Dunk Vs: Part 1

I will be doing daily blog entries until the NBA draft upon which day, next Thursday June 23rd, I will be finished my year-long Raptors Study; "What's wrong with the Raptors?" as well as how to fix the franchise. For now, get psyched for a weeks worth of Dunk-offs between some of the best dunks of our time. I've focused on the modern era, (ie since I started watching) so I don't think these are necessarily the best of all time, in a meaningful and league-defining way, just in a way that dunks are measured in a game-by-game basis. This means sheer awe, athletic ability, power, swagger, and airtime will all be factors. I have watched more dunks than you can imagine prepping this first blog series and have chosen matchups that work well against each other. Enjoy entry number 1, and stay tuned because things are heating up on 360special.

Kobe Bryant on Dwight Howard vs Dwyane Wade on Anderson Varejao

Watch Kobe's dunk / Watch Wade's dunk

     To begin with, both of these dunks are poster dunks. They are both composed by dynamic, slashing, celebrity wing guards dunking on bigger opponents. Both are with ferocity, and both dunks are meant to send a message.

     Kobe is welcoming a young Dwight Howard to the league on November 12, 2004. It was just Howard's sixth game in the NBA. As the number one pick in the draft, he was a target for dunkers across the League. Kobe probably surprised Dwight because Kobe was supposed to have a sore foot at the time and Dwight has since gone on to win the NBAs defensive player of the year award for the past three seasons beginning in 2008/09. This dunk shows Dwight's immaturity and is a rare "deer in the headlights" moment for his career.

     Exactly five years later, on November 12, 2009, Wade's dunk on Varejao came at the height of Wade's rivalry with James. When meeting up in their Cleveland vs Miami matchups they always tried to out-do each other. In this series of dunk attempts, James can't finish the dunk that would have swung momentum in Cleveland's favour, and Wade uses his deceptive cross-step foot plant to change direction and catch an unsuspecting Varejao in the air and unprepared.

     Who wins the game? While Kobe's dunk was a statement, his Lakers fell 122-113. Wade's dunk was a crowd-swayer and momentum changer yet his Heat lost 111-104. Neither player managed to win the game after their acrobatic heroics, and we remember with tragic fallacy.

     Wade is at home, Kobe is on the road for their masterpieces. This means the crowd reaction to Wade's jam was bigger, but the imbalance continues onto Youtube. Kobe's dunk has 1,070,453 views while Wade's has 2,268,520. But publicity isn't everything, let's talk about form.

     On Kobe's dunk he knocks Dwight but doesn't topple him. The interaction is closer to a mounting. The Wade dunk is the result of a full-court, transition break that sends Varejao sprawling with his legs over his head. Kobe maybe dunks with more force, but Wade takes the contact and forces the body of Varejao into the ground. Plus, Wade steps over him.

     I have to give the Wade dunk the slight edge. Although Dwight is a more high profile victim, he is not the defensive stopper he is today. And Varejao's feet touching the stanchion over his head while Wade steps over him and the crowd goes wild, lends a swagger to the dunk whereas Kobe's was nonchalant (although it produced the better still photo, see below). Besides, Dwight got his revenge.

Winner: Wade on Varejao