Ordinarily, we wouldn’t want to call attention to any acts of violence. But in the case of DeAndre Jordan’s public demolition of Brandon Knight’s life that took place in last night’s Pistons/Clippers game, we didn’t have to worry about setting a bad example…
The rest of the world had already beat us to it.
In the short history of twitter, there may not have ever been a single play or sports moment that captivated fans everywhere (with one exception being Manny Pacquiao getting dropped by Juan Manuel Marquez) the way that this lob from Chris Paul to Jordan did.
It was moving. It moved most to make jokes at the expense of poor Brandon Knight, who is having a rough couple of weeks, but it got us thinking about where that play measures up against the greatest high-handoffs of all-time.
So without further ado, here is our list of the top five all-time in-game oops (dunks only).
Sidebar: If you have a favorite that was left off this list, by all means submit it for consideration by commenting/linking it in the comment section below. We may revise the list if necessary.
Honorable Mention 1) Jamal Crawford’s Between-The-Legs Lob To Blake Griffin (2013)
Leave it to the Lob City to have two plays on this list (albeit one as honorable mention), both of which have taken place within the last week!
It was only five days ago that Jamal “J Crossover” Crawford and Blake Griffin tag-teamed this oop that left many jaws agape. The pass had about as much sizzle as the dunk, which was much harder to handle than it appeared. Afterwards, Blake said he thought Jamal was going off the glass with it. So to adjust on the fly and still pull off a windmill?
Bravo, Future Blake.
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Honorable Mention 2) Shaq Scores 61 On His Birthday, Throws Halfcourt Ally-Oop To Kobe (2000)
You only turn 28 once. Shaquille O’Neal decided to celebrate his born day by dropping a career-high 61 points in one of those classic home road-games against the Clippers when he and the Lakers were at the peak of their powers.
Everything about this clip is great. Shaq scores his final bucket, then throws a long lob to Kobe for a reverse dunk. The late, great, Chick Hearn was in full effect and the crowd lost its collective mind.
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5) LeBron Catches Crazy Opp On The WIzards In The Playoffs (2008)
I was in the building when this dunk occurred. LeBron running full speed and catching a bad Boobie Gibson pass made for an extremely memorable play. Given the bad blood that had been brewing between the Wizards and Cavs in the late 2000s, this lob was a representation of what all Cavs wanted to say to the Wizards and their fans…
“F Y’all!”
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4) LeBron Jumps Over John Lucas III (2012)
Shades of the greatest dunk of all-time; we’re used to seeing LBJ go around and through guys, but over guys? This was uncharted territory.
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3) Chris Paul and DeAndre Jordan Chalk Out Brandon Knight (2013)
Poor Brandon Knight has fallen on some tough times (see what I did there?) of late. First Kyrie Irving gave him the banana peel treatment at All-Star Weekend, and now this. The photoshopped hilarity was coming fast an furious after this baptismal…like, before the game had even ended! Not only were we inspired to write this piece because of it, we were also inspired to change our twitter avatar.
#First48
Sidebar: A friend of HHSR had his own recent run-in with DeAndre Jordan. Here is his description of the encounter with the Clippers big man:
“True story. I sang the national anthem at the Cavs/Clippers game on the Friday before last with the WORD church. Walking out to center court I ALMOST got trucked be DeAndre Jordan. He was sprinting backwards from sideline to sideline and with so much happening on the court during warm ups, neither of us saw each other. I literally had to jump out of his way when I saw a GIANT in my peripheral. He really looked like a giant. He SHOULD have had his way with Brandon Knight. After a close encounter I don’t understand why B Knight didn’t jump out the way like I did!”
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2) Vince Carter— “The fans got what they wanted.” (2000)
From a pure visual standpoint, this is definitely a personal favorite. Granted, DeAndre’s is already being crowned “Dunk of the Year”, and rightfully so, but it was a 6’11” guy banging on a point guard.
Yet there was something about the way Vince Carter reached back in time to catch this awful pass from Dee Brown, and still throw it down with as much flair and force as anyone could possibly want. The anticipation before and electricity disseminated from the visiting crowd after was everything! But the crazy part is, that may not have even been VC’s best play that day.
Vinsanity was truly something to see.
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1) Kobe To Shaq Cements The Comeback (2000)
Game 7, inside the final minute of a four-point game, with a trip to the NBA Finals hanging in the balance. Portland had just blown a 15-point 4th quarter lead and was now trailing. That’s when Shaq and Kobe joined forces to create one of the great moments in league history.
It was the singular defining moment from the Shaq & Kobe “three-peat” era. It was a representation of a changing of the guard of sorts. It announced to the world that two of the greats to ever play the game had officially “arrived”.
The underrated crossover on Scottie Pippen, the dunk over Rahseed Wallace and the Lakers celebrating on the court before play was stopped, nearly creating a Cal/Stanford incident 18 years later…
This play had everything.
There you have it.
Is it any coincidence that five of the seven dunks we named took place in the same building? It speaks to the slew of legendary moments witnessed at Staples Center, which sort of goes back to our stance on understanding Madison Square Garden’s proper place in history.
Some tough decisions were made. A few epic Jordan lobs were left off, nothing from the collegiate ranks made it and nothing on here predates the turn of the century. What ally-oops made your list? Disagree with our order? Will we end up revising our list?
Holla at us below!