The Slam Dunk Contest is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) competition hel during the NBA All-Star Weekend. The contest was inaugurated by the American Basketball Association (ABA) at its All-Star Game in 1976 in Denver, just as the slam dunk was legalized in the NCAA. It enabled players to showcase their dunking skills and try to "out-dunk" each other. However, this contest would be short-lived as the ABA merged the following year with the NBA. Realizing the popularity of slam dunks, the NBA soon created a contest of its own, which made its first appearance in 1984. The contest currently uses fan voting, via text-messaging, to determine the winner.