved to compete,'' Walker said. ``No endorsements. No injuries. They cared about putting on a good show.

``The best dunkers were always in it every year. Now you get two or three good guys and a bunch of what I call 'replacement dunkers.' ''

Brown, meanwhile, can smile whenever he sees a kid walking around in a new pair of Reebok Pumps. The shoe he helped make famous once again is available at Foot Locker, making its return as part of the retro athletic- wear craze.

``It's funny because Pumps are coming back now,'' Brown said. ``I feel like I had a part in making that shoe famous.''

Ross Siler, [phone]

ross.siler(at)dailynews.com

PAST CHAMPS

2003

Jason Richardson,

Golden State

2002

Jason Richardson,

Golden State

2001

Desmond Mason,

Seattle

2000

Vince Carter,

Toronto

1997

Kobe Bryant,

Lakers

1996

Brent Barry,

Clippers

1995

Harold Miner,

Miami

1994

Isaiah Rider,

Minnesota

1993 Harold Miner,

Miami

1992

Cedric Ceballos,

Phoenix

1991 Dee Brown,

Boston

1990 Dominique Wilkins,

Atlanta

1989 Kenny Walker,

New York

1988 Michael Jordan,

Chicago

1987 Michael Jordan,

Chicago

1986 Spud Webb,

Atlanta

1985 Dominique Wilkins,

Atlanta

1984

Larry Nance,

Phoenix

No competition was held in 1998 or 1999

CAPTION(S):

2 photos, 2 boxes

Photo:

(1 -- color) no caption (players slam dunking basketball)

Photo illustration by Shane Michael Kidder

(2) Past champions Michael Jordan, Spudd Webb and Dominique Wilkins, left to right, vote as judges at the 2003 Slam Dunk contest.

John Bazemore/Associated Press

Box:

(1) PAST CHAMPS (see text)

(2) CALENDAR OF EVENTS