Most Disappointing Contest Dunker?

[moe94]

http://ronetheboxhouston.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/blakegriffindunk1.jpg http://www.court-side.com/news/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/jamario-moon.jpg http://i.huffpost.com/gen/175274/thumbs/s-SHANNON-BROWN-ALLEY-OOP-large300.jpg http://thenypost.files.wordpress.com/2013/08/james_white-300x300.jpg

Who's the worst of the worst?

They are not bad dunkers. Far far far far from it. They just promised hype and clearly did not live up to it. Either pressure was too much or they were simply not fit for contest dunks.

[Black and White]

Out of these guys? Probably Shannon Brown

[Hotbullets]

Brown by far.

[j3lademaster]

I'm going to go with James White. He got an NBA contract for one thing and one thing only, and he choked. Brown while having some insane athleticism and impressive game dunks never really did anything to make me think he was a creative dunker. I guess I was just a victim of buying into White's hype :confusedshrug:

[Mass Debator]

I'm gonna go with James White. I think he had the most pressure/hype out of all of them with Blake Griffin trailing closely, but at least BG won it. Blake had a pretty impressive first dunk attempt as well. We all expected what Flight White was going to do and we still looked forward to him dominating, but the nerves took over. These are dunks he does routinely and have done it in multiple dunk contests, but he failed to complete them in one or two tries.

[moe94]

. I guess I was just a victim of buying into White's hype :confusedshrug:

That's the thing, though. White is an all time great contest dunker. :biggums:

[DropStep]

I cant agree with the James White nod. We know what he is capable of based of all his previous dunk contests. But people kinda knew he was getting old.

Shannon Brown had this huge campaign to get him into the dunk contest, everyone was so hyped because of his freakish leaping ability and he dunks he did during the season. Dude literally took all the air out of the room after his dunk. Some really basic dunks.http://youtu.be/RpGjqAw4uNk

[EricGordon23]

Shannon brown or gerald wallace

[moe94]

What about Moon? Dude was pure ass. The worst part of it all was the fact that this guy thought he could put the tape so far behind the freethrow line and made everyone drop their jaws....dude then jumped inside the line and acted like nothing happened. I gave up on him forever after that moment.

[flipogb]

based on hype and expectations, S. Brown might be the worst contestant ever

[CavaliersFTW]

I have never been more embarassed for the NBA than when I saw the Blake Griffin dunk contest.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41EFwuBqEUA

Can anyone really watch that and not cringe?

[moe94]

Can anyone really watch that and not cringe?

The whole spectacle was corny, but his other dunks were legit. Literally the only reason I added him in the OP was for people like you who would no doubt blow it out of proportion.

[LJJ]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8242feot-g

[SyRyanYang]

I have never been more embarassed for the NBA than when I saw the Blake Griffin dunk contest.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41EFwuBqEUA

Can anyone really watch that and not cringe?

It's a bit corny and all but certainly not the worst.
Plus we all know Griffin is more of a in-game dunker.

[Rake2204]

In terms of hype, I think James White is the dunker that left me the most disappointed since I began watching the event live in 1994. I wasn't even mad though. I was just really bummed out.

I've been an underground fan of White since 2002-ish, slightly before the internet and YouTube allowed everyone to see everything all the time. I had a HoopsTV.com Ball Above All VHS with a White feature that I used to show my friends. So after all these years, I was really pulling for him on the big stage. Of course, similar to his college dunk contest experience, it didn't quite work out. And it sucked.

After White, I guess the next choice would be Shannon Brown with all the hype he had that year (LetShannonDunk).

Otherwise, most of the big names have at least sort of lived up to any dunk contest hype. Though on second thought, I always used to find it a little disappointing that Shawn Kemp would always lose in his dunk contests.

Edit: On second thought, I was extremely disappointed with Josh Smith's defending contest in 2006, mostly because he built up his own hype with these theatrics: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RwVpAVWfBxo


I have never been more embarassed for the NBA than when I saw the Blake Griffin dunk contest.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41EFwuBqEUA

Can anyone really watch that and not cringe?I actually thought he had a pretty good contest outside of the mediocre final dunk. I was hoping he'd windmill over the car or anything besides just a standard finish.

But yes, the theatrics were corny. That said, if you've never been more embarrassed for the NBA after that slam, I must wonder where the following year's contest ranks with you, featuring standard reverse dunks while wearing head cameras, dunking in the dark, jumping over motorcycles and everything Chase Budinger ever did.

Say what you will about Blake Griffin's dunk contest, but at least it didn't include awful, awful skits: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OAtyJrU4ncE

[East_Stone_Ya]

Birdman was pathetic as well

[Rake2204]

Birdman was pathetic as wellHe had a really nice first contest though: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9hXKU8MuNY

But yeah, on the heels of that nice first contest showing, I suppose I was expecting more from him the following year than what we actually received.

[moe94]

He had a really nice first contest though: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9hXKU8MuNY

dat fresh face clean Birdman :bowdown: :banana: :pimp:

[InspiredLebowski]

Fred Jones sucked, and won the damn thing.

[Flash31]

I have never been more embarassed for the NBA than when I saw the Blake Griffin dunk contest.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41EFwuBqEUA

Can anyone really watch that and not cringe?


Derozan got robbed HARD.

We all know Blake Griffin,no wait Mr Kia
won due to well he was MADE TO WIN.

DD gets a 44 on one of his dunks and Blake gets an even higher score on a worse one,

then he has KIA roll out a car,and a commercial is aired when he wins from that dunk contest for KIA and then on top of that they include fan voting with lighting quick fan votes and decision made in LA for an LA star
just to make sure.



It's like the Dwight-Nate dunk contest where everyone knew it was Dwight-Nate in Finals before contest even started with the Superman-Kryptonite thing.


It'll be like having a dunk contest in OKC with Westbrook in it against role players and starters from other teams who aren't stars or marketed with fan voting while the contest is sponsored by WB endorsements

Come on

[KungFuJoe]

Brown, from recent memory.

I mean, WTF was he thinking? He must have been practicing his dunks in seclusion because I can't imagine anyone watching him and not telling him his shit was way too basic.

The oop from Kobe was just LOL.

[KrizMiz]

griffin by far

Moons dunks were sick but this shit contest only about fame - "fans vote the winner" stupid fkc

[jzek]

'Flight' White

Too bad he wasn't in the league during his younger days...

[#number6ix#]

Gerald Green dude took forever cutting the nets off...I was thinking he was gonna do something epic but he proceeds to do one of the lamest dunks of all time

[andremiller07]

What about Moon? Dude was pure ass. The worst part of it all was the fact that this guy thought he could put the tape so far behind the freethrow line and made everyone drop their jaws....dude then jumped inside the line and acted like nothing happened. I gave up on him forever after that moment.
Josh Smith did the same thing I think, I don't remember Moon doing it.

[Dictator]

You have to be retrded if you actually say BG. All of Blake's dunks were good.

[CavaliersFTW]

Oh my god I just watched the Shannon Brown dunk contest dunks :oldlol:

That's just embarrassing for him though. IMO Blake's rigged KIA contest was far worse because it damaged the reputation of the entire NBA as a whole. NBA and KIA ensured Blake would win, as someone already posted, the commercial aired right afterwards, it was all so corny and rigged, and the dunk itself was terrible, probably the worst contest-winning-dunk in the history of the dunk contest regardless of how staged/rigged the whole outcome was :oldlol:

[Heavincent]

at least BG won it.

Does that really mean anything? It was obviously rigged.

[SamuraiSWISH]

LeBron's continual empty promises.

[CavaliersFTW]

You have to be retrded if you actually say BG. All of Blake's dunks were good.
In what universe was the KIA dunk 'good'

[moe94]

In what universe was the KIA dunk 'good'
Were his others also bad? Was the Kia thing so unforgivable that it trumps everything else he did and how awful others have been? You're reaching so hard, you can be in Fantastic Four.

[Fresh Kid]

ej aka Ernie tha elevator Johnson don't count?:lol

[chocolatethunder]

Larry Hughes and Clarence Weatherspoon were both horribly embarrassing.

[moe94]

Great call on Hughes. Shit was too awkward.

[CavaliersFTW]

Were his others also bad? Was the Kia thing so unforgivable that it trumps everything else he did and how awful others have been? You're reaching so hard, you can be in Fantastic Four.
His other dunks were good - but not good enough to put him over the other contestants. The KIA dunk COST him the contest IMO, and in the opinions of many of the voters who's vote mysteriously never made it into NBA/KIA's voting database. Who the hell voted Griffin first? Certainly not anyone who watched the dunk contest. Despite his other dunks being good and creative the other contestants that contest were actually throwing down some real innovative dunks and their final dunks were great. The KIA hood dunk? Pathetic, as bad as the sh*t Shannon Brown did.

[Rake2204]

Larry Hughes and Clarence Weatherspoon were both horribly embarrassing.I am with you in regards to Larry Hughes. However, in reference to Clarence Weatherspoon, I must respectfully disagree. I thought Weatherspoon had a really solid contest for its time: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiqiqDFjQkM

Yes, some of dunks were standard, but I felt his style, flavor, and power enhanced them to a significant degree. That regular two-hand bounce dunk actually looked pretty sweet to me, with his head nearing the rim and whatnot. And his 360 cuff, in my opinion, is one of the most overlooked dunks in contest history.

Where would Clarence stand now if he had that contest in 2014? Probably not too impressive. But for '93? I'd hardly call his performance disappointing, let along horribly embarrassing. Perhaps you were thinking of fellow 76er Tim Perry?

[CeltsGarlic]

How the hell Jomario Moon was disappointing? His first dunk is absolutely insane.
2nd was weird because of the "tape" thing, but it was also a ridiculous jump.
first dunk (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPTK3JPbwyc)

[KungFuJoe]

Weatherspoon had a good dunk contest.

And the thread was about disappointing.

I think Brown takes the cake...hype on him was pretty massive going on and just wow...pathetic.

I guess you could say White, but I think most people who don't watch And1 stuff on youtube had no idea who he was.

If we want to talk about WORST dunk contestant of all time...that's easily Chris Jackson aka Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf.

[Nick Young]

Shannon Brown, even Obama was hyping him to destroy it

[MP.Trey]

I have never been more embarassed for the NBA than when I saw the Blake Griffin dunk contest.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41EFwuBqEUA

Can anyone really watch that and not cringe?
Can anyone honestly watch this and not cringe?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCQkkWn3sKo

Blake's wasn't so bad. Hell, Dwight's wasn't so bad considering the whole performance. They did some impressive dunks. Blake's first dunk would've been insane if he did it first attempt, but his other two were nice and Dwight's sticker slap was gimmicky but nice too.


Honorable mention goes to Chris "Birdman" Andersen, even though he didn't really have any expectations at the time, two terrible performances :facepalm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYyXVnOKTMw

[Rake2204]

His other dunks were good - but not good enough to put him over the other contestants. The KIA dunk COST him the contest IMO, and in the opinions of many of the voters who's vote mysteriously never made it into NBA/KIA's voting database. Who the hell voted Griffin first? Certainly not anyone who watched the dunk contest. Despite his other dunks being good and creative the other contestants that contest were actually throwing down some real innovative dunks and their final dunks were great. The KIA hood dunk? Pathetic, as bad as the sh*t Shannon Brown did.I thought all four contestants in 2011 had pretty good first rounds (Griffin, JaVale McGee, Serge Ibaka, DeMar DeRozan). That said, I felt Blake Griffin was a worthy finalist based off of his performance on his first two dunks (the two-hand helicopter 360 and baseline backboard windmill).

As for the finals themselves, I'm not sure I can agree with you that his KIA dunk should have cost him the contest. Griffin's first finals dunk was pretty impressive (the one hand elbow dunk off the backboard). Meanwhile, JaVale McGee's dunk was solid, but more or less just a standard replication of something Larry Nance pulled off 20 years earlier (swing cuff reverse).

For his second dunk, Griffin did his car dunk which as admitted, was more or less a standard two-hand alley-oop, albeit over the hood of a car (which may be more than could be said for Gerald Green, who's winning dunk came over a knee-high bench). But for whatever it's worth, Griffin's finish was a relatively mediocre dunk by contest standards.

However, JaVale McGee topped Griffin's mediocrity, rubbing in a 360, then opting to replace it because it went down so lamely, before settling for a layup line off-the-backboard one hand slam with medium strength.

As such, I think Griffin earned his finals appearance (though I feel others had a case). And once in the finals, Griffin performed a very good dunk (the elbow) while his finals opponent, JaVale McGee, brought little to the table by comparison.

Here's a link to the last part of that dunk contest for reference (with part 5 of 5 in the sidebar: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtFDtTgHYww

[Genaro]

I would say White. Dude was so hyped especially here and miss everything he tried in the contest.

[MP.Trey]

I would say White. Dude was so hyped especially here and miss everything he tried in the contest.
If only the NBA wasn't so stubborn early and gave him the dunk contest appearance about 5-6 years ago when he was with the Spurs. Might have been a different story then.

[Rake2204]

and the dunk itself was terrible, probably the worst contest-winning-dunk in the history of the dunk contest regardless of how staged/rigged the whole outcome was :oldlol:Apologies for repeatedly disagreeing, but final dunks from contest winners often have a history of being kind of lame. If it makes you feel any better, if that final round in 2011 were officially judged, and that KIA dunk received a 42 (which would have been the lowest score of the contest by two points), I still think Griffin would have won when combined with his elbow dunk (again, when pitted against McGee's two medium finals dunks).

Still, a quick history of lame contest-winning dunks:

2012 - Jeremy Evans' one hand dunk over Kevin Hart pretending to be a mailman (2:00): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9uohl2cRobg

2007 - Gerald Green's windmill over a knee-high bench (5:35): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SuMoznI5UKk

2004 - Fred Jones banking a contest-winning layup (4:06): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOyWBIoS5ow

1992 - Cedric Ceballos pretending he can't see on a standard two hand dunk (3:40): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDBDPbMswrY

1990 - Dominique Wilkins completing the same two-hand windmill he first did in the contest five years earlier (and continued to replicate in subsequent contests), edging a more creative Kenny Smith and leading to boo-birds (6:25): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDBDPbMswrY

[pauk]

James White by far.

[GOBB]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8242feot-g

first player that came to my mind. Thread over, f*ck the contestants named in OP

[moe94]

first player that came to my mind. Thread over, f*ck the contestants named in OP

Remember when people were hyping up Armstrong due to his absolutely brutal regular season dunks and his career, up until then, of just flat out wrecking the rim? Remember that?

:coleman:

[Rake2204]

If we want to talk about WORST dunk contestant of all time...that's easily Chris Jackson aka Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf.Yeah, Jackson wasn't great (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQpMRCx00PI) but the simple fact he made two jams (including a solid-ish reverse) may be enough to put him over the likes of Tony Dumas (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FC3o2FXnZs), Larry Hughes, or perhaps even Bob Sura (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZYYxQJIbak).

[Noob Saibot]

James White got old and Shannon Brown lacks imagination

[D.J.]

Tim Perry in '93. Surprised it was only mentioned once here. Never have I seen a more unethusiastic dunker. It was almost like he didn't want to be there.

[Rake2204]

Tim Perry in '93. Surprised it was only mentioned once here. Never have I seen a more unethusiastic dunker. It was almost like he didn't want to be there.Perhaps rivaled by only one other similarly unethusiastic performance...


Tim Perry in 1995: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lviYlkt7Ojw.

[chocolatethunder]

I am with you in regards to Larry Hughes. However, in reference to Clarence Weatherspoon, I must respectfully disagree. I thought Weatherspoon had a really solid contest for its time: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiqiqDFjQkM

Yes, some of dunks were standard, but I felt his style, flavor, and power enhanced them to a significant degree. That regular two-hand bounce dunk actually looked pretty sweet to me, with his head nearing the rim and whatnot. And his 360 cuff, in my opinion, is one of the most overlooked dunks in contest history.

Where would Clarence stand now if he had that contest in 2014? Probably not too impressive. But for '93? I'd hardly call his performance disappointing, let along horribly embarrassing. Perhaps you were thinking of fellow 76er Tim Perry?

Ya know what, I was thinking of Tim Perry. I didny think Spoon was aweseome but it was Perry who was brutal. Yup, my bad.

[Lebron23]

I wish Lebron could have join the dunk contest in 2004. His between the legs dunk in the Rookie game >> Jones' dunks in that contest.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbAvd35-CRs

[Rake2204]

I wish Lebron could have join the dunk contest in 2004. His between the legs dunk in the Rookie game >> Jones' dunks in that contest.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbAvd35-CRsIt would have been nice to see James in that contest, but I think a lot of people had better dunks than the things Fred Jones was doing that year (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2yfZ7yZ-XY).

[ROCSteady]

I have never been more embarassed for the NBA than when I saw the Blake Griffin dunk contest.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41EFwuBqEUA

Can anyone really watch that and not cringe?

:roll:

Holy shit. I forgot all about the choir singing the Space Jam joint. Wow you're a bastard for reminding me of that atrocity.

That's something you do heroin to forget.

:hammerhead:

[kshutts1]

Wait. What's the dunk contest? I thought that died when VC stopped showing up...

[ROCSteady]

Tim Perry in 1995: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lviYlkt7Ojw.

"Power." :oldlol:

[Straight_Ballin]

Worst ever is Nate Robinson trying the same damn dunk over and over and then when he finally made it no one cared.

[CavaliersFTW]

:roll:

Holy shit. I forgot all about the choir singing the Space Jam joint. Wow you're a bastard for reminding me of that atrocity.

That's something you do heroin to forget.

:hammerhead:
"Sometimes.... It's Real"

Even Kenny Smiths lines were scripted.