I spent the last several years with the Seattle Mariners, among other things, trying to tell stories through videos. I always love Year in Review video pieces because I like to see what someone thinks represents the most recognizable images in a particular time frame.
So I started thinking, in a world where we wait for VH1 to come out with the Top 50 Countdown Shows of All-Time (wait for it… there it is), what are the 10 most indelible video images to the above-average NBA fan? What are the NBA equivalents of Kirk Gibson’s fist pumping or Laettner’s leaping celebration?
I closed my eyes, and here’s my list.
Disclaimers: Michael Jordan will be on this list a lot. He’s the face of NBA basketball, and represented a time where there were only a handful of superstars in the league. Now, it seems every team has one, or someone who wants to be one.
A lot of these images will also be from the past 30 years. NBA imagery has become much more visible over the past three decades with advances in technology. Visibility aids indelibility.
10. Reggie Chokes Out Spike – 1995
Say what you want about Reggie Miller, but the guy scored 8 points in 9 seconds and then went with a gesture that the NFL would not approve of. Blogdome, talk radio and PTI would implode if this had happened in 2008.
9. Spud! – 1986
Spud Webb’s toss-up 180 jam gave short people like Tom Cruise, Kiefer Sutherland and Dustin Hoffman hope. It also sealed his win in the Dunk Contest over heavily-favored teammate, Dominique Wilkins. His 360 jam may have been better, but it wasn’t the contest clincher. Nate Robinson paid homage to Spud in 2006.
8. Michael Soars in Chicago’s Dunk Contest – 1988
This would look good on a shoe
Staying with the Dunk Contest which hit its apex in the late 80′s, we’ve got Michael’s all-out, tongue-out free throw line dunk in 1988 in Chicago. The image is hard to argue with. If it was on the side of a shoe, it’d be even higher on this list. Plus, it capped a great showdown with Dominique in the best Dunk Contest ever.
7. Ron-Ron Goes Nuts-Nuts – 2004
And it would change the NBA forever. Not often can the actions of one person in one moment in any business setting set a brand back 10 years.
6. Even MJ Doesn’t Have an Answer – 1992
Michael Jordan nailed six three-pointers in the first half of the opener of the NBA Finals in 1992. It’s not often that success surprised him.
5. Kobe to Shaq, Nail to Coffin – 2000
One of those moments, like Robert Horry’s three in 2002, where it felt like the court was dwarfed by the Laker crowd. It looked like a boxing ring when the two corners brawl. The Blazers had this one, but the coughed it up (a cold the Lakeshow kept for 8 seasons until they finally hacked it up to the Celtics last month). Shaq’s look says he enjoyed how “Kobe’s Oop Taste.” Try listening to this clip with just the audio. I hate both of these teams, and it’s still awesome.
4. Dr. J Rocks the Baby – 1983
Have you ever tried this with a mini-ball on a 7-foot hoop? I have. It’s hard. Plus, Dr. J went OVER Michael Cooper. What a hammer.
3. The Doctor’s Orders: One Scoop – 1980
Have you ever tried this with a mini-ball on a 7-foot hoop? I have. It’s also hard. “Hi, I’m Dr. J. if you need me, I’ll be bigger than the game. Thanks.” Oh, and this came at huge point in the 1980 NBA Finals.
2. Jordan’s Final Bucket – 1998
This could easily be number one. The shot couldn’t have been truer. Do what you want with the metaphor of him standing alone…
It’s not a Finals moment, but it’s MJ – the most competitive player ever to play – raw. He sheds a double-team on the inbounds pass, hangs as only he can, and then you get Ehlo crumpling in the background. I love that it’s on the road, too. Talk about a dagger. That’s the NBA right there.
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
I tried it on a 7 foot hoop and couldn’t do it. The worst part is that I was standing. No jump, still couldn’t do it.
Thanks for leaving off Dikembe holding the ball over his head after the #8 Nuggets knocked off the #1 Team Formerly Known as the Sonics. I blame Clay Bennett for that moment, too.
One of my favorites was from the 1976 ABA All-Star Game in Denver when Julius Erving tried to dunk taking off from behind the free throw line. I know it happened from a time when many of you hadn’t been born yet, but I’m sure some of you have seen it.
There was a big buildup about if J. would try it, and there had been a lot of conversation between the players speculating if DR.J. could do it, including quite a number of sidebets. When Dr.J. went to the far end of the court for his run up, the crowd rose and grew very animated as he approached the LINE. While Julius stepped over the line by about 4 inches (I know because I was sitting on the players’ courtside bench opposite the line and saw it all with my own eyes), it was quite impressive and it became known that he did, in fact, dunk from the foul line.
This was the first official dunk contest (another first for the ABA) at any level and it lead the way for numerous other memorable ones. Being that it was known that it would be the last All-Star Game for the ABA, it was quite a nostalgic moment.