taabhimself
02-17-2020, 10:32 PM
in terms of ONE DUNK, the single most pathetic display in the history of the dunk contest absolutely must go to larry hughes' third dunk in the 2000 dunk contest. (https://youtu.be/eI1if7ClBJ8?t=1671)
for a little context - this is obviously what would end up being one of the most electrifying dunk contests in NBA history, which was sorely needed given that the NBA had missed it the previous year due to the lock-out and, the year prior to that, had replaced it "NBA/WNBA 2 Ball" event, which probably deserves a post of its own. everyone remembers VC's antics in 2000. most people don't remember the first dunker of the evening - larry hughes.
larry missed his first dunk, a simple double-pump reverse which ricocheted off the back iron. "not able to hit on that first slam-dunk opportunity," marv albert noted. "larry hughes' name has surfaced in a number of trade rumors in recent weeks." he earned a weak 30 from the judges for his efforts. good panel, too - rick barry, george gervin, cynthia cooper, isaiah thomas, and a mic'd-up kenny smith.
"i think it hit off the back of my head," larry would tell cheryl miller. "don't worry, i got two more dunks to do."
indeed he did.
t-mac, steve francis, and VC dunked in succession following larry. each dunk successively got the crowd more and more hyped. by the time VC threw down his fully extended 360 windmill they were going insane.
and after a lackluster stackhouse dunk and a ricky davis miss, larry hughes was up again. time to fulfill that promise to cheryl.
for larry's second dunk, he proceeded to mistime two backwards, through-the-legs-and-off-the-backboard passes to himself from the free throw line. no worries, he thought, and switched things up to a smooth double pump reverse, leaping from one side of the rim to the other. except he missed. again. you can hear larry scream "GOD damn" after he lands.
"i think vince carter's got in everybody's brain a little bit," says danny ainge, commentating for TNT as hughes walks to half-court and covers up the mid-court camera so we can't gaze upon his visage in shame.
"trying to do something maybe they can't do."
t-mac, stevie franchise, and VC would do their thing again in the second round. the crowd was buzzing again. and after two more forgettable dunks from jerry stackhouse and ricky davis, we are brought to the most shameful sequence in dunk contest history. (https://youtu.be/eI1if7ClBJ8?t=1655)
as we come back from commercial, AI comes out to assist larry hughes with his final dunk of the first round. presumably what happens is iverson lobs it off the backboard to hughes, but we don't know, because the NBA is so over larry hughes' participation in this dunk contest, they don't even show the dunk. the camera stays steadfast on iverson (for good reason, he was just entering his white-hot prime and balling out of control).
"feeding off to..... larry hughes...... the crowd somewhat impressed," marv yawns. the camera follows larry to midcourt as he looks up hopefully at the replay, but the narrative has already forgotten him. 2 seconds later and reggie theus is already asking chris webber and KG about vince's last dunk - "have you ever seen a dunk like vince carter put on the first one?" reggie asks as they watch the replay on KG's panasonic camcorder. "never," say c webb and KG. "he was like an astronaut tonight."
and just like that, larry hughes' dunk contest career was forgotten.
for a little context - this is obviously what would end up being one of the most electrifying dunk contests in NBA history, which was sorely needed given that the NBA had missed it the previous year due to the lock-out and, the year prior to that, had replaced it "NBA/WNBA 2 Ball" event, which probably deserves a post of its own. everyone remembers VC's antics in 2000. most people don't remember the first dunker of the evening - larry hughes.
larry missed his first dunk, a simple double-pump reverse which ricocheted off the back iron. "not able to hit on that first slam-dunk opportunity," marv albert noted. "larry hughes' name has surfaced in a number of trade rumors in recent weeks." he earned a weak 30 from the judges for his efforts. good panel, too - rick barry, george gervin, cynthia cooper, isaiah thomas, and a mic'd-up kenny smith.
"i think it hit off the back of my head," larry would tell cheryl miller. "don't worry, i got two more dunks to do."
indeed he did.
t-mac, steve francis, and VC dunked in succession following larry. each dunk successively got the crowd more and more hyped. by the time VC threw down his fully extended 360 windmill they were going insane.
and after a lackluster stackhouse dunk and a ricky davis miss, larry hughes was up again. time to fulfill that promise to cheryl.
for larry's second dunk, he proceeded to mistime two backwards, through-the-legs-and-off-the-backboard passes to himself from the free throw line. no worries, he thought, and switched things up to a smooth double pump reverse, leaping from one side of the rim to the other. except he missed. again. you can hear larry scream "GOD damn" after he lands.
"i think vince carter's got in everybody's brain a little bit," says danny ainge, commentating for TNT as hughes walks to half-court and covers up the mid-court camera so we can't gaze upon his visage in shame.
"trying to do something maybe they can't do."
t-mac, stevie franchise, and VC would do their thing again in the second round. the crowd was buzzing again. and after two more forgettable dunks from jerry stackhouse and ricky davis, we are brought to the most shameful sequence in dunk contest history. (https://youtu.be/eI1if7ClBJ8?t=1655)
as we come back from commercial, AI comes out to assist larry hughes with his final dunk of the first round. presumably what happens is iverson lobs it off the backboard to hughes, but we don't know, because the NBA is so over larry hughes' participation in this dunk contest, they don't even show the dunk. the camera stays steadfast on iverson (for good reason, he was just entering his white-hot prime and balling out of control).
"feeding off to..... larry hughes...... the crowd somewhat impressed," marv yawns. the camera follows larry to midcourt as he looks up hopefully at the replay, but the narrative has already forgotten him. 2 seconds later and reggie theus is already asking chris webber and KG about vince's last dunk - "have you ever seen a dunk like vince carter put on the first one?" reggie asks as they watch the replay on KG's panasonic camcorder. "never," say c webb and KG. "he was like an astronaut tonight."
and just like that, larry hughes' dunk contest career was forgotten.