Who doesn't love a violent poster dunk? After all, it's one of the most hyped up and disrespectful plays in the entire sport. Therefore, it only makes sense that we take a look at the ten most violent poster dunks in league history and rank them accordingly. Additionally, we'll focus only on straight up dunks instead of alley-oops to narrow down the search. After all, it's a daunting task to pick only ten dunks from the NBA's entire 74 years of existence.
10. Tracy McGrady over Shawn Bradley
Tracy McGrady was a walking highlight back in his prime. Out of all the dunks he has thrown down, the most violent poster must be the one during the 2005 playoffs against the Dallas Mavericks. Moreover, there's just something about seven-footers that add to the wow factor when they get unfortunately dunked on. This is exactly what happened when Shawn Bradley was a step too too late, even if he tried to get out of the way at the very last second. Thus, he ended up in the frame of a poster that you can put up in your room. Last but not least, Kevin Harlan nails the commenting when he exclaimed, “sucked the gravity right out of the building!”.
9. Michael Jordan Over Patrick Ewing
As with any kind of top 10 list, it's safe to expect the GOAT to have a place in it. In this case, he clearly has the highlight reel to at least feature one dunk on the list. Out of all of them, one of his most iconic posters was probably during the 1992 playoffs against the New York Knicks. This is because the legendary seven footer, Patrick Ewing, was on the receiving end as he was known as one of the best shot blockers in the league. Be that as it may, Michael Jordan faked out John Starks, pulled a nice spin to the baseline, and then proceeded to devour Ewing. Truly, His Airness at his best.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=330HeLlv52U&feature=youtu.be
8. LeBron James over Damon Jones
LeBron James on this list should come as no surprise. Even up to this day, we see him throw down posters on the likes of Nemanja Bjelica and Jusuf Nurkić. Nevertheless, his best dunks were during his most athletic days in his first stint with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Damon Jones was simply demoralized after he got dunked on in this particular occasion. Of course, James just had to smile after realizing what he just did.
7. Kobe Bryant over Ben Wallace
Kobe Bryant was truly an artist on the hardwood floor. From the sweet crossover right at the arc, all the way to the rim for the poster, the Black Mamba just knew how to put on a show. Sadly, Ben Wallace was used as the canvas in this specific masterpiece. Wallace fell to the floor, the bench went nuts, and the crowd roared. What better way to celebrate such a violent poster.
6. Vince Carter over Alonzo Mourning
There's no way that Vince Carter wouldn't make the list. No room for debate on that. The only question that actually matters is, which dunk should be considered. Out of the plethora of dunks throughout his career, Air Canada threw down the absolute best on Alonzo Mourning's head when the Nets matched up against the Heat. Unfortunately, Mourning “tried” to block the dunk and then the rest was history.
5. Blake Griffin over Pau Gasol (Twice)
To be completely honest, you sort of have to sympathize for Pau Gasol already on this one. In recent history, Blake Griffin brought a lot of excitement in the NBA with all his explosive dunks early in his career. He was a walking highlight every single night during his tenure in Lob City. In this case, Griffin showed no mercy and dunked on Gasol's head twice in the exact same game. In addition, these weren't some ordinary dunks too. These were so nasty that his own teammates were in disbelief.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PzxFJa6rfsg
4. Dwayne Wade over Anderson Varejao
What's not to like here? You had the exciting fastbreak, the vicious dunk, the foul, the center hitting the deck, and last but not least, the step over. If you didn't like this dunk, you don't like basketball as Dwayne Wade threw down one of the most vicious posters in NBA history and caught a body named Anderson Varejao.
3. Shaquille O'Neal over Chris Dudley
Shaquille O'Neal was a different kind of animal. In fact, he was so mean that Chris Dudley got pissed and threw the ball at Shaq when he was running back down on defense. Be that as it may, this epic dunk epitomizes Shaq's career as a dominant big man in the NBA. It was that typical post up and drop-step move that proved to be unstoppable and propelled his career to great heights. In this instance, he was more than deserving to land a top three spot on the list.
2. Scottie Pippen over Patrick Ewing
Poor Patrick Ewing made it twice on this list. Unfortunately, he didn't throw down dunks of his own as he was featured on the receiving end care of Michael Jordan at number nine and Scottie Pippen at number two. Pippen completely disrespected Ewing in the 1994 playoffs when he caught his body with a vicious one-hander. Yet again, Ewing ‘tried' to go for the block. Of course, he gets bonus points for standing over Ewing for a few seconds to rub it in. In this list, taunting is highly encouraged.
1. Shawn Kemp over Alton Lister
This dunk is disgustingly underrated. Shawn Kemp wasn't the biggest star, especially comparing to the other household names on this list, but he certainly had the most vicious poster of them all. Typically, taking a charge is considered such a noble act as players risk taking contact in the hopes of triggering an offensive foul. However, this doesn't always work out. When the Seattle Supersonics went up against the Golden State Warriors in the 1992 playoffs, Kemp was charging full steam ahead when Alton Lister decided to take a charge. At this point, mere words don't do justice to what Shawn Kemp did to this young man. Just watch the video yourself. Note: we love the taunt at the end too.
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