Breaking Down The Most DISRESPECTFUL Dunks Of All-Time

When somebody don't look at the other teams bench.

Walked into that Mama be.

Damn ain't no magic. That's when I started dunking.

Nothing screams all the smoke like a classic in your face dunk. We've been blessed to sit down with some of the greatest dunkers in the game, from Dominique Wilkins to Sean Kemp, Ronnie Fields Jack, A ton of guys come to mind. But who were some of your best in game dunks? Give me three or four best in game dunks.

One I'll go stro Miles Smith.

That's fucking crazy, you sound. I was literally thinking stro Malin. Who I mean you could name any of his dunks?

Yeah, he wind milled on somebody when he was in uh dropstyle wind mill.

I gotta go with my textas my little brow from text.

Jail Green that windmill he caught it uh in Brooklyn or that was New that was New Jersey back then.

I'm going Vince Carter on the lines in the morning, and I'm going I'm going uh m J on Pat Ewing.

I'm going Sean Kemp on Alton Lister, I'm going Baron Davis on Andre Carolinko, I'm going DeAndre Jordan on Brandon Knight. Who else am I forgetting in shack when he dunked on Chris Dudley and wrapped his legs around. Well, I hope you guys enjoyed this episode brought to you by DraftKings. The Crown is yours.

I made this one dunk, double pump, reverse dunk in New York Garden. Stop bro, referee, stop the ball, just bounce. Pat Riley called the time out. You don't let this players, because nobody was moving. It was in ad a little bit. Uh you know, I felt the crowd, I felt the ship. Well, let me tell you all this man. In the next thirty days, I think I had fifty four ducks. So it just created a beast. I mean when when I said about dunk and it wasn't, I went from duncan, I was trying to fucking rip.

I made this know, man.

I would make this know so on my bathroom mirror, every me and my partners man, every anybody that we was playing. It was like a seventh footer. We would cut a picture off of him and on my damn mirror in my bathroom. And then and I was like, you know, it was like you gotta get this, you gotta get this big fucking my boys would be like, you gotta get this big. I was like, won don't we just get everybody guards, big men, anybody, whoever, It

Man. It was like double It was just like just kept talking double windmill. Yeah. Man.

So it was just like, you know, it was all statements.

Yeah, do you have some do you have some favorites? Obviously the old listing one is big, and we've seen.

That Ratland Gallan was a good one because he the story doesn't say, but the truth of it is he is. He tried to hurt me. That was a playoff game. He actually tried to hurt me before that. So he basically had threw me to the ground, kind of slammed me to the ground. I told his ass, at your old ass back, we'll get you back. I know how to get you back. I ain't gonna fight you because we get kicked out, but I know how to get your ass. I'm gonna put you one of these posters.

And that's what you're doing. That's what you're doing when you're gonna lose.

If you go down and duncle bar and had a rim shaking for the next three possessions, you ain't gotta say nothing.

That's what you used to do.

The thing that I enjoyed the most. And somebody asked me this question earlier today, said, you know, what is your favorite place? I said, well, I can't really say what my favorite play was, but I can tell you what my favorite situation was is when big men try to block my shot.

Man, I tried to throw it so hard.

I was trying to break that on to tear them from trying to If you throw it down the big guy real hard the first time, he's gonna be thinking about that next one.

And then you can lay it up, you know, you know, make.

A pass, whatever you need to do to get the bucket. But it puts that fear in his mind. But then you have them guys who like the block shots don't.

Never they paint freaks, oh man, love it.

But that those are the best situations for me when I can create an advantage for myself or for a team.

Michael Jordan doctor Me on CBS, man and all I remember I was thinking, is in my park when you got dunk on, they took your sneakers and I just sat there and I go, I'm going to hear it, Like the only thing in my brain is my brother's going on. My phone's gonna blow up. When I got home, did you go up and try to like you tried to tell? I thought I had it?

You know what? I think he had it.

I thought the energy.

He went up so fast and then moved in the air, and I just grabbed his face because I was like, you can't dunk this. And I grabbed his face and he still dunked it and his tongue was out, and you know, you try to take it out real quick. Like the lines on morning, they were like, no, that's a foul and then the cameras, cameras on you.

You try not to be in the camera, like got.

My that's funny.

Obviously getting a chance of playing with MJ. But Vince from a standpoint of coming into the league and just the amount of highlights he provided with you ever in like all like you'd been with the grow. Yeah, but Vince, I think something different.

Yeah, I think Vince highlight may be better.

Mike.

I'm sorry, Mike.

When he first Vince went the elevator, it was the twelve he made it thirteen foor.

He's the best in game.

Dunker him and yeah, Domini for his tip dunks, human highlights film. Yeah, but Vince, I know it was crazy man. When he got Lonzo, he opened the door there, let me close it, laning on everybody.

It was.

This was the day he.

Put the show on.

He had a good he had like a ten year run, Vince and the Dunk contest and up in Canada, you know, Canada, Canada Air.

Vince.

So you've been known for putting people on posters, obviously with the Dunk of the Olympics, the Alonzo Morning Dunk in two thousand and five, just walk us through that sequence, because that could be one of the secondt chest to chest face dunk on your motherfucking asses we've ever said.

So two thousand and five, we're playing at Miami and the first quarter the game starts and I go baseline, boom dunk on Zoe. All right, cool, whatever, you know, when you dunkle Zoe, you better be happy because Zoe coming back, he gona.

He gonna get.

That's just what it is. Two plays later, RJ boom dunk on him.

So we both dunkle him in the first half.

That's it.

Go we get the halftime. I'm sitting the locker room. I said, hey, RJ. Literally I said this, this is my word. I said, RJ, we ain't gonna be able to duncle Zoe again because he's gonna knock us out the air. He ain't going for there. So I said, what you're gonna have to do. You're gonna have to take the hit, bounce off of, and then hopefully you could dunk it.

God's honest truth.

So second half comes, the ball goes out, r J tries to make a lab gets bumped out. I get the ball go behind the back of my boy, J will on bubbs and I take two dribbles. So I took the first dribble and I see the basket. I see Zoe, so he's sitting there like, yeah, okay, I'm about to block it. But you know, Jason Collins was so smart, bro, so you know know he was holding Zoe's on so he couldn't go. And as I took my second dribble, he let him go. So soon as

So bro.

So when I hit him and I'm leaning to the side, I'm like, oh shit, the rim is right there. So I'm like, Bron, don't miss this. I'm like, Bron, don't miss this. This is an opportunity. So I just got it. And I just remember I was so high. I just threw it through God. And I remember running down the court like so feel back, and I was I just look at our bitch like and I ran down the court and then and then d Waite was Simon.

He's like, that ain't right, bro.

I remember him saying that I laughed, but I tried to play it like I was tough, like you know, I was like, I'm in me muggy. But he said that, but that might have been the funniest thing ever. Like his teammate got voked and he's like, dang right, one of them.

When to happen.

Everybody running around the house, running.

Around the house.

Oh my, Like what the just happened?

Man?

It was great?

Was there was there any truth that you guys didn't talk for like six or seven years after that? You was zo?

Yes, man, it was like five years. So so I see, here's a creazy.

Thing I heard.

I saw his response somewhere. He's like, it wasn't true. I ain't got no reason to lie about it. But like it was a basketball play, you know what I'm saying. It's not like we set him up like trying to jump on it was just like he tried to block it.

It happened, okay.

But I think the back story to it is a commercial was trying to be They were trying to do a commercial with that night. He tried to use a commercial and asked for his permission. He didn't want it to be done, so they ran the commercial up until the point to where we bumped and before.

I duncked it and they cut it off.

Damn.

So they used that much of it, and I guess he felt like I had something to do with it.

I ain't gonne to do that.

Man, the first time you've been dunked on, you've been dunked on my airbody. Yeah, And I had dumped on my rookie year and I flexed on him like he's a young fellow.

Calm down.

That's how young fellas get hurt. I was like, my bad dunk on you don't you know what I'm saying. I ain't stopped, you know what I'm saying. It was one of those type of things. So so leading up to us, it was like five years. So All Star gave in Orlando. Right, All Star Game in Orlando is I helped. I hosted a dinner for Obama at my house and guess are coming in?

Was only seventy people.

Doorbell ring, door open, you know, somebody opened the door and I'm sitting at the front like greeting people, and I see zo. I was like, okay, so how we go play this one because he ain't talked to me in all these years, like you can walk up in my house say keep going or not like.

So I don't know.

So I'm just waiting to see.

Because you know, it's like, all right, I'm you know, clearly you don't want to talk for whatever reason. So it's all good because all right, prior to we sat in a restaurant in Miami at Prime one twelve and see each other and he didn't speak.

Maybe he didn't see me or not.

We were facing each other, but maybe he didn't see me whatever, So I didn't know how this was going to play out. So that's why I was like in for five years. And finally when he walked in, we smoke, hug and it's all good. Like we talked. It was like like nothing never happened, and I was like, cool, whatever, it is a basketball player, so it is what it is.

Oh yeah, you know what I'm saying. So it is what it is.

He gonna get mad again because WE'RENNA. I'm gonna make sure they edit this. Uh so we get that on the edits that we put that on Instagram.

We have Vince Card on the show a while back and he said the dunk he had on you in Miami kind of fuck you guys. Friendship for a little bit, speak for me, said.

Talk to him about five years in writeing Bence to my golf tournament.

He never came, Okay, listen, I love this. You know what he's done for the game.

He caught me.

But ask him how many times I blocked the shot?

You know, exactly exactly so, but but he caught me. I mean, Vic was that.

Type of guy where and I had to I had the ability where I would meet guys at the rim. You know, I just meet you at the rim because I had big enough hands and I had strong I was strong enough to really just catch you because I knew you were coming. You know, I knew you were coming to the rim. So I'm gonna meet you right at the rim. I will wait for you. And sometimes it was kind of risky because you get caught sometimes. But with Evince, I went up to catch his and

You it seemed like, knocked him up.

Yeah, that was pretty I'm glad it's a little blurry now it is not in like h yeah.

Man, h it's crazy question.

But I know your game and I have just seen you play so much and idolajah.

Would you rather cross someone to dunk on someone?

But I've seen you do that too many times in the same plays.

Go hand in hand. Yeah, for you that go in there, someone you crossed up and dunked on. That wasr that was the ship, that was your patting the things. So you got a lot of people on that list.

Was it was.

Always it was always fun dunking on the kimba. Yeah, I got him a couple of times, very few people got it. And he I used to tell Hi, I'm a clown, I'm a climb mountain, Tumbo, I'm coming and uh.

You don't know, you ain't gonna get me.

And uh and so that back.

And the thing about my tumbo in morning, they jumped for everything.

Even if they got jumped.

A lot of guys won't won't come over, Shack, They won't come over, you know, they don't want to get posterized. But like the ken bet, he came every time, every time, and he got got, He got gott you know, no question, no question.

How can I create advantage?

And dunking was one of them tools man, that I used, and I just took it to a different level.

I mean, obviously a career full of highlights. Are there any dunks that's to kind of stand out to your mind? You said you love dunkin on big dudes, that's you know, yeah.

I think one of my favorite dunks was against Bob Lanier.

At the end of the game.

I remember, I'm on the right side and I come to the middle and Kevin Greedy cuts me off and I go back basic.

Sit here, jump.

That's it.

That's the one was that a double punt reverse on the side, so you see a ball fake hold hold on post game though, how many guards that post game?

Back then through.

Hey, let me tell you he didn't speak to me for nine years.

I said, why do you Why are you not?

I mean, what's up with that? He said, it's just recently. My daughter said I need to get by. He said, it's just a little skinny kid dunk on you like that.

You should be.

Embarrassed the night that you threw the fucking lot the DJ and he dunked on branding Knight probably one of the most disrespectful dunks in the history of the game.

I'm surprised they gave y'all. They gave y'all bail yas should still.

Be that Yah Night my man to Now me and me and Brandon Knight got a chance to play together in Houston.

So that's who Dude's who dude? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, sid the dude seeple but.

Yeah, being on Bluebush from about four five different teams.

Bro the crazy.

The craziest part about that live is like where I threw it, Like I threw it further back because I knew DJ could catch it and take it within it. Yeah, like most live if you throw it to the rim. But I threw it like to the dots or whatever. Because even to this day, like if I go right or something on the pick and roll, if I see the low man over early, I throw it to the corner.

You know.

I mean that's an easy read. That's an easy read.

And so when we.

Would run that play for DJ, we called forty five or whatever, all I was doing, I wasn't even looking at DJ.

I was just looking at the lowman.

Yeah, he was with me because I had shaken up and hit a three pointer earlier, maybe two possession before that. So then I stayed in the corner that time and it was over.

But listen, man, your reactions.

Yo, that's why I want people to watch my reaction and left like I didn't want to be questioned for no murder. I wasn't trying to snitch out nobody, Like I didn't want to tell the DJ to just killed this man in front of the whole world. So I jumped up like, yo, that y'all got to do it.

And this is what y'all gotta do, is stack and Matt when y'all get a chance, me and my brother got a whole text stream. But this is all we do to each other is when somebody don't look at the other team's bitch.

That's all crazy at because I can't.

Then my brother text each other. We'll be like, look, you can't go back and look.

At our bitch.

Joe Greens dunk against the nets. Look the whole bitch the windmill. Yeah, yeah, go Look they was playing against Houston. Look at Houston's bitch. A bunch of them over there like this.

You can't do that. That should make it worse if you and the other team you can't make a way word. But that was one of the most disrespectful ducks in NBA history. Doctor J something when you looked up to I heard in college he kind of rolled out the red carpet. You explain that story about doctor J.

Yeah.

So I was leaving school and I called him up, and so he said, hey, I said, hey, what is it like leaving You left? So I want you to tell me what it's like for me to leave Michigan State early. And so he was explaining to me on the phone, and then he said, I'm gonna do you one better fly out to Philly and hang out with.

Me for the weekend.

I said, what doc, No, doc, that's a doctor. This is doctor j R.

Saying a young fellow can come hang with it. And he put me up at his crib at the big.

Mansion a limo, and my brother was like, oh, show, I'm calling everybody.

I'm with doctor j at his house.

And so you know, I'm sitting there living in the living room and he's talking to me and I'm just zoning out, like I can't even believe it. I've always had docs on. So now I'm with him. Oh it was crazy, man. So we hung out the whole weekend. Wife took great care of me as well, went to a couple of playoff games.

He was in the playoffs.

He gave me some great advice.

And then here it is seven months later, I'm playing the brother in.

The NBA finals.

My idol, I'm playing him in the NBA Finals. And so so I said, man, I love you, but I got to take him out too, and take him out. But when he came down that middle I mean on that right side and cuffed.

That ball on cool A bad business, remember, I said.

Oh.

And then the other one was he came down the right side and he jumped out.

Of bounds and he started walking.

The finger.

In the air and the.

Fro fro going back, bunting against the glasses.

Good.

I said, Man, this dude is too much.

Man, he was doing that.

George before Michael.

People forget that he was the first dude walking in the air. Oh man, it was so much fun playing against Die and that we won.

Some of whom I think got overlooked, but I know you know how important he was. Talk to us about Ak forty seven, because to me, he changed the whole dynamic. Jack and Bedie were both rolling in the first round, and Ak was someone who slowed both of them down a little bit. But talk to me about his versatility and how much he meant for your guys team.

Man, Listen, if a if AK had a jumper like assistant jump, I think he would have been the best player in the league at the time, like honestly, because there's nobody that was They could fill.

Up stats like him.

Yep, I mean Lebron Lebron, But man, he just had he just he was everywhere defensively and then offensively.

He had he had a great feel for the game.

He was a great passer, great understanding of where to be and like you said, what he does on defense, I mean he he changes the game. You know, he's he's he's his help side defense is incredible.

Uh.

You know, he erased a lot of mistakes to him because we didn't have this the center shot blocker. You know, we had them on Booze, so they neither one of them was really shot blockers.

It was ak that would come and help.

And at the time, you know, the three position was probably one that you could help off the most in that era.

Yeah.

Uh, but Bedi did get him. That motherfucker was coming from the weak started blocking everything. But Bedi went on that baseline that one time and got him. What were you thinking during that dunk?

I'm so sick of seeing that ship.

Even this year that was the opening day, they had shirts, they had posters.

This year was twenty years ago. And then and then and then fast.

Forward, Steph dunks and pulls up his shirt like recreating it.

So then you know it goes back viral. Then you got you got all these you got all.

These igs, you got to throw back hoops, she got way back hoops, she got pastime hoops. They show it and then and then I feel bad because it's my damn fault. I had some terrible, terrible defense. But yeah, I mean, if you're a shot blocker, you're gonna get got.

It's just it's a but it was bad.

Man.

He smushed his nose when they showed him slow mo. It's it's bad.

Next that next that next year when we played all that first game, that's that's what was the posters cut out of that and his smush nose with with Beaty's hand on it.

I was like, damn, my fault. I was just all I could do is say sorry.

The reason why it was so crazy though, because Beadi had a bad knee, he had a bad back.

He wasn't supposed to play that game. Uh, all that, all that, all that that was going on. He said they didn't have it.

He was back, was hurting, his knees hurt, he wasn't gonna play all that.

And he come out and do that.

That's that's what That's what really shocked us because we didn't know.

I didn't know he had it in him, to.

Be honest, yeah I did, but I didn't know.

He didn't tell me all that we was I mean He was with him every before every game, and I definitely didn't know he was hurt.

But you know, he ain't gonna say that to me because I'm right a possible.

Yeah, you're gonna go at him and take advantage of it. Take us back to your upbringing, your family dynamic, you know, military kids. So moving around.

Born and raised in Nook, New Jersey, high level juvenile delinquent. Got out of there just in time. This is around the time where people stopped using their hands. Gave me a chain and knife and then pistols start coming out. Yeah, exactly. So, by the grace of God, moved to Germany, got away from that riding two three years in Germany. Now only thing I could focus on is basketball. So I'm terrible, six ' nine, cut from the freshman team, cut from

I got bad knees.

I got Osgod.

Slaughter, Slaughter, I got the brown knee Breds with the home I'm slow as hell. I can't do anything. People laughing at me. So Coach Brown writes me, I do everything you say. So the next year, I still didn't make the team, so I send him a little up man. I'm gonna just join Army. Just join Army.

They're right, I.

Can't walk into gun. At the same time, I can't do it. So he said, no, I'm off of your scholarship. So now we leave. When I come back to Texas and I go to a small high school in Texas, our team is terrible. I make the team all shit, and I'm starting to get a little confident. And then my dad takes me to see John Contact and now everything just changed overnight for me. Everything just changed overnight overnight for me, being that I was a hip hop kid,

I'm cool.

There, public ending me out. I got the flavor flat like, I'm I'm cold, right, Yah, I'm cool. So he takes me outside see him man fuck? You know, said man, I'm just you know, you know, I'm working on my little matt Wap smacks me. Ain't no magic be Shaquille O'Neill. But that's when I started dunking, right, And the reason why I've always dunk so fierce because I was mad at him and I wanted to tear the rim down.

But it was just regular dunks dunk.

So then I'm go home and you know, he making me watching college games and I'm watching Syracuse play Sherman Duglas throws it to Ronnie Cyclely. He dunk it, but he getting his legs up, and I was like, okay. So the next game, my father's there, I'm dunking and getting my legs up. So what I learned from Matt people start doing that, I was like, oh, okay, I got something there. So that's when i just started dunkin Duncan, dunkin Duncan, Duncan, dunk and dunkin. Dominate, dominating, dominating. And

You guys run through the east and you guys run into them.

What was it like?

There was the one picture I think in that Finds where Shaq was dunking on everybody on the team at one time.

Video that is one of the best pictures in history, in NBA history though, like steel shots, that's one of the best pictures.

Ever. How tough were they though, How tough were they in theirs? But you were someone you had to guard. You you were a rare person could guard Shack and you had to. You had to guard.

I was the romer.

I was the double guy because it fits like, wait, while I can't do nothing with that dude. If I did get caught on, all I have to do is try to front him, and he just pushed me up the lane. They thought it was impossible to guard.

Impossible.

Listen, man, So you pick your poison? Do you try to play him straight up? You know what you're gonna do do you double swing swings? Now you got Now you got Derek Fisher going four for seven, Robert or going two for five, Devin George going too for It's just so then what do you do?

And then you got the other animal.

That one on one is destroying everybody in the world.

He average check averaging thirty six. He averaged twenty six whatever, like it was impossible. But you know what I'm saying. I I look back at it like I averaged twenty two against them. I like my second year average twenty twenty finals against them, Like I posted on like somebody's like the number of points in these serious somebody posted.

Like it was one of them apps.

Oh yeah, I seen that thing. You were up there. That's right. I dom third on the list. Of course you had shot and coch cole and then came on.

You know what I'm saying, So I average twenty twenty finals like my second year, like game four and our home flow like, man, we ain't getting swept like fuck that, Like I'm not going home tonight, Like we're going back there.

Alan, you went home that night, you were home that night. I'll tell us a little bit about that one particular play, you know that the dunk the bump, you know that was on Sports Center Top ten. What happened? Like you know, how to talk to how that dunk you know was talked about and kind of changed things even no lot to this day people either tag me it on Instagram or Twitter, like I see the dunk every day.

Since somehow how many.

Straight up?

Yeah, now it's I gotta listen.

I got a post of it upstairs in my in my hallway, like my mom got a post of it.

My pops got one in his house.

Uh.

It was crazy because you know, I remember, I remember like it was yesterday. It was in the fourth quarter. It was a low scoring game too, so like both teams was kind of struggling a little bit, and Brad caught a time out and he like, we settling too much for jumpers, you know, let's let's try to get one. Let's try to get to the fire line, attack the rim. So I remember Smart had the ball out comes the pin down for me and he was like, jac you get it, you know, attack down here to make a

I'm like, oh, it's like I gotta.

Try to dunk it, because if I didn't think I was on dunk him. I was like, let me just try to dunk it. Hopefully I get the foul or something. So I'm like, oh, so like the first for like five seconds, everything slowed down and as soon as I jumped. As soon as I jumped, it was like and then I'm coming down on the ground and I don't I don't know why, but I bumped him and I yelled in his face and I remember looking at it.

I loved it.

He's after I bumped him, he looked at me like, I'm like, oh, let me get back on defense.

That wasn't look though, it looked like, oh oh, this motherfucker is for real.

That was a looking round how dare you? But there's a look a little bit of respecting that look too, Like this little motherfucker came to Hope Man for sure. And then you know, after that season, he gave you one of the you know, the best compliments you can get is you know you're built for stardom. He saw the star in you. Obviously throughout the season, especially in

He gave me, I mean a problem.

Mm hmm.

Yeah, Like like you said, you know, I when I when I stepped on the floor, like, I don't, I don't.

I never back down from anybody.

I tell myself like when I step on the floor, like I'm the best player out here.

Like That's how I approach it.

But like I still I understand, like Lebron is what he means the basketball and what he means the players like myself, and you know, just basketball in general, like what he's done so much for the game. So to get that, you know, that nine from him, it's a big deal. You know, you you you appreciate that. How many back boys have you shot it?

Just one?

I brought a lot of rims, just shot at one boy at the right time, at the right time of the turnament.

At the right time. Man.

Talk about that, my man. Jason Sassi bro shout out to Jay Sass his nephew Marcus is a hell of a player. Place at the University of Houston, Marcus Sas his nephew, my man J Martin point guard from Inglewood.

Uh, he hit, he hit jail on you at Jason. Yeah, bro, I've been doing.

J for over thirty years, shout out j Martin.

So yeah, Jay went.

Hit hit hit sass in the post and Vince was guarding me. Antoine was garden sass and SaaS threw up the right jump hook. Vince went to go double one. I had a straight line right to the rim. Man just caught off a rebound and then the rest of his mother down too, and that actually tied the game up, like we was going back and forth, and I think that might have made it Sick Team is sixteen. They had had my man who want to see later on

That Carolina team was strong. Yeah, KAA, dont you know what I mean?

So they had a they had a strong, strong squad, and we had Tony Batti, myself, Saz j Mark, Corey Carr, uh Coy Smiths and they cool. We had we had a pretty tough squad too, but it was one of those things. Man, we're going back and forth. When that happened, we had to stop the game forty five minutes go watch the ice glass out out our back. We had to take showers and my man Corey came out, went on a three point barrage. Corey came out and hit like four straight threes. Man just opened the game up.

Gotta be on something right.

Everything came back clear is I was just on steak, milk and brocket.

Frederick Wise jumped over a seven footer. What were you think you can that?

Ship?

You can't?

So you know we're not. Yes, I don't want to short change that.

He was seven to well, you know, ship talk ship, but when he turned his head it put him to.

Seven feet, So it was he was legit seven feet.

But so it happened.

You know, when you're playing in the in the again, sometimes like shots are few and far between, and this is all depends if you're unless you roll him. But it was one of those things. He threw the ball behind his back. I get to steal while everybody running transition.

I see it. I see the rip. I don't see him.

I see the rip.

So I said one two took a dribble, and I just I ain't paying attention to where I jumping from. So you know the paint is different than the NBA.

It's different.

It's yeah, it's wider. So in my mind, so when I jumped, I see him and all I remember, God's my witness. All I remember is touching his shoulder with my left arm. I'm focused on the rim because I thought I jumped too far. So in my mind, I'm thinking I'm about to get hung and make a spright commercial bro Like I jumped too far. But I was just trying to get up before the defense get back. You gotta pass it, set it up, blah blah blah. So I just attacked the rim. So when I jumped,

Of fell down. Because I remember the initial ball and that's it. I'm focused on the rim.

So when I get so, if you go back and look at it, I stretch out because I'm reaching for the rim because I thought I was too far, but I ended up dunking the ball with my wrists because I was I actually had enough you know, flight time, you know what I'm saying.

I had some air mind, so I had enough.

So when I hit the rim my cell, when I almost punched KG, I was celebrating that.

I wasn't celebrating that jumped over because I didn't know that. That was my favorite.

That was my favorite part of the Dog seeing you and KG was because us right, we were celebrating two totally different things.

That was crazy.

I was like, yeah, He's like yeah.

I was like, yeah, But bro, I ain't know I jumped over buddy until after the game.

Could you after the game?

Not knowing you jumped over a seven footer? Seven to excuse? I mean whatever, I didn't know. So the rest of the game, nobody said a word. So I asked Steve Smith. I said, Smitty, how come you ain't saying nothing? Like nobody said nothing the rest of the game, and said, brother, we still didn't believe you just jumped over a person. Oh that means all right, that's fair. So after the game,

Small man when Yeah, it just came out that summer and and that's I saw it. I watched it seven times.

Like wait, what that shit is?

Sick?

Yeah, epic?

Hey, I tried to jump over due six ' five later on in the season, like in the middle of season, couldn't do it.

Almost died.

Wow, almost killed both of us.

That serious.

Vince Carter comes in town second nineteen ninety eight, your second year comes and takes the league by storm. That's was that a rumor? Is that real life? Your cousin?

We're cousins, okay, our grandmothers, our grandmothers are related.

Okay to jumping as motherfuckers?

What was it like?

Nah, bro, that's that's next level.

You did that.

That's next level jumping ability right there.

And what this man used to do?

I mean, stat you say you played against the high school y'all played against the ice school.

No, but I seen him. I've seen him live in high school one.

So before I knew we were cousins, I played on junior team Florida and he was on the other older team. He played before me. I played before him, and when I so, yeah, this is this is before I knew we was related. I will play first and then our team and sit and watch.

Bro.

I Man, I ain't know a human can jump like this.

Bro.

This man was going up pulling the ball, looking in the basket and was just dropping it like that. He was going up damn there, touching the backboard and just dropping the ball like this.

I'm like, oh my god, skilled, crazy.

So I had a good relationship with our coach. I was like, Bro, we got to get Vince Carter. Bro, we got it good and he was the most skilled. And to have us too as two wings at that time, mean, it was crazy what we could do accomplished along.

With the Vets what we had and we drafted vents man.

Vince came in there and he was ship.

He was doing was just unbelievable.

Bro.

That windmill he did baseline against Indiana on Oh my god, Oh my god, that man.

He had us jumping. He had us jumping out of our seats.

We were fans, so I can only imagine how some of the dudes felt that playing against me and some of the ship I was.

I was a fan. I know that was my cousin, my teammate.

God damn it.

I was a fan bro.

He was in rad Over that ship.

Was incredible to see what he was doing. Man, it was the first time for everything.

So like it's anyone, did anyone dunk on you that season? You get dunked on by anybody?

Yeah, he's a shot, he's a shot blocker.

What I'm saying, That's why I know he'd be going up in contested. That's why I'm saying. It's only you know, it's a matter of time. You go block enough, but you're gonna ge dunked on too.

Yeah.

Probably it's probably something I can't. I don't.

I don't remember them.

It's hard for me to remember him.

And I ain't even bullshit because I really would say, I really really because I do block a lot.

So it is going to happen.

But when it happens, it just like I just be, I'll be forgetting it.

Ain't it can't be old.

I mean I don't even want to sure enough.

I mean.

Belicia, Belicia Ductum.

Yeah.

See it's the what you wouldn't expect. It's not the hind Flowers.

Yeah.

In the Sacramento I banged on him the first half.

I went left, banged on him, talking crazy my bench, I'm talking crazy.

And then in the.

Fourth quarter, you know what, I'm down.

Then it gives me the whole crowd remembers and they're going crazy.

And then I got subbed out.

Right then, I'm like, that's the worst. It was an one oh, and you got supped out. I got subbed out for like, that's the worst nine minutes. I got supped out so long that they put me in to like be on the ball at the end of the game. Like I got subbed out for a minute that game randomly, Like I was like, man, like, damn, but where that shot I remember.

I think that's why I remember that.

That one was weird.

You average twenty ten right at the gate? Yo, I was twenty one, yeah at the gate? Yeah yeah, yeah, Well that year. What do you think was your welcome to the NBA moment, m J.

We're just gonna say, we're gonna stark calling me.

Yeah, it was when he dumped on me. He dumped on me, screamed, he flexed his scream. I was like, Manna blocked a bunch of shots, you know, he came on. It was like, I mean, the roar after he dunked on me. Man I was like, okay, at home or Chicago.

I was at home. He got good.

Yeah, yeah, no, no, I'm blaming Kingdom Guild for that. Yeah.

Was always talking talking ship to Mike and I'm like Mike, I'm like you, He's gonna blow past you. He coming at me, Yeah, go at me.

You played at raindo beach Hied produced a number players such as Doug Christi, Nate Robinson, Kevin Port, and Deontay Mary.

Who are your teammates? You any stories around the time when he was playing there?

Nate Nate was my the one I played with. So Deui was ten years ahead of us, and then Nate was in the same era as me. So I was a senior, he was a freshman, and Nate was the same way he is right now, Like six in the morning, six in the morning, condition everybody like, man, what were we doing here? Nate's up there, laughing, getting everybody in trouble, running around acting the food. So I remember one game. I remember one game Nate threw me a live and

I was I was like, damn, I did that.

Man, I feel like I did a summer so I ain't never doing that again. So I just think I kept my game on the ground. After that, I was like, man, I'm cool, You're crazy.

Dog.

Nate is a proud a food man, a food full time walking muscle.

Yes, yeah, yeah, he don't get hurt. He brought a new muscle.

I'll tell you all the time, if anybody could have played football, it's Nate.

Motherfucking ass so stack he was.

He was basketball player, State Player the Year his senior year, football state player of the Year, and own the record for the hurdles and track all the same year. Like he really could have did anything he wanted to do.

Yeah, he's one of the greatest athletes ever ever ever by far.

Me and Kobe had issues because hell, he older than me. I'm young's you got two alpha males. I'm a young when he old, when he won his way, and I'm shit, I'm happy, go lucky, and I don't want my way, but in a happy way. I'm having fun, Like shouldn't give me the ball, I'm gonna go dunk on this nigga. But we just didn't have a chance to really build it, build it like we wanted to, you know what I'm saying.

To the relationship with him, you know, I got a chance to play with him and know his mindset and know how he moved. But then got a chance to play with you and know how you're serious but you could smile and laugh and he's not like.

That at all.

Yeah.

Yeah, talk to us about that. And was there it ever an understanding or what was it like working with him? Because you only got a year with him.

I don't think it was the understanding that we could have that we could should have. Yeah, with time, because there was so many expectations and I'm going through my own ship with trying to recover from this back surgery and then tear my labor room. And it's like, man, how do I deal with somebody that I grew up watching as a child. But now we teammates. We just played each other in the finals, right literally, so like we got this rivalry, like I want to beat his ass,

He dunked on you, tough bro, Ship, I forgot about that.

You really had to do all that?

Yeah, because that was that was That was for real. That was one of the one. But for real, you didn't got other people, but for real, that was one of the ones.

The whole time he was over here, laid back.

Yeah you know, oh he talked on you and Ship, that.

Was that was one of the one. You didn't pay people back on a hundred times worse, but that was one.

Of the ones. He did.

I see it now.

He dumped out of my ass.

But I was young, and really I was what happened was I didn't think he was gonna dunk because I ain't know he was. I ain't know the rookie year of second It was my rookie year, so I thought he was finna come over and do like a pull up on the last I was that was eight Kobe.

Yeah, so you he was dunking everything. I didn't know until he found out he was dunking everything. He split It was Pat Garret and Deshaun Stevens. He split the pick a roll and I jump over, come through like that like I was gone. I don't know what the funk I was seeing. And so then I closed my eyes too, and all I heard was booming.

Oh, I said, oh.

So then uh, Brian Grant Uh, he said, welcome to the league, young fella.

I said, oh shit, Kobe got me.

And then right after that, my homeboy, it was my birthday, so he made a cake with Kobe dunking on me. Everywhere I was at I got seeing the picture of Kobe dunking on me, and it was like.

Me and Kobe always there's some bullshit. We always been connected. Every picture out of the seat, I'm in.

The background, like, fuck you, Kobe dunking the ass.

Now I'm in all your pictures in the back like but yeah, man, rest of.

You had that one dunk on old boys at Kansas. Yeah, charge, I was probably one of the worst.

Right here.

That was what do you see when you see young kd right here?

What do you think Will used to fly?

Yeah?

I used to. I used to get off, to really get up in the air.

They called that a charge. The dude didn't fall anything like that. But it's Kansas and Lawrence. You know they're gonna cheat. Who is that thirty two who never been heard from this shanty Johnson or something like that. I don't want to butcher the brothers.

Look, I couldn't believe it.

I was like, you trying to.

See if we go to the league.

Yeah.

Yeah.

How long did it take Kareem to adjust to what you were selling?

Yeah?

It took him all season that first year. First of all, they thought I was coming in to take over the team, and I told him on first day of training camp, I said, listen, man, I'm here to help you.

I said, where do you like the ball?

He said what?

I said, what do you like the ball?

I said, you like it high?

You like it in the middle of your chest. You like it low?

He said, no, I like it high. I said, that's where it'll be every single time. I said, I'm here to help you be more successful. So that first game, he hits a sky hook from the free throw line, now not from down low, from the free throw line to win the game in San Diego.

So I go running.

I jumped, and I'm hold choking them and hugging them.

And I didn't let go for about two or three minutes because I've never seen a shot like that game, when a shot like that, So he got me to the locker room, rookie, come here, don't.

Ever do that.

We have eighty one more games to go. We can't be this high after game one.

So all the players now are looking so now I gotta make a condition.

That's right.

So everybody's looking at me in the locker room, like what you're gonna do, rookie. So I turned around, said, you hit a shot like that eighty.

One more time. You know he taller than me.

I'm gonna jump in your arms eighty one more time. And that showed him that I wasn't gonna change. You can't intimidate me, and I wasn't gonna change. I'm gonna be who I am while I let you be who you are. So them first fifty games. You know, all the other fellas. We high five and chest bump and we having fun. He would score just one down, we scored. We hot each other, show about it. Right when the playoffs started, he did a hard dunk on somebody, so he came out looking for somebody.

He wanted.

We were like, oh, so it was a beautiful thing man, to see him enjoy hisself. So what did he say to me? Just recently at the we had to Showtime reunion in Hawaii? He said, Irvin, you showed me that I could show my emotion and enjoy it.

The game you changed me.

Give me your five your list of your five most ferocious dunkers of all time.

Man said Daryl Dawkins. You know, people forget about chocolate, chocolate, and he was naming and dunk. He was dunking the break breaking back boys, and you never really heard about it.

But Dryl Dawkins, doctor Duncanstein.

Not Duncan Steyn or Terrence Stansbury, A lot of these old guys, but these are the guys I used to watch dunk and and basketball. David Thompson. David Thompson was one of the baddest, coldest donkeys.

Ever, he.

Was glad from the freak dunk in the sideways dunk two balls at one time. Come on, man, absolutely, absolutely absolutely, you know. You know I realized that I could jump in high school when I could touch the top of the back boys. Yeah, once I could do that off a vertical leap. And my coach would have this drill where I would have to do a drop step, touch

Uh huh besides yourself there?

Oh, and I'm gonna say, uh Shack, No, I mean Shack is you know shock Shack is a different beast. Dominique Dominique Wilkins. Man, Domini Dominique Wilkins. If you if you watch me dunk, you gotta you gotta see a little Dominique insign me. I was one of them young kids that was watching the TVs who were doing Yeah yeah, man, we said it was like Dominicq Wilkie show. You know, ship Dominice got thats curl up in his head. Let's go watch Dominique Wilkins man and so absolutely Dominicque Wilkins.

But I got a chance to play against him though, right, yeah, how cold was he? Man?

He was a cold and I'm gonna tell you all this man, Dominique was so cold when he towards the Chilles. He still came back dropping fifties and forties on people. People forget that.

I got a chance to play with Chris Paul and was a part of Lop City, and just seeing Blake and DeAndre and the ship they used to do used to awe me. But you arguably played with one of the best dunkers of all time in Sean Kemp. All you had to do is throw that shit out in the atmosphere. I motherfucker's gonna come catching and dunk on somebody. Shit.

Man, that was the greatest feeling ever man, because men and me and Sean always had a thank for the thing to say. He'd be like, oh, and once as soon as I steal the ball, he'll be come behind me.

He be like, WHOA, And I know you there, and.

I just throw that thing up and I might sometimes I might sometimes miss, well I'm throwing the ball, but he'll come flying man, Braddy thanking or Bob and then you know how he at the food.

He started pointing at people in how you know how he get to do it all?

Listen?

You know, So it was at the fund with him, man, because he made it entertaining when he dunk on you and then they'll be coming and slapping him high five. I was like, may y'all crazy, the mother, y'all, just y'all on a highlight film. Man, y'all on sports Center because you know, we had the top the top ten sports center there at that.

Time, because we used to run home to see.

Who made the top ten and the sports center and you know, we used to go to Man and you know, we used to go to foot locker and you can get a poster with you getting dunked on too, So you know what I'm saying.

So that was called.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Every era of the NBA had as those those stars, those personalities, those talents that that you wonder, are we ever going to see this again? Because I can remember I can remember watching Michael and Niek have some unbelievable, you know battles. You know, and both of them coming up with stuff. He said, man, I'll never see somebody do that in mid air again. And then here comes Kobe, here, here comes so many guys who were you know, the things that dropped your jaw back then, Evince, Yeah, you

Now we're spoiled. Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's why I think it's I mean, to me, the dunk contest is so hard because what can you really do from here? I mean with Zach Lavine and Aaron Gordon and Vince and all these dunks, like you've got to almost kill yourself to do something amazing. And then, like you said, too, now we're seeing some of these Challenge competition dunks in games. Yeah, they're getting it off in games. You're like, what the hell, Like,

You know, the Vince in Oakland in two thousand, that was my favorite because it's the first time I ever heard an arena at All Star Weekend sound like a playoff game. I mean when Vince did his thing and did it all on the first try, right right, and he did it so so effortlessly, the building erupted. It was like somebody had hit a game winner.

And you know, and.

From that height, you know that now you've had Yeah, you mentioned Aaron Gordon and Zach Lavine. I mean, they came up with some great stuff. But what is I mean, what can you do anymore than nobody has ever seen? It's all just kind of a little variation, a little spin off of that.

You know.

And if you say, wait, that was pretty original, I said, no, really, that looked like what he did in twenty fifteen.

Are you believe you changed the dunk contest forever? Now we can talk about Mike's dunk from the free throw line and all the dunks in the history, but you came in and did some shit we had never seen. I remember, I've been fucking study hall at UCLA and the dunk contest is coming on. So somehow I got the fucking lady to bring a TV and study hall and we watched you in Oracle Arena change the dunk contest forever. How did you? I mean, you did dunks we never seen? Did you prep? How did you know

So leading up to it, first of all, all it took the Act of Congress to get tam Mac to do it because he didn't want to do it.

People don't know that, Like he put on the hell of a show himself and he did not want to do it.

Who else in that dunk contest? People, that was a good dunk count It was Ricky Davis, see Frankie stack House. I'm forgetting. That's That's all the way that I can think of right now. That's it was crazy and Tam Mac and and him, yeah, yeah, yeah, so it was.

It was crazy.

But I was just like, bro, we could go ahead and put to run on the map, and you know, we could show what we could do because like we fooled around, like we were fooling around with different stuff. I remember in San Antonio at a practice one day, we were just going crazy, throwing the ball all over the gym off one bounce and just doing crazy stuff, just trying to figure stuff out. So we had an

And my rootie that I was gonna do.

I saw all these people man and sitting around you see all the stars and everything, and I was all of us bro I was like this, this routine is not good enough. So I scrapped all of that in the layup line. It took I was so hype. It took me everything not to do my dunk routine in the layup line. I was just so hyped, like I've been looking for fly, just fly, that's it. I'm ready to show everybody what I could do. Like I take for all my high school and in middle school. I

I ain't about to blow this, but I'm about to go ham. So when I got out there, I saw all these people, man, and my energy and my drilling was on ten thousand, bro, So I scrapped it.

And so I was just trying to figure out what to do. So that first dunk, the reverse three sixty, I had tried, o God, So I tried that dunk and barely made it when I was practicing. So I originally I had scrapped that already. But when I got out there, I saw all these people and I saw Towrn there. I was like, bro, watch this, what are you about to do?

I was like, you walked into that motherfucker perfect too, right, we just walked into that mother plane.

Hey.

But I was just so I was so hyped.

So that's why.

So if you notice, remember when I dunked the ball, boom and go through, and I was so hyped my second bounce, I probably could have did a windmill, you know, Like I was just so high because I had never accomplished that dunk like that before but that was all.

Adrenaline, that was all the dread motherfucker. Oh yeah.

So every in between every dunk, I was just old, just like just trying to figure out what next, what next? What's what next?

So I did the one step one eighty windmal but I wanted to show everybody, like, you know, you didn't see many people jumping the other way, And I talked myself, right, So I had taught myself how to jump the dude the reverse three sixty and just practiced practice practice until I got it to this day, Like if you asked me to do a dunk, I would do a reverse three sixty before I do the regular.

Because I cannot. I can't go the other way anymore, like I can't, I can't, I can't. Just makes no sense of me.

It's so it's crazy you get lost in your old age the other way.

I get lost, absolutely, but I can't do it, like I'll barely make it. So that's why I wanted to show just obviously going against the grain, obviously a full extended windmill blah blah blah whatever. And I didn't even know if I was gonna get that high, but whatever. So with the one adi dug. I wanted to show that I could take one step out of the baseline sar to the front of the rim while doing the extended windmill and boom throw it through.

So I didn't get it.

I didn't get intention for Kenny Smith, you know, which kind of bothered me. Hey yeah, but he was like, oh, you set the bar too high. Well walking on the court. That's the last thing. That's the last thing I said to myself before my first dunk, I said, show up or show out, And that used to be our terminology in the band before. You know, obviously in the South, the band is huge, so we're gonna show up and

Comes to done.

What is your favorite All Star moment?

Favorite All Star moment vents sitting on the floor, believe it or not, I got that footage to y'all know, yeah, no, no, can't see it. Come see me, motherfuckers. Think y'all getting this ship for free. Y'all kissed my eyes right, going that ink holler right, But I got that. That was

Uh.

That was probably my favorite. That was probably my favorite.

Uh dunk I test some time.

But out of all the stuff, men, I've always been able to pull some out of each All Star Game. One of my favorites was coming out.

I was getting ready to.

I was leaving the All Star Game and I had a bag of stuff and I was coming out and Craig Sager needed an interview for his clothes out and I didn't want to do it, and I was trying to, you know, we didn't hit back. Look like you know, like you know how you play shadow. He's trying to get by somebody. I'm like, trade what you're doing. I gotta catch my plane.

Get the fuck out.

Here, YadA ya dah. So my assistant shout the bill. I call him shitty. I threw shitty the bag and said, yo, shitt. He takes this to the planet and I'm trying to get out, and he said, Yo, just give me two sagas.

I need an hour.

I said, get the fuck out of my way, and I kind of pushed him, you know, I kind of gave him some whatever, and he was like, man, I saw how he lost it on. Man, fuck it, come on, and and I was I'm just gonna say whatever I want to say. Okay, just give me this. I just need thirty seconds to get out of okay, okay, okay and go. And then I saw what he had on. I looked and I said, hold on, hold on. So look, you know, I never try to go at you, right, like,

Like?

Really you came to the game like this dog?

And he was trying to get the interview.

I was like, nah, fuck all that lo no burn, all this ship, everything, the green thron to all this and all of it, yo, and kind of gave him a little sound about you and say it what up? But and then got out of that and I turned around and I was like, gave me shot.

So you went five dunk contests, one, two, the Home Cooking you should have won three the Home cooking and eighty eight for Chicago when Mike won his What were those what were those dunk contents? You know that's back when the stars the best player.

We wanted to know who the best was.

I don't think I want to know.

Who the They're scared enough, they scared to lose, you.

Know, they're afraid to look. I think it's gonna you know, interfare with your legacy or whatever. The fact that they're still talking about Jordan and Michael dunk contest.

Thirty five years Lateacy tell you his greatest.

Dunk contest, right, because you had great players going head up and that one in Chicago was that was that was a great dunk contest. And it was funny because after he said, Nick, you know you know you want, I know you want in Chicago. What can I say? I said, well, take you give me the twenty five Grandy. But it's about two years ago.

Man.

I went to greet him and his wife and were sitting at the table and I went to say hello, he said, you know, you want that dunk contest, that said, how.

Are you doing, Mike?

You're doing good.

But the fact that you know, he acknowledged that a few times.

Man, it's it's special. So for me, it isn't about.

Who want to a loss, you know, competitive because it speaks to your greatness man, you know. And we never talked about it. We never talked about who won or lost. It was kind of unspoken rule with us.

But she was doing dunk contest, dunks and.

Games, well, he would both of us.

None of us ever went, you know, when we were going to dunk contest, never went to a gym doing some stuff. And I never practiced those dunks, not once. Some of the dunks I thought as the contest went on, like the one I threw off the glass when of the gott women. I've never done that one before. I just knew, I said, with jumping a billy, if you catch it right hard, yeah, this dunk the hall as you can, you know. And so I never worked on that stuff, and neither did he.

Neither did he.

I would love to see y'all having one on one to talk about like magic and uh Isaiah did. I'd love to see you and Mike, because you might be the person gave Mike the most work in his career.

We went at it.

I know that we went at it, you know, and the thing that we have so much respect for on it one thing that's what I love about it. One thing he said, Man, and I looked at it. I'm like, wow, he actually believed that. He said, you know, when I was going against Nick, he said Nick was amazing. I just tried to be as amazing. And I said special. Wow, that's pretty special what he said. You know, every but it just showed me that how special our relationship was, you know, as competitors.

Nineteen ninety four Slam Duck Chim the East Bay funk is born.

Talk to me about that, bro, I've been doing that dunk. It's like ninth grade, you know what I mean. I was doing that dunk ninth grade. So it was just something from from from wayback for me. Everybody was doing Dominique Jordan's, you know, doing they dunks. So you know, one day I tried and got close, so I was like, oh, I'm gonna have that, and then I had it in like a week.

So I was doing like people that know me.

Go old school with me, that went to school with me.

Know, I've been doing that done since like fourteen fifteen, you know what I mean, the Boys Club dunk contest Chris Mulin when he played for the Warrior judge the dunk contest. When I was a youngster at the Boys Club, I did that dunk. But with that being said, I just kept it going, brought it to college. You know, I freaked it in college and want to college dunk contest, and they was like, okay, you know what I mean.

Man, that's just old school. That's that neighborhood stuff, you know what I mean.

Yeah, I mean you was.

Going, you was going between the legs and you know what I mean, like you said in high school and then in the pros you did it. What do you think about the creativity? So, you know to this point, because all these dunks have been done, you know what I mean, So you got to come with some crazy shit now to make away. But these kids are coming with that crazy shit and making a way. What are your thoughts on it? Being a former slam dunk Chip.

So I won't lie right since ninety three, right, people have been going between land was Cob and Vince Bron you know, go Ran had been. But the other dudes, you know, was going between the legs. And I was like, man, this is crazy, Jay Rich and you know, I just this others. I was like, are you kidding me right now? I mean, these dudes, we're doing some crazy stuff, man, and still doing crazy stuff. So to me, the evolution of a dunk like, So I didn't practice dunks, you

Went off the cuff.

So now dudes is taken behind the back, taking you know, practice and looking at pro dunkers, taking getting the timing and getting advice from dudes, you know what I mean, and going in the lab and getting major dunks off, you know what I mean. So I just look at it like the evolution is incredible, man, I mean, just to go from a simple baseline between the legs to at the end of my dunk contest.

So I used to throw it up too.

In the end of my dunk contest, I'm talking to Sean Camp like me, they wanted to be doing more dunk. I'm like, man, I'm gonna throw it up, go off verge and going between the legs, and and Antonio David like, man, you're good. I'd like all right, So I went and did something else. With that being said, I look at it now, like, man, they going behind the back, off the backboard. It's incredible. Man, I'm in awe, you know what I mean when I see these dudes, you know

He's been getting robbed two times. Possibly, where did this bounce come from? And when did you know you could full? Because you could really fly in case you didn't know.

Man, yeah, I mean sometimes, dog, I'm starting to get, you know, a little more tired now.

But here we go.

It's twenty five times.

I'm just talking shit. I'm just talking. I'm just talking shit.

You know, in high school.

In high school it started.

Man.

You know, me and my dad did a lot of Plaier metrics. You know, we were on the Verde Max I was doing. I was doing lunches on the football field from one hundred yard line backwards eighty backwards. I ran track a little bit, ran sprints, so you know, I worked on you know, building those muscles up. And after I uh, after I grew into my body a little bit more at like six six three six four sixty five, and that's when it started coming in. Right before my right before my senior year in high school.

Contest growing up, you know, being a dunky yourself. You know, I heard Vince was one of your guys. What tempted you or or or or prompted you to join the contest, you know, going into it you you could win, or what was the motivating factor behind. You wanted to be a volved in the dunk contest. Yeah, So I grew up always you know, watched it. You know, we could watch the tapes and you go outside and try you know, I watched the Michael Jordan, Kobe's and Vince's and go

So I had even that Aaron Gordon dunk contest that we had, I had like nine dunks that I had. I was like, there's nobody doning beat me where if I make my dunks. There's nobody that's gonna beat me if I do these dunks. So I just wanted to go put a show on at least, you know, have that experience, especially at I think I was the second youngest besides Kobe to win the Dunk.

Contest behind Yeah.

Hell yeah, that was dope. And then you became the fourth player to win back to back dunk contests. When you're able to take down Aaron in Toronto talk to us about that particular dunk contest, because that one took everyone back to you know, comparences of Dominique and Jordan back in eighty eight before you was even born. But it was one of the best dunk contests we've seen.

No, it was crazy and you could just tell it built up to something that was going to go down in history, just the stuff that we were doing. Because I'm Beyonnest with you, I didn't think anybody was going to come close to me in the first dunk contest.

I feel like I wiped the floor, you know. I thought it was a sweet second one.

You know, Ag came out with the same amount of energy and confidence I had, so it was, you know, it was go go down to the last blow, and that's when I I was like, look, I'm either going to make this dunk or miss it. When I tried to go from the free throw line, you know, thank god I made it.

But you made that shit look effortless. Your free throw dunks look motherfucking effortless. Is incredible.

That last one I did was the first time I tried it.

Let's go through the legs, though, go through the legs from the free throw line.

That's crazy.

It was the first time I tried it. Tried it, Yeah, first time I tried it.

Never never, I s bro, that was dope.

Have you have you ever talked to Aaron Gordon about that? Like, have you ever sat down?

But like, man, what made you think about doing that? You know what I'm saying. Have you ever had a conversation about that moment?

Yeah, We're in the same agency, so we definitely talked about it. You know, we're going back and forth, like I think I got you on this one.

Or that one.

But at the end of the day, I grabbed the I grabbed the mic.

I I don't think people remember this. I say, Man, to be honest with you, I think we should share this trophy. You know, we put on a show together. Yeah, so it was instead of you know, one or one other guy winning, I think that was just something for the for the culture of the NBA.

That was something that was special.

So there's rumors now that you're hanging up your dunk contest eligibility. Is there any truth to that at the ripe old age of twenty five for you or is that the last time we seen La Levien, man, I don't.

Know, man, it's yes, yes, he said, he don't know. Same, he said, he don't know.

I wasn't even in the same role.

Everybody was crazy Jack. Everybody still wants me to do. Man, I don't know what else I can. To be honest, I don't know what else I could do. It'll come a time to where I you know, I'm I'm eventually doing hang it up. Obviously, I know I still got something left, but you know, I think I've passed that part of my game now I want to go out there and so you know, I want, you know, I want to be NBA champion.

I want you know, more, more, more refined things.

You know.

Yeah, exactly.

When did you start really jumping around with ant a young age and come all of a sudden, I.

Think, like going into my seventh grade year, like in a gym class, so, you know, all the kids playing around and I'm still trying to like dunk this ball, so class over, everybody leaving a family dunk it.

So you know how there you dunk it.

It's over.

Now class You like, hey, I did it, so they're like, no, you didn't.

So it's season. Get ready to start we was at BBR. I get on the fast break. I dunked the ball in seventh grade in seventh grade, and they called a technical foul. I didn't even know what the tech was about. And they's like, you can't dunk the ball. So my coach like, what you mean. I think it kind of caught him off guard. Wasn't nobody else dunting. Wasn't nobody else dunking at the time. And when I really knew

Then they're blocking my shot.

And the first time one of the guys blocked my shot and I started laughing, and he looked at me and saying, what you laugh I say, because y'all let me play with y'all like I'm a kid. So they started giving me like two more mens here and there.

And you'll do this summerly this summertime.

Yeah.

I was at like maybe like twelve thirteen years old. Yeah, so they was giving me a couple of minutes here and there. And then I didn't look at it as like yeah, they busting my left, knocking me down. I was just happy to be out there playing. So you know, when I stopped playing against kids was to destroying them. You know, it was just like the mentality because they won as aggressive. So like my ninth grade year, I'm like, ooh, I'm gonna play the sophomore and my coach was like

Yeah, So was you ever measured with your vert I mean, is it urban legend that it is fifty or was it fifty plus?

It was a fifty fifty nine, ain't no question about that. It was what shocked people. I think this one they looked at it. I think this one may be on tape. Leonard Miles about six five, we was playing down in Danville, Illinois. He got on the break and he had one of the hardest one legged jumps, like broad and get up. So this time I'm like doing the chase down and he laid it up. I said, dude, you do that again, I'm gonna get down. His whole wrist over the square

I'll tell you. I got Leonard I talk about this out of his house.

Since we talking about you dunking and jumping at fifty Nike Snap Dunk Contest.

You shake Cadding, shake Hadden with team Cleves Court, Benjamin, Yes, Baron Davis in that toom Baron Davis as well.

Bro, my team used to have hops like that.

What my team was like, Matt team was like he was top five quarterback in the country and the top five point guard.

In the country.

Stuff like that.

No, he could fly up crazy, he could fly it up. But you remember that dunk contest.

I never forget that dunk contest because let me tell you something like Shaye was Dominique Wilkins.

Listen, man, look, they was.

Calling him man the man first of all, built like that in the ninth grade, ninth ground, like dude, come on, man.

What you eating two thirty.

This wasn't this wasn't this wasn't a day of holdbacks and double hose back.

He was really that big and that yeah, man, he was like when he looked.

When he was attacking the rim and dunk and the ball man, it was just like, I'm like, dude, why you man? Like the whole every thing, just like so he was the one I was worrying about. In the dunk contest, Corey Binches was more like Clyde and glide through there. So Shay did a windmill from the side and I was like, I ain't sure. I'm like, it was just the one he.

Threw in the air and anyone ever seen.

I think you have felled the shit that that that dunk contest. That's because somebody sent me. It was like, somebody sent me the dunk that won it for me. So he did that dunk and then Corey's brother came up to me.

It was like, look, yeah, Corey winning this, and I never get one.

The guys from Chicago sitting by me, Larry Alley Way and Bibbie was there. All of a sudden he backed I'm like, I know this boy finish trying to jump from the free throw line. Corey Corey did it, So now the place he's roughed again. So now it's my you what year y'all? At this point it was going into ninety.

Ship and then.

They both looked at me like what you're gonna do?

I ain't say anything, so like, now all these guys doing is run and start everything.

They throw me the ball. Matter of fact, Ray Allen was at the camp too. Yeah, he was one of the night guys.

So I got it.

I walked to the free throw line and I was just like I'd done a windmill. I've done two of those, but I'm finna do something I think they see. And I didn't even run. I said, look, I did a wind meal three sixty. When I'd done it.

This is when I know, y'a was how high it was? Well, you see Vince Carter do that.

I was to a point where I was so high when I turned, I I was like like my neck and all this like looking down in the real that hard.

And then they even let me get to my second third dunk.

They just called it whole jail crazy.

Yeah, they it was real nonsense. Just walk like figure out what he was gonna do. Yeah, Bro, he did three six the wind Bert, Yeah, just like one triple. That's when I said it was just like it was people. Everybody was like, I ain't doing no running start or anything. And I think that's what called him off guard because they like, Okay, what are you finna do? Is just like free throw line? One dribble boom boom end up.

Virable before viral for.

We gotta find a tape of that dunk.

Bro, we gotta find a table of that dunk, and that's probably the first time it's been done.

Probably on VH.

We gotta find that ship. We gonna find it. Is this an urban legend? You got your first practice through a radio dunk contest?

Is that crazy as what?

Mano? Yeah? Man, I'm the.

Too.

I'm gonna tell you what is the truth too. Now I'm in College of Trinity Valley and ain't but two damn restaurants there. It's a dairy queen and the McDonald that's your choice of restaurants. You go out too, bro and uh in Eastern Texas and they came on the radio and they was like this. They say, Hey, there's a dunk contest next Friday night and the winner and the winner the dunk contest gets to practice with the Mavericks all week here. Three practices here, Yes, they said,

Man.

I mean you name it, Sega, Sino, Tyler, you, every every law school man. We was down there after the Dallas ARDA man was probably sixty contestants. Man, and I want the dunk contest that night, and uh, I got a chance to practice with the Mavericks. Now I get to the Mavericks practice and guess who's on the damn team. My teammates that the strip Sam Perkins, they on the day on the team, and I am. I come in and I guess you get a chance to practice with him?

You up out of there, tell us where elevator Ernie was born at Elevator.

Ernie was born at the Omni, the Omni, the Omni, and that's like mid eighties, that's eighty five or eighty six. And this is when I'm anchoring the weekend sports at Channel two and Bill Needle was the name from the past. He was the Hawks pr director at that point. So he's setting up a media slam dunk contest. So there are a couple of writers from the AJAC. Steve Brunner was in there, a couple other guys, Craig Sager from who was at TBS at the time. So Seger gets invited.

To wear those.

I talk about Sagar shorts.

I had smugglers on too.

They those things.

I don't know what I was thinking.

You know, it isn't it amazing when you look back some years and say, what was I kept the glasses on though, had the glasses, had the socks up to hear, had.

The that was a style back then, though. Yeah.

The huggers, man, it was, you know, yeah, the grape smugglers. This kiddy always calls them. So yeah, So that's where it started. And they gave us the they gave us the T shirts and mindset elevator Ernie. And I had no idea of not like I came out here, said hey make mine elevator. You just showed up at that night and they said, here's your T shirt, elevator Ernie. Okay, And so yeah, we did like an eight foot rim.

It was.

It was some brutal entertainment.

But I looked back at some of those pictures and I saw Craig Neil, who was one of the judges of Anne Joseph member from Haiti was a center at Georgia Tech.

He was one of the judges.

And and then somehow that video resurrected itself on our air and now.

It won't go away.

So now in any slow moment, anytime they want to they want to hurt me, they bring that.

Yeah could you jump? You? Did you have a could dunk? In real life on the road? Look at me?

Come on, man, what do you think touch a net?

You never know? You could have been aborn a younger day.

Man, I no, I never could.

I touched the rim maybe, but I could never do that.

I could, I could, and that's and that's but I don't know what it was.

And I think it maybe if I had had what a lot of young players these days have. And that's you know, there are training tools and that kind of thing where somebody can actually tell you here, hey, look, this is how you if you want a vertical this is what you're gonna have to do, and you're gonna have to work on this and you're gonna have to develop. But but for me, it was like, look, even though you look at my physique, I was not a big guy in the weight room.

I know that's surprising, but it was like, I'm one of.

Those guys who were like when I was taking pe classes and they started doing pull ups, I always found a way to kind of get to the back of the line every time, and then they say, oh, let's move over here.

Good m