Last NBA Player to Not Be Able to Dunk?

[Goudelock]

Good find, but that's what I recall reading. Who are you going to believe? Me or your lying eyes?

Maybe it wasn't a strict policy, if he felt he had a clear path. Or maybe it's something he decided on later in his career. Or maybe the article I read wasn't accurate. Or maybe he's just a liar.

Or maybe I'm not recalling it correctly.

I think you recall it correctly (I've heard that as well), it's just that players testimonies are rarely 100% accurate. I've seen Dantley dunking quite a few times, but only in transition. He didn't care about doing that because he thought it's a waste of energy (I agree with him).

Fwiw, Laimbeer was right behind him on that particular attempt, so maybe Dantley only dunked when he believed it was absolutely necessary (in this case, so his shot wasn't blocked).

I also remember reading that Jamaal Wilkes never dunked the ball, but I've seen at least one example of him throwing one down (also in transition).

[yoyoboy]

Able to dunk in a warmup? Everyone, including all those 'white PGs' (it was straight up racist comment, btw).
Want to dunk in a game? Not everyone.
There was a thread about why Patty Mills stopped dunking not a long time ago.

How is racist to acknowledge that some of the shorter white players in the NBA are the best candidates for not being able to dunk? Generally it’s true that they’re the closest to not being able to, though it’s likely everyone can in warmups. I think you need to educate yourself on what racism really concerns because it’s a lot more serious than that.

[Fencer reregistered]

Steve kerr said he could never dunk. There's probably been a few others over the years but not many.

He was one I was thinking of.

Vitaly Potapenko DID dunk at least once. Celtics fans were amazed.

[70sFan]

Good find, but that's what I recall reading. Who are you going to believe? Me or your lying eyes?

Maybe it wasn't a strict policy, if he felt he had a clear path. Or maybe it's something he decided on later in his career. Or maybe the article I read wasn't accurate. Or maybe he's just a liar.

Or maybe I'm not recalling it correctly.

I think you recall it correctly (I've heard that as well), it's just that players testimonies are rarely 100% accurate. I've seen Dantley dunking quite a few times, but only in transition. He didn't care about doing that because he thought it's a waste of energy (I agree with him).

Fwiw, Laimbeer was right behind him on that particular attempt, so maybe Dantley only dunked when he believed it was absolutely necessary (in this case, so his shot wasn't blocked).

I also remember reading that Jamaal Wilkes never dunked the ball, but I've seen at least one example of him throwing one down (also in transition).

Wilkes dunked quite a few times in games I've seen, this looks like a typical myth to be honest. With Dantley, we don't have a lot of evidences, but Wilkes dunked at least a few times during his physical prime in games we have.

[magicman1978]

Able to dunk in a warmup? Everyone, including all those 'white PGs' (it was straight up racist comment, btw).
Want to dunk in a game? Not everyone.
There was a thread about why Patty Mills stopped dunking not a long time ago.

How is racist to acknowledge that some of the shorter white players in the NBA are the best candidates for not being able to dunk? Generally it’s true that they’re the closest to not being able to, though it’s likely everyone can in warmups. I think you need to educate yourself on what racism really concerns because it’s a lot more serious than that.

Maybe not racist, but his statement was - "I doubt many white PGs could dunk..." and one of the guys he listed is 6'7". Maybe if he had said - I think some of the shorter white points guards may not be able to dunk it wouldn't come across as somewhat racist.

[dhsilv2]

That dunk calculator is kind of funny because it adds "vertical needed to do a 360 windmill like Vince Carter", lol.

While I didn't practice the dunk, I had a vertical that fluctuated between 37-40 when I was younger and I definitely could NOT do a 360 windmill like Vince Carter or like anyone. Now if we split it into 360 AND windmill, sure, but together? I don't know about that. Maybe I should have practiced more dunking and less basketball if it was supposed to be something I should have been capable of.

hand size is going to be a factor. Some guys can't palm a ball, some guys can, and some guys are MJ who could have the ball punched by Tyson and not lose it.

You're definitely very right, I can palm the ball, but not that Kawhi, VC, MJ type palming, nowhere close to that.

Still seems pretty tough, maybe I wouldn't say that if I had giant hands. I'm too "old" now to go and practice dunks, it's not fun anymore, just painful, so no thanks, and even then my vertical is currently down to like 31 inches after all this covid inactivity soo...

man, I was playing with kettle bells last night and my whole right side hurts and not the fun "oh I worked out" kind. I hate being old, I want my hair back, color in my beard, and recovery time that's in hours not days (or weeks).

[dhsilv2]

That's funny, assuming that's a legit rim,I guess he was joking when he said this multiple times over the years:

Read on Twitter

Kerr always downplays his nba game, he just isn't that kinda guy to brag on himself and he knows nobody would want to really hear it from a rotation guy like him.

It's possible he might mean a game like dunk. Rim grazer dunk with someone giving you a soft lob in front of the rim technically doesn't count as being able to dunk to me, because that's not going to happen in a game.

At the minimum you have to be able to dribble up and dunk yourself unless I'm not sure how you are going to dunk in game.

Kerr wasn't in the NBA for dunking or any high flying antics, and obviously we can find millions of amateur athletes that can dunk better than Kerr and can't touch him in basketball ability. So I guess it depends on if we're asking whether Kerr is capable of dunking in a game if he actually tried or if he could just complete a dunk in general. If the former, then if that rim grazer with a soft lob was the extent of dunking he was capable of, then no.

Given he looks pretty old there, pretty confident he could have done it in a game at his apex. That said, for 99% of people what he did there is dunking. For those of you that were actually doing it...well get out of here you freaks

But having watched a few games with kerr in them recently, he was honestly a better athlete and better ball handler than I'd remembered. He's nothing special but he wasn't just some dud from the past who couldn't handle the ball and make some simi athletic plays. But to hear Kerr talk about himself, he's not sure why he was even on the floor in the playoffs.

[scrabbarista]

Pretty much every NBA player in the last 40-50 years has been able to dunk at some point in their lives, even if just during practice. Making the NBA requires that kind of athleticism (the "during-practice" kind, at the very least). I think Bogues is probably the only exception. [EDIT: He says he dunked in HS. I believe him, and actually thought he might've, which is the reason I wrote "probably."]

Barea shook the whole basket with that one in the warm-up line.

Peak Barea has got to be a ton more explosive than I've ever been, but I'm under 5'10'' and got six dunks when I was 16. Five times just hanging around between runs, and once in one-on-one. I never came within a hundred miles of doing it in an organized (or unorganized) game, though. There's a big difference between being able to yam and being able to do it in a game.

[bballfan1three3]

Has to be muggsy the most underrated player in history, positive defender at 5'3

Pretty sure Bogues could dunk.

Watch on YouTube

The clip you posted is a video game image of Bogues dunking. It's not real.

Actually I used my Internet Machine to study it for several hours, it's legit

[Parataxis]

Pretty sure Bogues could dunk.

Watch on YouTube

The clip you posted is a video game image of Bogues dunking. It's not real.

Oh wow. I did not realise that videogame graphics were that good back then. My bad

[DoctorX]

Pretty sure Bogues could dunk.

Watch on YouTube

The clip you posted is a video game image of Bogues dunking. It's not real.

Oh wow. I did not realise that videogame graphics were that good back then. My bad

This clip is from 2K14 didn't know that qualifies as "back then".

[Parataxis]

The clip you posted is a video game image of Bogues dunking. It's not real.

Oh wow. I did not realise that videogame graphics were that good back then. My bad

This clip is from 2K14 didn't know that qualifies as "back then".

You clearly know your videogames better than I do. Well done.

[LewisnotMiller]

Dirk once said that he didn't like to dunk because it would mess up his hands...... I imagine most shooters would feel that same way. The fingers are one of the one of the most important aspects of shooting....

They all can do it nowadays. The training to increase verticals has exploded in the last couple of decades......

I'm a bare 6 foot, and never dunked in a game. Got very small hands, so cupping the ball is a challenge. I could dunk a size 5 ball reasonably comfortably, but a full size ball was always tough.
One of the rare times I dunked whilst mucking around with friends was on an outdoor ring, and I managed to rip the ring finger on my right hand on the hooks for the net. Not much of an injury at all, but it ended up infected and I got pretty severe blood poisoning. Fun story, right?

Think that was the last time I dunked on a full size ring...lol

[Golden Knight]

Pretty much every NBA player in the last 40-50 years has been able to dunk at some point in their lives, even if just during practice. Making the NBA requires that kind of athleticism (the "during-practice" kind, at the very least). I think Bogues is probably the only exception.

Barea shook the whole basket with that one in the warm-up line.

Peak Barea has got to be a ton more explosive than I've ever been, but I'm under 5'10'' and got six dunks when I was 16. Five times just hanging around between runs, and once in one-on-one. I never came within a hundred miles of doing it in an organized (or unorganized) game, though. There's a big difference between being able to yam and being able to do it in a game.

In a 2000 article, Bogues said he could still touch the rim (age 35) and dunked in high school and a tip dunk in college.

https://www.nba.com/raptors/news/swirsky_001127.html

Chuck: Muggsy be honest with me. Can you dunk?

Muggsy: I tipped one in college and dunked in high school. I can still touch
the rim.
I've always been a guy who has been able to get off my feet. I've still got a
little hop to my game.

[scrabbarista]

Pretty much every NBA player in the last 40-50 years has been able to dunk at some point in their lives, even if just during practice. Making the NBA requires that kind of athleticism (the "during-practice" kind, at the very least). I think Bogues is probably the only exception.

Barea shook the whole basket with that one in the warm-up line.

Peak Barea has got to be a ton more explosive than I've ever been, but I'm under 5'10'' and got six dunks when I was 16. Five times just hanging around between runs, and once in one-on-one. I never came within a hundred miles of doing it in an organized (or unorganized) game, though. There's a big difference between being able to yam and being able to do it in a game.

In a 2000 article, Bogues said he could still touch the rim (age 35) and dunked in high school and a tip dunk in college.

https://www.nba.com/raptors/news/swirsky_001127.html

Chuck: Muggsy be honest with me. Can you dunk?

Muggsy: I tipped one in college and dunked in high school. I can still touch
the rim.
I've always been a guy who has been able to get off my feet. I've still got a
little hop to my game.

I believe it. I knew a guy in HS who was pretty much a basketball midget - I forget his exact height, but it was probably between 5'4'' and 5'6'' - and he was always getting his head up around the rim.

So, I rest my case. Basically every single NBA player has gotten a dunk at some point. That kind of athleticism is just a prerequisite to make the league. Biologically, males tend to peak between 16 and 20, though, so it makes sense that the more "vertically challenged" would get their dunks in that age range.

[matt6715]

Can't imagine Campazzo is throwing down dunks but maybe when he was younger

[floppymoose]

I'm sure Stockton could dunk, but I don't think he ever did in an NBA game. I sorta remember a teammate of his who says he dunked in practice before and asked Stockton why he wouldn't dunk in a game, and Stockton told him that a layup was just a higher percentage shot. Which does sound like something he'd say, but I don't know for sure if that's true.

It was a higher percentage that he would survive to play into his 40’s.