Just looking back here at the 2004 NBA Slam Dunk contest. Unfortunately, there were only four (4) participants that year (surely, there are more than four worthy dunkers in the league, and surely the fans wouldn't mind watching more crazy-good dunks), but rest assured, there was still plenty of of awesome jams. Here is a great video mix of all the dunks from that contest...
RANDOM THOUGHTS - The 4 dunkers are (in order)... Ricky Davis, Chris Andersen, Fred Jones, and Jason Richardson. In the first round they cycle through twice, each guy dunking once each time, so there were 8 total dunks in the first round. Here's what I think...
Best Dunk of the First Round - Jason Richardson's off-the-glass between-the-legs jam (1:07), which was the 8th and final dunk of the round. This dunk was probably good enough to use in the Final round and get a 50, but I think he was smart to use it here in Round 1 because if he saves it and doesn't advance to the next round for some reason... he doesn't get to use it at all. Good strategy, stellar slam.
Weakest Dunk of the First Round - Pick either of the Fred Jones jams. His first at 0:39 is a one-hand-slam off-the-bounce, and his second at 1:02 is a double-pump reverse stuff. On the playground or in an actual NBA game, those dunks would be amazing, but we're talking about a slam dunk contest here, and both those dunks are pretty basic for all these guys. Sub par.
Most Underrated Dunk of the First Round - Chris Andersen's first jam was outta sight. The Bird Man had one of the best dunks of the entire contest (0:27) with this two-hand windmill reverse jam. Note that he extends the ball fully over his head after he leaves the floor, then brings it all the way down to below his hip before bringing it back up again. That's a full windmill, folks. He also finishes with power, an added bonus.
THE FINALS - Fred Jones and Jason Richardson advanced to the Finals. Richardson was definitely the top dunker of the first round, but I believe Andersen deserved a spot in the finals. Andersen's two dunks were better than Jones' two dunks. I think Ricky Davis would have advanced to the finals had he not missed his second slam, but that's the way it goes.
In the championship round, Jones (1:26) threw a lob and finished with a picture perfect full-extension reach-back slam. The freeze-frame in this video really shows how far he had to reach back and grab it off the bounce as he's floating past and away from the rim. Spectacular dunk, I'd give it a 50.
Richardson answered (1:48) with a 360 double-clutch topped with a right-hand thunder. He also adds some nice leg action, which is always important (we learned that from Jordan). The jam is clean with lots of power, reminiscent of Dominique Wilkins in his hey day. It's a great dunk. Probably not quite as good as the one he used to finish the first round, but Richardson's second-best dunk is still better than most guys first-best dunk.
So which Finals dunk was better? From a technical standpoint, if you compare a one-hand-off-the-bounce-dunk to a two-hand-360-double-clutch-with-power, I'd pretty much always vote for the latter. In this case, Jones makes it a close call because of how far he had to reach to execute the jam.
They're both 50s. If both dunks were perfect, how do you decide which one was better?
SO, DID THE RIGHT GUY WIN OR WHAT? - Personally, I think Jason Richardson should have won. I think his last dunk was fantastic and looking at the contest as a whole, he was the best dunker overall. No question, Fred Jones had a spectacular dunk in the final round, but it was Richardson's night. Hey, I just calls it like I sees it.
RANDOM THOUGHTS - The 4 dunkers are (in order)... Ricky Davis, Chris Andersen, Fred Jones, and Jason Richardson. In the first round they cycle through twice, each guy dunking once each time, so there were 8 total dunks in the first round. Here's what I think...
Best Dunk of the First Round - Jason Richardson's off-the-glass between-the-legs jam (1:07), which was the 8th and final dunk of the round. This dunk was probably good enough to use in the Final round and get a 50, but I think he was smart to use it here in Round 1 because if he saves it and doesn't advance to the next round for some reason... he doesn't get to use it at all. Good strategy, stellar slam.
Weakest Dunk of the First Round - Pick either of the Fred Jones jams. His first at 0:39 is a one-hand-slam off-the-bounce, and his second at 1:02 is a double-pump reverse stuff. On the playground or in an actual NBA game, those dunks would be amazing, but we're talking about a slam dunk contest here, and both those dunks are pretty basic for all these guys. Sub par.
Most Underrated Dunk of the First Round - Chris Andersen's first jam was outta sight. The Bird Man had one of the best dunks of the entire contest (0:27) with this two-hand windmill reverse jam. Note that he extends the ball fully over his head after he leaves the floor, then brings it all the way down to below his hip before bringing it back up again. That's a full windmill, folks. He also finishes with power, an added bonus.
THE FINALS - Fred Jones and Jason Richardson advanced to the Finals. Richardson was definitely the top dunker of the first round, but I believe Andersen deserved a spot in the finals. Andersen's two dunks were better than Jones' two dunks. I think Ricky Davis would have advanced to the finals had he not missed his second slam, but that's the way it goes.
In the championship round, Jones (1:26) threw a lob and finished with a picture perfect full-extension reach-back slam. The freeze-frame in this video really shows how far he had to reach back and grab it off the bounce as he's floating past and away from the rim. Spectacular dunk, I'd give it a 50.
Richardson answered (1:48) with a 360 double-clutch topped with a right-hand thunder. He also adds some nice leg action, which is always important (we learned that from Jordan). The jam is clean with lots of power, reminiscent of Dominique Wilkins in his hey day. It's a great dunk. Probably not quite as good as the one he used to finish the first round, but Richardson's second-best dunk is still better than most guys first-best dunk.
So which Finals dunk was better? From a technical standpoint, if you compare a one-hand-off-the-bounce-dunk to a two-hand-360-double-clutch-with-power, I'd pretty much always vote for the latter. In this case, Jones makes it a close call because of how far he had to reach to execute the jam.
They're both 50s. If both dunks were perfect, how do you decide which one was better?
SO, DID THE RIGHT GUY WIN OR WHAT? - Personally, I think Jason Richardson should have won. I think his last dunk was fantastic and looking at the contest as a whole, he was the best dunker overall. No question, Fred Jones had a spectacular dunk in the final round, but it was Richardson's night. Hey, I just calls it like I sees it.
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