As disappointing as the NBA Dunk contests have been in years past, the regular season has had it's share of giddy, jaw-dropping throw downs. One could make a very good argument that these dunks are in fact better than anything someone could put together in a dunk contest. Part of it is the originality and spontaneity that makes you cringe at the staggering athleticism involved in these awesome highlights. Part is the lack of true "posterizations" in a dunk contest. Whether you're jumping over a kid or an seven-footer sitting down, everything is premeditated in those All Star weekend shows.
There's something to be said for that vicious, momentum-changing throw down. So with that in mind, here is a countdown of the best dunks of the 2012-13 NBA season. (Disclaimer: all videos are property of the NBA and I am not claiming rights to any of them.)
10. Jeff Green over Chris Bosh
Green holds the ball in the air before slamming it down on Chris Bosh as if to rub it in his face. Solid flight time and good height earns this one the 10-spot.
9. Kobe Bryant over Kris Humphries
8. Byron Mullens over LaMarcus Aldridge
7. Jeff Green over Al Jefferson
Yup, Jeff Green landed another spot in the top-10 with this nasty facial. Al Jefferson could only duck to try to get out of the posters that were preparing to be framed of this one.
6. J.J. Hickson over Alonzo Gee
5. DeMar Derozan over Timofey Mozgov
It's funny because he played it off like nothing happened, but Derozan threw a monster jam down on a seven-footer with authority.
4. Jamal Crawford to Blake Griffin
3. DeAndre Jordan over Brandon Knight
2. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist over Greg Monroe
1. Harrison Barnes over Nikola Pekovic
I watched this live and I stood up immediately after it went down. Literally, I felt a completely involuntary reaction to this great dunk. The rookie Barnes throwing it down on the seven-footer Pekovic was impressive and the staredown was great, too. It tops the list with the highest degree of authority and height. Another astounding part of this dunk was the way it appears to freeze in real-time as he holds it above Pekovic's out-stretched arm.
Good stuff man... can't say I agree with 4 though. Nobody was even on D! haha
ReplyDeleteThanks and yeah, it's just incredible in-game creativity that was unplanned which is why I say it's worthy of a high spot on this list. Not No. 1 or even No. 2, but it's up there...a between the legs alley to a windmill oop? That's not going to happen again.
ReplyDeleteGood stuff sir, but I don't see how DeAndre ain't number 1.
ReplyDeleteThanks - and DJ isn't No. 1 because he is dunking over a much smaller defender and Barnes is over a much taller defender...it's just easier for DJ to do what he did than Barnes to do what he did. DeAndre was essentially taking advantage of a small PG which isn't nearly as impressive as throwing it down on a seven footer.
ReplyDelete@ Elijah That was good stuff man, I agree with this and how you took everything into account. Matt D
ReplyDeleteHello mate greeat blog post
ReplyDelete