Under those conditions, even DeMar DeRozan gets his chance.
The real challenge is throwing down in a game. In the heat of battle, it takes a true dunk artist to take it to the rim when it matters.
Not everyone can do it, but there are certainly 10 guys out there that have shown what it takes. Here are a few of the best in-game dunks in NBA history:
10. Rose to the rim
Let’s start with a phenomenally athletic young Chicago Bulls guard with some hang time — no, not that one. This is a recent one. Just a week ago Friday, Derrick Rose threw down a monster dunk when the Bulls got going in transition and John Salmons put up a perfect alley to Rose’s oop. Watch Rose fly into the picture from out of nowhere. It’s a sight to behold.
9. Little man, big dunk
Nate Robinson can do more than just win dunk contests. Watch him here against the vaunted Celtics defense, in the fourth quarter of a 2008 game in Boston — Knicks teammate Al Harrington misses a jumper, and Robinson tears through a wall of bigger, tougher Celtic defenders, grabs the rebound and slams it home. Robinson may not be a tall guy, but he’s not short on energy, or hops.
8. Spud the stud
The original short guy with the ridiculous vertical leap. Spud Webb, like Robinson, made a name for himself by winning dunk contests 20 years ago, but like Robinson, he’s no stranger to game-time heroics. Check out this slam on Manute Bol, the lanky Washington Bullets center. It might be the only time you’ll ever see a guy dunk on someone a full two feet taller than himself. Only Spud could do that.
7. Tell me how the rim tastes
For further proof that it’s fun to watch tall guys get dunked on, welcome to the Yao Ming exhibit. Here’s a classic clip of Kobe Bryant making a baseline cut around the Rockets’ defense and slamming one home in Yao’s face. You’ve got to hand it to Kobe — he’s not the tallest guy, he’s not the strongest, and he’s not the most amazing jumper, but he can finish at the rim with agility and grace. A sight to behold.
6. Superman saves the day
Tie game, 0.8 seconds left, inbound pass from halfcourt, who gets the ball? That would be Dwight Howard. The Magic’s Superman beat the Spurs in a 2007 game by finishing on an absolutely perfect alley-oop — Hedo Turkoglu heaves one up above the rim from 40 feet out, and Howard swoops in around Tim Duncan and hammers it home. An unforgettable ending to a big regular-season win for Orlando.
5. The stuff of Legend
Real winners get it done on the big stage, right? Larry Bird proved that. Larry Legend wasn’t much of a dunker, but the most memorable jam of his career came in Game 7 of the 1984 Finals, when he slammed one home against the Lakers at a pivotal moment. He didn’t dunk often, but he made it count, embarrassing Lakers rookie Byron Scott by dunking in traffic on a nice give-and-go with Cedric Maxwell.
4. Kryptonite
The only thing better than dunking in the NBA Finals? Dunking in the gold medal game. Here’s Rudy Fernandez at the 2008 Summer Olympics doing just that, and posterizing Dwight Howard in the process. The Spanish national team was clearly not happy about its impending double-digit loss, but Rudy’s dunk on Howard ignited the bench and got the Spaniards back into it in the fourth quarter. Not that it was enough.
3. That’s why he’s the King
Only LeBron James could do this. Check out this dunk from the 2008 All-Star Game — LeBron drives into traffic, draws the attention of all five Western Conference defenders, and just doesn’t care. He might not even notice. Chris Paul, Brandon Roy, Amare Stoudemire, Duncan, and Dirk Nowitzki might as well be air. Look at LeBron plowing through Dirk as he finishes at the rim. Absolutely disgusting.
Editor Note: Video no longer available.
2. His Airness
So many great Michael Jordan dunks, so hard to choose just one. But this is a particularly memorable one from MJ in Game 3 of the 1991 Eastern Conference Finals — he cuts around one Knick defender, then another, then charges the lane and throws it down right in Patrick Ewing‘s face. Oh, and he draws the foul. If you ever doubt that this guy was the best ever, just watch a few old clips like this. There are more than a few jaw-droppers out there.
Editor Note: Video no longer available.
1. Shaq breaks the basket
Hard to deny MJ the top spot. But exceptions must be made for freak plays like this one — if there’s one dunk that stands out above all others in NBA history, it’s this one from Shaquille O’Neal‘s rookie season in a game against the Nets. Shaq takes it to the rim, he throws it down, and he *breaks* the rim, tearing down the whole basket and beating himself over the head with the shot clock in the process. Only Shaq. Are you kidding me?
But that’s why we all love watching dunks. It’s to see the improbable, the impossible, the inconceivable. To see something we’ve never quite seen before. And in the case of Shaq at the Meadowlands, it’s something you’ll probably never see again.
