On Monday night, Anthony Edwards made a dunk that would be talked about for days.his monster slam Utah Jazz big man John Collins is definitely worth another look. If he had watched it live, he would have known it right after it happened. It will be spread across every social media platform, every talk show and radio show, every podcast. Not just a few hours, but probably a few days. This isn't the first time we've seen Edwards throw down a big dunk on someone, and his missed dunks are even worth talking about.
After all the fuss surrounding his posterization being heard around the world, it seems like the perfect time to see how this dunk compares to other top slams of the season. Now, let me introduce the ranking of the top 10 of the season so far.
Brown has proven to be one of the best dunkers in the game because he isn't afraid to throw down dunkers with authority, no matter who's underneath the rim. Even if that player is 7 feet tall and a three-time Gobert Defensive Player of the Year.
The secret to a great dunk poster is in every detail of the actual dunk. How loud was the sound at the rim when you threw it to the net? Did you join in by bringing your opponent to his knees or yelling in excitement? And perhaps most importantly, did you join in by making your opponent fall to the ground? The question is whether or not it was done. Because we all know that doing so just makes the dunk look cooler. Brown checks all of those boxes and more, and will likely test Gobert at the rim when he gets the chance.
Kuminga came out big with this dunk, but unlike many other players on this list, he didn't get off to a great start to build momentum. Kuminga had just set an off-ball screen when Kevon Looney flashed toward the rim with a perfect bounce pass and burst into space. I don't think Tice really thought he would rise that high. Because you can see he's trying to use all his energy to counter that shot. But that was clearly not enough and he instead became a victim of posterity. Woof.
Who said a big man's dunks couldn't be amazing? The build-up to this dunk was just as cool as the dunk itself. The sequence started with Wembaneyama crossing up Kevin Durant on the perimeter. That alone was a highlight. If we rewind the tape a little to explain it further, on the play just before this, Durant dunked on Wenby, so he clearly came down with the intention of doing something stupid.
Durant wasn't on the receiving end of the poster, but he allowed Wenby to take off from a wide-open lane to the rim, and Eubanks got the worst of it.
7. Ja Morant vs. Victor Wembaneyama
In his seventh game back from a 25-game suspension, Morant reminded us what a dangerous dunker he is.Morant would probably cost more. actually The dunk on Wenby looked like he was passing Wenby on the dunk, but that doesn't make it any less impressive. The courage to try it was a huge risk, even though Wembaneyama is already one of the league's best rim protectors. But who better to take that chance than Morant?
This was as pretty a poster as I've seen. Sharp ran to the rim, took two steps, and completely ignored Kessler, who was late switching to Sharp. Even if Kessler had been in a better position, I don't know if things would have ended differently because Sharpe is just a ferocious dunker. It was either this or give Sharpe a completely empty lane to pull off the same dunk. At least in this way Kessler attempted some resistance.
You have to give Reeves credit for trying to take charge here, but well, this didn't go the way he expected. The look, the finish, and the fact that it was the first play of the game made this one of the best dunks of the season. Johnson has had some impressive finishes this season, but this was one of the best. Even when he was charged with an offensive foul, he showed no signs of slowing down. All the impressive stuff from the Hawks forward.
This is just unfair. Monk is an underrated dunker who has had several electric finishes this season. But this is the most disrespectful thing to do. A good indicator of a nasty dunk is how upset the opponent is. Dan wasn't feeling Monk screaming in his face after being made into a poster. Who could blame him? De'Aaron Fox dumped the ball to the trailing Monk, and the Kings gave him an Okie Doke, but Monk wasn't ready for a dunk like that.
Usually in transition situations like this, defenders, whether they're there or not, don't hesitate to go out of their way to stop a dunk that's clearly about to happen. But Simmons, who had just committed a turnover, was responsible for stopping the Rockets from scoring. Unfortunately it wasn't that easy. As we've seen many times in Green's career, he strains, glides through the air, and throws the ball down with such authority that you wonder if he's putting effort at the rim. Ta. And then there was Simmons, who half-heartedly tried to resist. It could have been worse and Green could have sent him flying to the floor, but being on the receiving end of a dunk like this is never great, especially when it can be avoided. .
Smith Jr. has made some spectacular dunks, and some of his misses would put him in the realm of the best dunks of all time. This game against the Trail Blazers rookie was one of his best. The fact that he can do something like this at only 6 feet 2 inches is ridiculous. And remember when I said he couldn't palm a basketball, that just increased the difficulty by a billion. He has to have the highest vertical shot in the league, but it still took skill to pull off this dunk, especially at his size.
1. Anthony Edwards vs. John Collins
Have you ever had any doubts? This wasn't just the dunk of the year, it was the best dunk I've seen in at least the past five years (and that includes Edwards' dunk against Yuta Watanabe in 2021). If you look up the definition of “poster dunk” in the dictionary, you'll see a picture of Edwards trying to stop Collins. All of the special flourishes that make these dunks shine came through. Edwards' star power (check), an over-excited commentator bringing the play to life (check), an excited crowd and bench (check), and a victim of the crowd (check) Posted by a man on the ground in humiliating fashion It has been sent (reconfirmation). Edwards is arguably the best dunker in the game in the league today, and this one against Collins was him at the peak of his dunking powers.
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