There is something about dunks, amazing dunks, that make it near impossible to capture the essence, the brilliance, in words. Athletes soar through the air like creatures of the sky with grace and power. A great dunk is poetry in motion. That’s why nearly every story about a phenomenal slam dunk always concludes with the storyteller running out of words and muttering, “Man, you’ve just gotta see it!”
Such was the case Saturday night when Zach LaVine and Aaron Gordon put on the greatest slam dunk exhibition of all-time. No shade to Michael Jordan and Dominique Wilkins in 1988 or Vince Carter’s coronation in 2000, but LaVine and Gordon literally took the dunk contest to heights never seen before. Though there has been nearly universal disdain for the lack of star power in the dunk contest in recent years (here’s looking at you LeBron James), the two 20-year-olds showed you don’t need the big names to put on a big show. Dedicated NBA followers already knew what the 6’6” LaVine was capable of above the rim, but nobody expected him to have such a remarkable challenger in the 6’10” Gordon. Dunkers that tall usually fall flat in the dunk contest.
What good is making history without a little controversy? Many thought that Gordon deserved to win the contest without the need for an overtime. His over-the-mascot, under-the-legs, sitting on the air-chair, reverse dunk was seen as one of the greatest of all-time. Also, if the perfectly-timed dunk with the spinning mascot was a 50, Levine’s copycat dunk should have been a 49 as it lacked an important degree of difficulty. Several of the judges also received plenty of nasty messages of social media after underrating Gordon’s final dunk, when he cocked the ball behind his head, then between his legs before flushing it with authority. In the judges’ defense, their view was obscured from seeing the full dunk in live action, but they had full view of the replay before scoring.
That’s not to say that LaVine’s dunks were chopped liver. The two-time champ’s athleticism is out of this world. Alley-oop, windmill and between-the-legs dunks from the free throw line are otherworldly, yet Levine made them all look easy breezy. In fact, I’m 98% sure that LaVine could dunk from the high school three-point line. Maybe he’ll have that up his sleeve for next year.
Either way, both men put on one heck of a show. For whatever it’s worth, I thought Gordon had the better dunks in regulation and that he should have won. Once it went to OT though, LaVine stepped up his game and was slightly better down the stretch. Both men helped push each other during the competition and both increased their stature due to their epic performances. Hopefully we’ll see a rematch next year. One thing is for certain, the league can expect a bump in viewership for Timberwolves and Magic games for the foreseeable future.
Trade deadline buzzing
So far the NBA tradewinds have been blowing pretty quietly. Now the breeze and the buzz are picking up. Plenty of big-name stars have been rumored to be switching zip codes before Thursday’s deadline. The Clippers’ Blake Griffin’s name has been bandied about. Griffin was recently suspended for punching a Clippers staffer, so it’s not far-fetched he could be moved, but it’s still very unlikely. More likely to move are guys like Dwight Howard, Kevin Love, Pau Gasol, Ryan Anderson, Kevin Martin and Lance Stephenson. Depending on where they land, any deals involving Love and Gasol could have an enormous impact.
As far as done deals, the Detroit Pistons sent point guard Brandon Jennings and power forward Ersan Ilyasova to the Orlando Magic in exchange for Tobias Harris. Harris is a solid and skilled player, though he developed a bit of a reputation as a gunner in Orlando. I wonder how much impact Gordon’s breakout performance at the slam dunk contest had to do with the move. Gordon had only recently been inserted into the Magic’s starting lineup. His newfound star power, and Orlando’s desperate need for another point guard while the promising-but-erratic Elfrid Payton develops may have helped Orlando pull the trigger. With Harris gone, Gordon will get the opportunity to prove he’s more than just a dunker.
The Charlotte Hornets acquired Courtney Lee from the Memphis Grizzlies in a three-team deal with the Miami Heat involved that involved a lot of picks and bench riders.
Clutch or Nah?
Clutch: The Splash Brothers Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson put on a show of their own Saturday night in a dramatic three-point shootout. Thompson showed that while Steph may have the rest of the league shook, he’s not afraid to go toe-to-toe with the man revered as the best long-range shooter in the game. Thompson watched Curry put on a terrific performance and then beat him. That level of marksmanship and competitive nature is precisely why the Warriors will cruise to another championship.
Nah: Thank God for Kansas football. The Jayhawks’ 0-fer season is the only thing keeping Mizzou basketball fans such as myself from jumping off a cliff. The Tigers dismissed Wes Clark from the team for academic reasons and the program continued its freefall into oblivion. Between the players dismissed and the scholarship sanctions, the Tigers have a deep hole to crawl out of for the foreseeable future.
Clutch: The best pound-for-pound fighter on the planet, Andre “S.O.G.” Ward, recently signed an agreement to fight light-heavyweight champion Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev in the fall if he gets past undefeated Sullivan Barrera in March (which is far from a ‘gimme’ fight). The agreement is music to the ears of fight fans who were disappointed by the inability to secure a matchup between Kovalev and Adonis Stevenson. Kovalev vs Ward would be a mega fight pitting the game’s most lethal puncher vs its most skilled tactician.
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