Greatest Dunker Ever?

i appreciate the props, boom.

but, no, thompson was more of an explosive leaper than the kind of graceful glider doc, hawk and jordan were. imo, anyway.

 

I at least hope ESPN gave some love to Darrell "Dr. Dunkenstein" Griffith.

The guy copied Dr. J's free throw line dunk... as a high school senior.

 

FYI, at the end of the show our favorite writer Scoop Jackson and some guy named Chris Broussard gave their list as:

1. Vince Carter
2. Dominique
3. Dr. J
4.Michael Jordan

Actually I may have switched the middle 2 but I thought you'd all be interested in their No. 1.

By the way, ESPN ranked Dawkins 10 and Lebron 7 and Isaiah Rider 15 and left Barkely completely off.

Morons.

 

That rocker by Dr. J over Michael Cooper is outstanding. What the Dr. did that no one else does is he pulls that ball back behind his head before throwing it down, that was the unmatched ferociousness.

Interesting about white guys can't jump? I think he posterizes a white dude, maybe its Bobby Gross, and Gross gets up at the peak and just misses the dunk by inches then nearly hits his head on the bottom of the backboard. Well dude got up.

 

In over 45 years of watching basketball, it is Dr. J without a doubt in my mind.

A lot of what Dr. J did in the ABA probably isn't around on video or is very hard to find. But as good as he was in the NBA, he was even more spectacular in the ABA. The other thing about him was that he could do it so quickly, you might miss it.

And curse Roy Boe for sending him to the 76ers.

 

We never saw the true prime of Julius Erving, hidden away on Long Island and getting on TV a couple times a year in the ABA.

He still had springs when he got to the NBA, but five years of playing on floorboards-over-concrete in the ABA had taken away his top level of warp drive.

Think Jordan after his (first) comeback vs. Jordan before. Still great, but not quite the leaper he was.

Same goes for Connie Hawkins, whose best years were lost in complete obscurity in the early ABA, which got NO games on TV, as opposed to the late ABA in which the Doctor played, when at least a handful of games now and then got on the tube. When Hawkins got to the NBA, he had had major knee surgery, and never came all the way back.

 

First need to correct something here. Wilt didn't start that in Kansas. He did it at Overbrook High School in Philadelphia. He would take off and score on a dunk on his free throws. If you have any questions, check with Sonny Hill, a Sixers Executive, former NBA basketball broadcaster, and a key member of the crew that selects the McDonald's All-America team.
Dr. J in the ABA and his first three years in the NBA was the shit. Hands down. The crap that we're seeing now spawned from legends like Wilt and Doc.
Dunking is an art from those who liked to embarrass opponents like Doc, Michael Jordan, Dominique; to power slammers such as Darryl Dawkins and Wilt; to showman such as Darnell Valentine and Darrell Griffith (aka Dr. Dunkenstein); to freaks such as Spud Webb; to trick show artists such as Vince Carter and Dee Brown.
Personally, I've ONLY counted the dunks that were done in competition. Do it in a game and it weighs more heavily.

 

When talking about dunking anyone who does not mention Connie Hawkins in the first 3 names needs to bone up on their basketball history.

Hawk starting dunking at age 11. He spawned a generation of dunkers. DR J patterned his dunks after Hawks.

If you don't know enough about him pick up a copy of Foul- The best basketball book that I ever read.

 

No question about the Hawk. And while we're at it, don't forget Elgin Baylor.
I think we should start a thread on best WHITE dunkers. At the top of my list is Tom Chambers. He sat many brothers down with aerial facials.

 

Hands down, Chambers was the best white dunker. He could hold his own with the brothers.

Others....
1) Chambers
2) Rex Chapman
3) Dan Majerle
4) Bobby Jones
5) Brent Barry

I will go to my grave with the believe 'Nique got hosed in Chicago. The only other screwjob that compares is Vince McMahon/Bret Hart. Wilkins combined power and finesse like no other.

I trust Scoop Jackson with basketball history as much as I would trust anyone at Fox News telling me about the state of international affairs. Jason Whitlock lighting him up forever gave me respect for the big man.

 

When it comes to "white dunkers," Bird's playoff dunk was awesome.

 

if i've told this story before, i apologize. i was covering the nba in '83 when julius erving was chasing his first nba title. the sixers were facing the knicks in round 1 of the playoffs, so i asked knicks coach hubie brown about doc. picture hubie's gruff voice telling the tale:

"hey, people in the nba think they know doc. but they don't know the real doc. the real doc played in the aba. when i was coaching the kentucky colonels, i had a rule: If doc gets to the foul line on a fast break and you didn't foul him, it was a $50 fine. Because if you let him take off and do his thing, it would send the crowd crazy. Even if you were playing at home!

"Oh, Artis Gilmore hated when doc came to down, 'cause he would embarrass him by throwing down a dunk. I mean, he'd come down on a break, and doc would go up.... and the white guys would go up.... and the black guys would go up.... and the white guys would come down... and the black guys would come down.... and doc's still up there, fuckin' around!

"i mean, you'd have fans in your own building, standing and giving each other fives and all that crap. it was unfair.

"that was julius erving. only those of us in the aba knew that julius erving."

nobody's ever described it better.