Who can forget when cement-legged Billy Hoyle finished off the playground comp in true hustlers fashion, by defying the odds and slamming down an alley-oop from Sidney Dean, played by Wesley Snipes?
It examined race through the prism of our beloved game, along with the struggle for American survival outside of the mainstream. It also gave power to the narrative of what one can do with an incredible partner by your side, not only on the court but also within the domain of persevering through loving and supportive intimate relationships with our significant others.
And if your ’90s-era snap game is weaker than JJ Evans on Good Times, you’ll love repeating things like, “Oh man shut your anorexic malnutrition tapeworm-having overdose on Dick Gregory Bahamian diet-drinking ass up,” and “What, you still throwing up bricks? What is this, a Masons convention? Wha… clank, clank! I need, like, a welding torch to play in this league! I got an idea… let’s just stop right now and gather up all these bricks and let’s build a shelter for the homeless so maybe your mother will have a place to live!”
To celebrate the film’s 28th anniversary, let’s examine some of the greatest dunks executed by white NBA players over the years.
Seattle Supersonics forward Tom Chambers is probably the greatest white dunker in NBA history. He had the elevation and the flair and the power. His list of victims include some official cats.
Chambers was an all-around offensive menace who scored over 20,000 career points and captivated fans with this MVP performance in the 1987 NBA All-Star game.
Spurs legend Manu Ginobili wasn’t known for his hops, but back in 2014 he drank from the fountain of youth and yammed one over Bosh with the left hand as he bullies Ray Allen out of the way. Ginobili is a Spaniard, but for the sake of our limited NBA choices, he’s a white dunker who was on one that night.
Brent Barry is one of the sons of NBA Hall of Famer Rick Barry. While Rick was known for his underhand free throw prowess, Brent was a high-rising dunkmaster who totally defied the myth that white men can’t jump when he won the 1996 NBA Slam Dunk Contest.
Watch him bang on Rodman at the 2:00 mark. Rodman, a legendary NBA defender was helpless. All he could do was eat it and walk away.
In this clip, Celtics star Gordon Hayward dunks over the NBA’s supreme dunker Greek Freak, giving the Milwaukee Bucks skywalker a taste of his own posterizing medicine.
All of these lethal dunkers have undoubtedly made Woody Harrelson proud and should be celebrated around this time every year.
Harrelson and Wesley Snipes teamed up to create pop culture magic while addressing the issues of stereotypes and race. Most people still believe that only black dudes can dunk, but when it comes to these guys, the myth doesn’t fit so you must acquit.
