The Greatest Dunks Ever Thread

[Babak]

There have so many great dunks that just make you pop out of your seat in awe, so I thought maybe we should make a thread for everyone to post what they consider their all time favorite dunks, or dunks that are considered to be classics. Factors to take into consideration: who was the one dunking, who got dunked on, importance of the game/timing, etc. I'll start off with a few of my favorites, and also some of the obvious classics:

Absolutely unreal where Baron takes off from for this legendary dunk while still at UCLA:



The most vicious dunk I ever saw live, and definitely one of the greatest dunks in NBA playoff history with one of the premier shot blockers in AK47 getting posterized. This one is probably my personal all time favorite



The infamous Vince Carter dunk over the head of the 7 footer in the Olympics. Many consider this the greatest dunk ever:



Maybe the most famous dunk of all time, the one that created "Air Jordan"



Probably the most difficult dunk ever peformed, from Jason Richardson during the slam dunk contest:



James "Flight" White and his unbelievable between the legs dunk from the free throw line:



The best example of a "power" dunk in NBA history:



Chris Webber as a rookie with the Warriors does a behind the back facial on Barkley the Hall of Famer during the playoffs. Not so much the dunk itself as much as the significance of it:



Kobe Bryant in preseason of his rookie year posterizes Ben Wallace, one of the greatest defensive players of the decade. Some call this Kobe's "coming out party" since this was the play that really put him on the NBA map:



One of Kobe's best ever, making Dwight Howard his b!tch:

[EKBATAN]

HOW COULD u not put scottie pippen on ewing dunk??? that was by far the greatest ever


its great cuz he walks over him after it

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGVt7eIYwVc

[persianbruin]

Great thread!! although I have to say my favorite Kobe dunk of alltime is the one also on espn as a candidate of the best dunk of the DECADE! IN the playoffs, against the wolves who happened to be the higher seed ON THE ROAD, he fakes a 3 and attacks the basket, once he elevates to the highest he can he realizes TWO 7 footers (nestrovic and KG) are going for the block so on the way down stretches himself allthway to the OTHER side of the basket and dunks it from the other side!!!!!

It all happened in a blink of an eye. I have watched this in slo motion many many times. I still don't know how he did it. JUST LISTEN TO THE MINNESOTA crowd after he dunks it!! Its the same crowd that would defend KG in every KOBE/KG comparison thread.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=

[persianbruin]

btw babak, that Kobe dunk on ben wallace in Las Vegas ws the preseason of his "sophmore year". He had just turned 19. He became the youngest allstar starter ever that year.

[Darvish11]

this one is retarded






my favorite dunker now tho is shannon brown...he had this one fast break a couple months back and was gonna do this statue of liberty 360 but got fouled

my moneys on him for the dunk contest

just look at his elevation




oh almost forgot

[ommy48]

btw babak, that Kobe dunk on ben wallace in Las Vegas ws the preseason of his "sophmore year". He had just turned 19. He became the youngest allstar starter ever that year.

c'mon now we all know that was not deserved but rather due to the Lakers fan voting him in, much like Rocket fans in China and Tmac this year (or allen iverson this year for that matter).

[persianbruin]

c'mon now we all know that was not deserved but rather due to the Lakers fan voting him in, much like Rocket fans in China and Tmac this year (or allen iverson this year for that matter).

This is the first time I hear this ommy comes to show you the haters never stop! it wasnt like that back in 1998!! It wasnt internet voting back then. There was a buzz about him all around the country. I remember back then people used to vote in Mc Donalds!! Internet was a privilege, not many people had access to it. Also laker fans were mostly busy voting for van excel and eddie jones who were the two starting backcourts (both made it to the allstar game as backups which gave the lakers FOUR players in the game).

This is before people started to hate him after MJ he was by far the most popular player leaguewide. Have you watched that allstar game? Kobe woulda easily won the MVP if Karl had kept him in the game. Even though he didn't play much in the second half he still lead the western allstars in points. There was even a conspiracy theory after the game that Kobe was making MJ look bad (even though he couldnt really defend MJ) and karl a UNC grad wanted his fellow UNC alumni, MJ to win the MVP

[persianbruin]

.....continued from previous post:

NOw that I think about it, I can se why I had never heard the voting for kobe theory before. Its because that its from such a long time ago that many people specially the youngsters cant even remember that there was no internet voting back then!! Watch the following clips from the 98 allstargame. As an MJ fan you are gonna enjoy this Also just watch how a 19 year old plays with such confidence and swagger against the best in the world and listen to Isiah Thomas at 4:15. THis was somthing everybody know. KbE vs MJ was something that all the players in the league were excited about which goes to show you how brilliant of a player Kobe was at age 19

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=

[ommy48]

Honestly persianbruin everytime we discuss Kobe it becomes about hating this or that, when in reality stats are the true objective measure of one's argument. Kobe put up 15 ppg at a measly 43% clip and was put into the All Star game biggest he was in the 2nd Biggest Market in the US. To say otherwise would be simply dishonest. How do you think he got so much hype? because he played in LA and was being touted by Laker fans before he even took on the mantle of a true Superstar.

The way Kobe played in the All-Star game or the flashes of brilliance that he displayed on some nights in his first few seasons are not a worthy reason to be put in the All-Star game itself. To say that Kobe showed potential and incredible talent as a valid justification of his being in the All Star game is ludicrous. The guy was clearly not one of the best NBA players in the game that year, and his pedestrian stats for the year prove it. Moreover to say that just because the Internet voting was not in effect, that ballot stuffing and undeserving votes being given to big market players is simply naive. That practice has been in the NBA since the 70's and 80's.

The fact is that Kobe Bryant was an avg player in the NBA that could do extraordinary things at times in his first couple of seasons before he broke out in 1999-2000 (the first year of the 3-peat). That's not me hating, that's me giving you arguments based on facts, most notably fairly telling stats. If Kobe stepped into the NBA and put up 28, 6, 5 immediately like one MJ then yes he deserved to be an all-star but he didn't.

[Babak]

Honestly persianbruin everytime we discuss Kobe it becomes about hating this or that, when in reality stats are the true objective measure of one's argument. Kobe put up 15 ppg at a measly 43% clip and was put into the All Star game biggest he was in the 2nd Biggest Market in the US. To say otherwise would be simply dishonest. How do you think he got so much hype? because he played in LA and was being touted by Laker fans before he even took on the mantle of a true Superstar.

The way Kobe played in the All-Star game or the flashes of brilliance that he displayed on some nights in his first few seasons are not a worthy reason to be put in the All-Star game itself. To say that Kobe showed potential and incredible talent as a valid justification of his being in the All Star game is ludicrous. The guy was clearly not one of the best NBA players in the game that year, and his pedestrian stats for the year prove it. Moreover to say that just because the Internet voting was not in effect, that ballot stuffing and undeserving votes being given to big market players is simply naive. That practice has been in the NBA since the 70's and 80's.

The fact is that Kobe Bryant was an avg player in the NBA that could do extraordinary things at times in his first couple of seasons before he broke out in 1999-2000 (the first year of the 3-peat). That's not me hating, that's me giving you arguments based on facts, most notably fairly telling stats. If Kobe stepped into the NBA and put up 28, 6, 5 immediately like one MJ then yes he deserved to be an all-star but he didn't.

Bro, are you REALLY gona start the Kobe/Jordan comparison's AGAIN in a thread reserved for dunks for gods sakes?

[persianbruin]

Honestly persianbruin everytime we discuss Kobe it becomes about hating this or that, when in reality stats are the true objective measure of one's argument. Kobe put up 15 ppg at a measly 43% clip and was put into the All Star game biggest he was in the 2nd Biggest Market in the US. To say otherwise would be simply dishonest. How do you think he got so much hype? because he played in LA and was being touted by Laker fans before he even took on the mantle of a true Superstar.

The way Kobe played in the All-Star game or the flashes of brilliance that he displayed on some nights in his first few seasons are not a worthy reason to be put in the All-Star game itself. To say that Kobe showed potential and incredible talent as a valid justification of his being in the All Star game is ludicrous. The guy was clearly not one of the best NBA players in the game that year, and his pedestrian stats for the year prove it. Moreover to say that just because the Internet voting was not in effect, that ballot stuffing and undeserving votes being given to big market players is simply naive. That practice has been in the NBA since the 70's and 80's.

The fact is that Kobe Bryant was an avg player in the NBA that could do extraordinary things at times in his first couple of seasons before he broke out in 1999-2000 (the first year of the 3-peat). That's not me hating, that's me giving you arguments based on facts, most notably fairly telling stats. If Kobe stepped into the NBA and put up 28, 6, 5 immediately like one MJ then yes he deserved to be an all-star but he didn't.

Kobe put 15 points a game cuz he was playing limited minutes and he was a bench player!! I remember Dick Vitale in the middle of the UCLA game on ESPN was screaming at Del harris for not starting Kobe!! Btw, Del harris was fired later for not starting Kobe which contributed to lakers woes in the playoffs.

Ommy whats with you and hating Kobe so much?? You never see me put down Lebron or MJ. So whats the deal with you? You sound like an middle age lady who has lost her looks and is jealous at of the cute 18 year old next door! LA market is just one market. The whole country voted and it wasn't internet voting. Also Many LA fans didnt like Kobe and they voted for Van excellent and Eddie Jones who were the starters of that Laker team.

I actually wanna thank you for making me youtubing that video. The fact that Isiah Thomas at 4:15 of the video says when Kobe and MJ go at it everyone leaves them alone just shows you what a stud Kobe ws at age 19!! Here we have MJ a 5 time champion (won his sixth 4 months later) going against a 19 year old and all the veterans are leaving them alone.

IF YOU ARE NOT BIASED, then watch the clip. Look at Kobe, windmill dunk, reverse dunk, sky hook, fake dribbling, alleyoop dunk, 3 pointers, midrange jumpers, he is making all of them and He was ONLY 19!! Need I repeat that??

At one point of the video the broadcasters were saying Jordan has to play with his A game cuz Kobe is all out there

[ommy48]

Kobe put 15 points a game cuz he was playing limited minutes and he was a bench player!! I remember Dick Vitale in the middle of the UCLA game on ESPN was screaming at Del harris for not starting Kobe!! Btw, Del harris was fired later for not starting Kobe which contributed to lakers woes in the playoffs.

Ommy whats with you and hating Kobe so much?? You never see me put down Lebron or MJ. So whats the deal with you? You sound like an middle age lady who has lost her looks and is jealous at of the cute 18 year old next door! LA market is just one market. The whole country voted and it wasn't internet voting. Also Many LA fans didnt like Kobe and they voted for Van excellent and Eddie Jones who were the starters of that Laker team.

I actually wanna thank you for making me youtubing that video. The fact that Isiah Thomas at 4:15 of the video says when Kobe and MJ go at it everyone leaves them alone just shows you what a stud Kobe ws at age 19!! Here we have MJ a 5 time champion (won his sixth 4 months later) going against a 19 year old and all the veterans are leaving them alone.

IF YOU ARE NOT BIASED, then watch the clip. Look at Kobe, windmill dunk, reverse dunk, sky hook, fake dribbling, alleyoop dunk, 3 pointers, midrange jumpers, he is making all of them and He was ONLY 19!! Need I repeat that??

At one point of the video the broadcasters were saying Jordan has to play with his A game cuz Kobe is all out there

We'll just have to agree to disagree on this point. It has nothing to do with hating whatsoever, 43% FG and 15 ppg (15 ppg may be explained by his 26 min per game off the bench but how do you justify a terrible FG% that makes his play that season not only avg but extremely inefficient?) is not all-star level play (Carl Landry this year is avg 17ppg on 50+% FG and he should be starting too, but do you see him making the ASG?-no). These are the type of statements and arguments made by Laker fans that make me think that they have some inherent form of delusion when it comes to evaluating their own players. Kobe is great, a HOF and a top 10 NBA player of all-time, but he was not deserving of an ASG appearance that year based upon his play, that point has yet to be refuted by you in any way shape or form. Telling me that Kobe could jump high, make some spectacualr plays during the ASG and thus is deserving of his appearance based upon such occasional moments of brilliance is absurd and you know it.

PS Babak no one is comparing anyone here, so learn to read and stop making dumb statements. The initial comment was made by PB, not me, and I merely refuted his statement. To imply anything else is disingenuous (MJ's stats were used as a tangential example and did not form the crux of my argument whatsoever).

[persianbruin]

ok lets disagree! Just so you know Kobe used to go for crazy low % shots all the time which is why it alienated his teammates but as magic johnson said it once, if hadn't taken those kinda shots he would not have been the player he is today.

anyways, this is a dunk thread. Post videos of your favorite dunks and lets move on!

[Abbas85]

4 words: East Bay Funk Dunk.

First between the legs reverse dunk in dunk contest history. All-Star weekend 94. My dad taped that shit and i watch it once in a while to get that nostaligiac feeling of watching all these hall of fame players that have long retired.

[Arian]

FIRST DUNK, NUFF SAID