LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Candace Parker and 3 other past Jam Fest standouts at the McDonald's All-American Game

The hype was created months ago with the 2025 edition of the McDonald's All-American Game around the corner. However, the real excitement comes with the scrimmages and the Powerade Jam Fest. This year's Jam Fest will start at 7:30 p.m. ET and be live-streamed on ESPN2 and Sling.

To build up the anticipation of the Jam Fest, let's have a look at some of the iconic Jam Fest performances from the previous editions of the McDonald's All-American Game.

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Past Jam Fest standouts at the McDonald's All-American

#6, Candace Parker, 2004, Oklahoma City

Seven-time WNBA All-Star Candace Parker became the first woman to win the Dunk Contest in 2004. She faced tough competition from the future NBA Dunk Contest participants Josh Smith, Rudy Gay and two-time NBA champ J.R. Smith.

However, it was Parker who won the award for her dunk when she covered her eyes with her left arm and slammed it hard with her right hand.

Parker paved the way for more girls to win the McDonald's All-American Jam Fest Dunk Competition, with Stanford's Fran Belibi winning the competition in 2019 and Ashlyn Watkins winning the award in 2022.

#5, Blake Griffin, 2007, Louisville

It seemed like the perfect stage for the 2011 NBA Slam Dunk Competition winner as Blake Griffin gave a glimpse of what he could do with the basketball. Griffin was among other participants, including Michael Beasley, Jerryd Bayless and Donte Green.

The six-time All-Star dazzled the crowd with his powerful dunks. However, it was his finals' dunk that came off the backboard, added with a windmill and was finished with an off-the-bounce 360 to win the 2007 McDonald's All-American Jam Fest.

#4, DeMar DeRozan, 2008, Milwaukee

While the six-time NBA All-Star DeMar DeRozan was on the losing side of the 2008 McDonald's All-American Game, despite his 10 points, he stunned the crowd in the Jam Fest.

The 6-foot-6 small forward who participated in the 2010 and 2011 NBA Slam Dunk Competitions showed what he was capable of in 2008 when he boasted his 38.5" vertical to pull off some crowd-pleasing dunks.

DeRozan finished with a reverse Eastbay, a hanging windmill, and a backboard tap followed by a ricochet dunk off the bounce to win the Dunk Contest.

#3, Zion Williamson, 2018, Atlanta

Coming off a reputation of being a freak with an incredible hang time, Zion Williamson secured the Dunk Competition title at the 2018 McDonald's All-American Jam Fest.

Williamson's highlight reels were full of some nasty over-the-defender dunks and he showcased why in the competition where he was up against WNBA star Olivia Nelson-Odada, Nassir Little, Quentin Grimes, and Keldon Johnson.

The 6-7 power forward finished with 198/200 points in his final round. Williamson made some ferocious dunks, including a 360 windmill to cock-backs and Eastbay off the glass, leaving no room for any competition.

#2, Carmelo Anthony, 2002, New York

It was his New York Knicks teammate, Amar'e Stoudemire, who gave the 10-time NBA All-Star, Carmelo Anthony, a tough fight in the final round of the Jam Fest Dunk Contest.

The 6-7 guard started with a reverse windmill and included an off-the-back-board dunk in his performance also. However, he got the win over the six-time NBA All-Star after slamming it down hard, taking off from a foot ahead of the charity strike line.

Stoudemire, who wanted to outperform Anthony, jumped from the free-throw line but missed his dunk, resulting in Anthony winning the contest.

#1, LeBron James, 2003, Cleveland

Arguably the best player in the NBA, LeBron James is still going strong in his 21st season in the league for the LA Lakers. Despite his reputation, the four-time NBA Champ has never performed in the NBA Slam Dunk competition

However, the only dunk contest he took part in was the 2003 McDonald's All-American Jam Fest, where he was up against J.R. Giddens and Shannon Brown. The Akron, Ohio, native, who was the talk of the town, started with an off-the-backboard slam, as his head rose above the rim, gaining him 88 points.

His second dunk came similarly, except this time, he finished with a one-handed slam. His other dunks involved cock-back slams, windmills and more.

With top prospects including BYU signee AJ Dybantsa, Kansas Jayhawks signee Darryn Peterson, USC Trojans commit Alijah Arenas and Arizona Wildcats commit Koa Peat performing in the 2025 McDonald's All-American Game, who will win the Jam Fest?