Ken Rappoport - Basketballs Top 10 Slam Dunkers

THE WORLD'S GREATEST SLAM DUNKERS!

What are the most important qualities of the best slam dunkers? Size? Strength? Agility? From stars of the past like Wilt Chamberlin to the greatest players today like LeBron James, Ken Rappoport lists the ten best basketball players to have ever rattled a rim.

About the Author

Ken Rappoport is a professional sportswriter with dozens of books to his credit. Titles he has previously authored for Enslow Publishers, Inc., include LeBron James: King On and Off the Court and Tim Duncan: Star Forward.

Imagine if there was no LeBron James powering to the basket. No Shaquille ONeal splintering backboards. No Vince Carter rattling the rim with his Tomahawk Slam dunk shot.

No National Basketball Associatonno NBA.

If not for James Naismith, that could very well be a possibility. In the early 1890s, Dr. Naismith was a physical education instructor at a school in Springfield, Massachusetts. To keep his students occupied over the winter months, he made up a new game.

He nailed up a peach basket at each end of the gym and handed his kids a soccer ball. Delighted, they scrambled around the court attempting to toss the ball into the baskets. Thus the game of basketball was born.

Now imagine this: Dr. Naismith taking a time-traveling car to the present day. Naismith would be stunned to see what the future held for his game.

His invention had evolved into a billion-dollar industry. Not only were NBA games shown on national television and followed by millions in America, but basketball had become an international passion.

Basketballs Top 10 Slam Dunkers pays tribute to those players who have raised the game to new levels with their creativity. Because of their unique talents, some forced rule changes or changed the way the game was played.

As the star of the Cleveland Cavaliers, LeBron James is a small forward who plays bigat more than one position. He is among the new hybrid players who can do it all.

Shaquille ONeal, one of the strongest players in NBA history, has been a force to reckon with ever since his early days with the Orlando Magic. Four NBA titles tell the story.

And Vince Carters dazzling dunks have seen their time on many ESPN highlight shows through the years.

Here are other all-time greats you will meet in Basketballs Top 10 Slam Dunkers:

Julius Erving, who seemed to walk on air and opened a new pathway to dunk shooting; Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the NBAs all-time leading scorer who forced rule changes because of his domination in the paint; Dominique Wilkins, who won two NBA Slam-Dunk Contests; Hakeem Olajuwon, who was one of the leagues most athletic centers; Darryl Dawkins, a man of many dunk shots who called himself Chocolate Thunder; Bill Russell, the Boston Celtics great who won eleven NBA titles; and Michael Jordan, whom some call the greatest of all time.

And to think, it all started with a Phys Ed instructor and a peach basket.

The Los Angeles Lakers Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was determined to change history.

Since playing in Minneapolis, the Lakers franchise had never beaten the Boston Celtics in eight championship playoff meetings.

Would 1985 finally be the year?

The Lakers led the Celtics three games to two in the NBA Finals. Game 6 was scheduled for Boston Garden, giving the Celtics a distinct home court advantage.

Boston has never lost one here, Kareem said, speaking of the Celtics titles. Boston has never lost one to the Lakers. And Boston has never lost one to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

Jabbar, even as a teenager, made an immediate impact wherever he played. He led Power Memorial High School to three straight New York City Catholic championships. At that time he was known as Lew Alcindor before he adopted the Muslim name of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

Alcindor led UCLA to national championships in 1967, 1968, and 1969 and a remarkable 882 record. Can you imagine a player being so dominant that he caused college basketball rules to be changed? The dunk shot, which was one of Alcindors favorite weapons, was ruled illegal in his time at UCLA. Alcindor develped his famous sky hook shot to make up for his dunk shot.

In the NBA, he teamed with Oscar Robertson and led the Milwaukee Bucks to an NBA-best 6616 record and the league championship in just his second season in the NBA. Alcindor was the Finals MVP.

When the 197071 season ended, Alcindor adopted the Muslim name of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. He had been a Muslim since his days at UCLA.

Jabbar was traded to Los Angeles in 1975. Jabbar and Magic Johnson teamed up to make the Lakers the most dominant NBA team of the 80s. Still no win over the Celtics.

Game 6 of the 1985 FinalsCeltics vs. Lakers. The teams were tied 5555 at the half. Then the Lakers took over the game, making six straight shots at the start of the third quarter. By the end of the period, Los Angeles led 8273.

With 2:27 left in the game, Jabbar hit a turnaround jumper in the lane. Twenty-nine seconds later, he connected with his patented sky hook. And with 61 seconds remaining, he scored on a fourteen-foot jumper.

Jabbar was on his way to the bench with 14 seconds left, and the Lakers were on their way to a 111100 victory.

Jabbar couldnt hide his feelings. The goggled 7-foot-2 Lakers center waved both index fingers in a Number One gesture as he walked off the court.

The Lakers had finally beaten the Celtics. Jabbar would go on to win a total of six MVP awards to go along with six NBA championships. For Jabbar, the 1985 victory over the Celtics topped them all.

BORN:

April 16, 1947, New York City.

HIGH SCHOOL:

Power Memorial, New York City.

COLLEGE:

UCLA.

PROS:

Milwaukee Bucks, 196975; Los Angeles Lakers, 197589.

HONORS:

196768, USBWA College Player of the Year; 1969 Naismith Award; NBA Rookie of the Year, 1970; six-time NBA Most Valuable Player; two-time Finals MVP; Hall of Fame, 1995.

Vince Carter was excited. Dunks were one of his favorite things to do. It was one week before the 2000 NBA All-Star Game, and he was going to compete in the Slam Dunk Contest.

But there was a problem. A week before the All-Star weekend in Oakland, Carter had a finger injury. After a visit to the doctor, Vince had stitches and sported a bandage on his left hand.

But it wasnt going to stop him from competing in the Slam-Dunk Contest. His dunk routine was all set. But on his way to the arena, Carter decided to try something new.

He was always trying something new. He had started young, when he was in sixth grade. A bunch of kids were over at the outside courts at the Ormand Beach Middle School in Florida. They were trying to dunk a tennis ball or volleyball in the basket. Carter was 5-foot-7, so he decided to try dunking a basketball.