Distance dunks are some of the most underrated dunks out there. The only way they've really gotten much attention is when the dunkers smartly used a clearly visible measurement device to validate the legitimate awesomeness of their dunk, the foul line.
The earliest of such dunkers that I know of was the Doctor himself. Dr. Julius "Julio H." Erving had the talent, the ambition, and most of all, the audacity to walk in from the ABA as an outsider to the NBA and house people around the rim. He gripped the ball as if it were a softball and used his 10 ft wingspan to navigate his way around the airspace, all while maintaining this mug to the likes of, "the fuck you think you're doing?" right before he'd hammer home a one-handed testament to dunking.
Dr. J's foul line dunk starts at 5:00 minutes in. Just pause and wait for it to load or watch the hi-jinks that precede his dunk.
Also:Top 10 Dr. J Dunks
If Dr. J was the Old Testament, Jordan was the New Testament of dunking (and Vince Carter was the return of Jesus!). Anywho, Jordan redefined it all and was brilliant at basically levels, but let's focus in on his foul line dunks.
1985: He put down a strip of white tape on the foul line (not sure exactly what this is for other than to emphasize the already painted foul line beneath the tape). This is one of the farthest back dunks I've seen and even though it doesn't have as much "flair" as the next couple he would do, it is actually from behind the line instead of right on it. Ya see!
1987: It's all in the legs and the one-handed pump on this one. The camera's slow-mo also helps out tremendously. Gorgeous dunk.
1988: This one is even closer to the rim with even more added in to the bent legs and Jordanesque "cup" grip toward the end when he throws it down. Love it, as always.
And now, for five Vince Carter foul line dunks! What can I say the man knows how to dunk.
What are the kids doing now? Here are the moderno free throw line dunkers. Love the one at 2:00 minutes.
And finally, what would this post be without this video?:
not as big of a star, but still a highlight machine. JR hsould be included in your dunks discussion. Here's a sample
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZdmsNA6yhXY
I'm definitely a fan of JR Smith. He's one of the better dunkers of the post-Vince's prime era. Him, Jason Richardson, and even though he's so big for a dunker, Dwight Howard.
ReplyDeleteOh my God, everyone should watch that whole first Dr. J clip. I love the format, where everyone has to do a mandatory distance dunk. Everyone was apparently capable back then. I love that George Gervin is in this. David Thompson was supposedly one of the most talented players to ever lace up, but I think cocaine addiction dragged him down. Look how fucking good he is at dunking! Also note that EVERYONE back then did old-school palming dunks, proving the accuracy of our name for that specific type of dunk.
ReplyDeleteThompson's distance dunk is one of the best I've ever seen, rivaled only by that first foul line dunk by Carter. I wasn't aware Carter could do distance so easily. I honestly challenge anyone to come up with an answer for best dunker ever other than Carter. And please no random And1 dunkers set to that same song from The Matrix or whatever it's from.
The build-up for Dr. J's foul-link dunk was great. And my God, was that a Conor Duggan dunk he did afterwards? A hard one, at that.
We all know that Jordan's '85 free-throw dunk was my favorite. Why, you ask? Because if you're going to make a point of jumping from a line, the one that is most honest to that line is the one that is going to get the most points from me. '88 is his most famous, but I can't believe he had the audacity to repeat the exact same dunk from the year before. Obviously his most famous because this was in his hometown and he used it to drive the nail into the coffin of his great slam dunk rival, Dominique Wilkins, king of the technical, thrown-it-down dunks versus Jordan's beautiful, elegant style.
I wish that free throw line complilation wasn't so blurry. I think the one at 2:00 is my favorite, too, because it shows just how far that distance is. How far away is the free thrown line? 18 feet from the back out-of-bounds line? Which would make it like 15 feet from the hoop or something? The long jump record from my memory is 29 feet, although of course you don't have to go up with that. Was that really Pippen doing a free throw dunk? God bless him. And between-the-legs from the free throw is absurd.
So can someone please tell me why more people didn't comment on this post?
ReplyDeletedoubt it. (but I wish)
ReplyDeleteThat movie is great. We should watch it at home sometime.
ReplyDelete