This weekend is the 25th anniversary of the NBA Dunk Contest, which happens tonight during All-Star Saturday. The idea was hatched by Charlotte resident Carl Scheer, who as general manager of the ABA Denver Nuggets, teamed with ABA marketing director Jim Bukata to unveil the contest at the 1976 ABA All-Star Game. Scheer, a consultant for the Charlotte Checkers, has been in sports management and seen dunkers for nearly 40 years. The Observer's Cliff Mehrtens asked for Scheer’s top five all-time dunkers, and his comments:
1. Julius Erving: “He was the grandfather of all dunkers. He was fluid, he was long and he made you gasp. He played in the 1970’s and 80s, and was an innovator for playing above the rim.”
2. David Thompson: “He had a 44-inch vertical leap. He was as creative dunking as Julius was majestic. Incredible talent.”
3. Michael Jordan: “He took the contest to another level after Irving and Thompson. He was so confident and had such control of his body. He could plan a dunk, change his mind three times as he was beginning, and then do something spectacular.”
4. Dwight Howard: “His size and strength make him a candidate for the hall of fame of dunkers. Not as fluid as the guys ahead of him on the list, but certainly a top 5.”
5. Jason Richardson: “Explosive, and very creative for a guy his size (6-foot-6). He’s won the NBA contest twice.”
Disagree with Scheer's list? Post your substitutes, or your comments, or your very own list, in the comments section below.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
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19 comments:
Where's Dominique Wilkins??? I can think of several other amazing players that should fall in the top 5 besides Howard and Richardson. Also MJ should land at #2.
How is Vince Carter not on the list?! I haven't seen too many people literally jump over top of a 7 footer while dunking.
WHAT
A
JOKE
Yeah, Scheer may have did this and that and Slam Dunk contest blah blah blah, but you can tell he NEVER dunked a basketball in a game or never felt the full athleticism it TAKES to dunk a ball...
Once one has this EXPERIENCE mixed with his knowledge, then one would come to the OBVIOUS conclusion that the best dunker of ALL-TIME, hands down (ask any other NBA standout/legend) is Vincent Lamar Carter: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vince_Carter
Give me a break, it's not close...
Where is Dominique, and I would certainly mention Larry "Grandmama" Johnson (until is back injury, after which he never dunked again). Both were extreme power dunkers.
No Chocolate Thunder? That's a flat-out mistake.
Vince Carter?
He had the most memorable Slam Dunk Contest ever...this top 5 sucks.
Jason Richardson? Really?
He's stealing Vince or Dominique's spot.
theres no way dwight howard is on the list he has a decided advantage over all of these guys due to the fact thats already 6"11 and has less distance between him and the goal....if he cant jump high enough to do crazy stuff than he shouldnt be allowed in the league....MJ, Vinsanity, Dr J., Nique, and Lebron...only lebron because hes the only one who actually jumped from the foul line truly in a game situation and he can snatch a quarter off of the top of the backboard...nuff said.
I agree with most. Where is Wilkins? It was Wilkins and Jordan going head to head that made the dunk contest what it was. Richardson and Howard shouldnt even be mentioned. Spud Webb needs to be added as well as Larry Johnson
This list is flawed...I love Dr. J, but he is not #1. Jordan, Wilkins or Vince Carter have to be #1 or your list is flawed. I also like JRich, but he's not top 5. Dwight Howard just doesn't look good "show dunking" as don't most big men. The best big man dunker of all time is easily Shawn Kemp.
1.Jordan
2.Vince
3.Wilkins
4.Kemp
5.Dr.J/DT
And this coming from a NC State fan, ha.
spud webb spud webb spud webb 5 foot nothing and a half is not suppose to dunk 6 foot 6 your are suppose to do amazing dunks
This article should be titled "top 5 Dunkers of the Youtube videos I could find in 5 minutes".
No Dominique Wilkens, no Spud Webb, no Vince Carter jumping over the 7'1" French center in the olympics?
And no dunker list should ever leave off Chocolate Thunder, Darryl Dawkins, whose dunks were so great he named them. When he broke those backboards, he sent real fear to the other team.
But it would take an extra 5 minutes to pull those youtube clips, and we know the Observer = no research reporters.
Replace Howard and J-Rich with Dominique and Vinsanity and the list is fine
Vince Carter had the single greatest performance in the history of the slam dunk contest. He singlehandedly revitalized the competition and made it relevant again.
HOW IS HE NOT ON THE LIST?
Who in da h*ll came up with this list absent Dominique and Vince Carter??? Someone needs to research their pro basketball....
Although Jackie Jackson from Virginia Union never played professional, he should be recognized as the "grandfather dunker". Even before Dr. J. Jackie Jackson was dunking from the free throw circle....As a matter of fact, I suspect Dr. J. adopted some of Jackie's moves. How about that argument? Remember Dr. J. played with the Virginia Squires, so he was exposed to or knew of Jackie Jackson's work...What do you think?
No Dominique??????? This list lost all of its credibility. Do some research next time, Scheer.
Didn't Dominique and Jordan virtually create the notion of a dunk contest?
This list is like crediting ONE of the two Wright Brothers for their achievements in aviation.
Without Vince this is a joke. How can you miss the greatest dunker of all time?
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