Growing up, my favorite basketball player was Eric Murdock. I used to go to a lot of Providence College basketball games, and Murdock and Carlton Screen were the stars of the team back then. Murdock wasn't a dunker, and although I have a hazy memory of seeing him dunk in a game once, the only video clips of him scoring that I could find were of his signature layup off the glass (see picture).As I was watching the NCAA Tourney today, I was reminded of Murdock and his non-dunking ways, and I began to wonder how many current NBA players can't dunk. Well, judging from this article, about 20 current NBA players can't dunk. Good to know, but not specific enough for me; I needed to know exactly which twenty-ish current players are unable to dunk. I used the process of elimination and YouTube to get my answer.
What follows is a list of all the guys who do not have an in-game dunk posted on YouTube. Not the most scientific way of separating the dunkers from the non-dunkers, but one could argue that if a dunk isn't on YouTube, it never happened.
List A: These players are on the non-dunking list until a YouTube clip of an in-game dunk surfaces
(Note: I also referenced the CBS Dunk-O-Meter.)
6'5" Roko Ukic - Easily, but in warmups & in writing only.
6'3" Steve Blake - Almost. In-game dunk @ 2:26.
6'3" Steve Nash - This is the closest he's come.
6'3" Beno Udrih - Lots of layups in this mix.
6'3" Jamaal Tinsley - No dunk in top 5 plays.
6'3" Jason Hart - Layup-ish.
6'3" Damon Jones - Gets dunked on here.
6'3" Sergio Rodriguez - Reverse layup.
6'2" Luke Ridnour
6'2" Rafer Alston - Rumored to have in-game dunked.
6'2" Anthony Roberson
6'2" Kevin Ollie
6'2" Mike James - Blocked dunk attempts don't count.
6'2" Marcus Banks
6'2" Chris Quinn - Elevates on jumper.
6'1" Travis Diener
6'1" Eddie House
6'1" Jacque Vaughn - Mix sans dunks.
6'0" DJ Augustin - Layup.
6'0" Sean Singletary - Almost.
6'0" Jameer Nelson - Layup.
6'0" Tyronn Lue
6'0" Seb Telfair - This low-quality video, but no dunks in this mix.
6'0" Kyle Lowry - This low-quality video, but no dunks in this mix.
5'11" Speedy Claxton - All-alone fastbreak layups here.
5'11" Chucky Atkins
5'10" JJ Barea - Practices floaters in this clip.
5'10" Brevin Knight - Floater.
5'10" Mike Wilks - A good view of someone else's dunk.
List B: These players are confirmed dunkers and have been crossed off the non-dunking list (click on name to play video of qualifying dunk)
*Photo proof only (no video found)
**Dunk-O-Meter proof only (no video found)
List C: It is possible these players are non-dunkers, but they are no longer in the NBA
5'5" Earl Boykins (playing in Italy)
6'0" Dan Dickau (waived)
5'10" Damon Stoudamire (retired)
My guess is that about ten of the guys on List A have actually dunked in a game, but for whatever reason that video isn't posted on YouTube. If true, this would still leave about twenty guys left on the non-dunker list, which is consistent with the SI article I referenced earlier in this post.
Am I missing anyone? Do you have video proof that could move a player from List A to List B? Great. Post it in the comment section and I'll update the list. The idea is for this list to get more accurate over time.
15 comments:
I'm sure Duhon has dunked in a game, but I can't find any video of it either...
The Dunk-O-Meter is cool, but I agree it is best to go with video...I'm sure the DOM includes some backboard rattling layups!
I just saw chris quinn do an after the whistle two handed dunk vs the Hawks. I know for a fact the marcus banks can dunk too.
Good find. I won't officially move them over until there is in-game dunk video evidence, but I completely believe you that Quinn/Banks can throw it down.
Im sure a lot of these people can dunk or could dunk some time in their life and did u really think ray allen couldnt dunk he was in a dunk contest and jordan farmar has a 42 in vert
Hi Anon, Thanks for writing in. So yup, you're probably right: a lot of these people can dunk. But there is no YouTube evidence of it, and that was the point of the post: if it isn't on YouTube, you don't get credit. Take a guy like Nash. I'm nearly certain he can dunk, but I've heard he chooses not to. As for, say, Kevin Ollie, he doesn't get enough minutes to luck into a breakaway situation very often. And even if he does dunk, he doesn't have a huge fanbase that is going to post it online. So you make a good point, the list isn't perfect. But it will probably get better over time.
As for your Ray Allen / Farmar mention, here is the answer: I know those guys can dunk, but when I was researching for the post, I found a lot of folks online who brought those names up as non dunkers. So I partly included them to prove that they can dunk. I also included a lot of dunks by players that I like, and Allen / Farmar are sweet. So that's why, I guess. As I said in the post, it wasn't an an exact science. Peace.
I'm sure kyle lowry can dunk I've seen him hang on the rim after a foul, but after already droping the ball. No official dunk though and I can't find it on video.
Mo Williams can be crossed off:
Mo's Dunk on Pierce
Thanks Anon. Mo Williams' dunk added.
Ray allen was in a dunk contest before. nba dunk contest. Come on.
jj barea can dunk
Players like Allen, Ellis and Shannon Brown are known for their athleticism and are all great dunkers, so not sure how they made the second list. Z-Bo may not havr much of a vertical but he's thrown down some devastating 2-handers.
Iverson also had a few crazy posters in his day
Tyron Lue has dunked in NCAA games before: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfu7kupIdGo (start from 0:12)
Jamaal Tinsley could clearly dunk during his NBA career, however there is no footage of this, proof was in his unsuccessful attempt in the 2002 rookie game, you can hear the commentary about it from 0:20 here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0goS5BCka7c
Jameer Nelson had one career slam in an NBA game: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6rovmGEimE
Kyle Lowry has dunked a few times in the NBA also but stopped for four years until the 2015 All Star Game: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZQY0N_dJN0
very amazing stats and figures like the way how writer described the whole thing in one article for more information check NBA Players of All time
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