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King James posterizes 2 Atlanta defendersLos Angeles Clippers center DeAndre Jordan led the league last season in dunks with 252, followed by Tyson Chandler who had 179 and Andre Drummond in third with 167. There should be no surprise that the top three dunkers in the league play the center position for their respective teams. In fact seven of the top ten dunkers are centers and the other three are power forwards. For obvious reasons there is no room on the list for players 6 foot 8 inches and shorter. Here's the list of players with most dunks last season.Although DJ has put a few players on a poster in the past couple of years, the list below of top poster dunks will emphasise the lack of any relation between total number of dunks and top poster dunks. Before we tune into the NBA regular season 2 weeks from now, here are top 5 poster dunks from last season including the Playoffs:
#5 DeMarcus Cousins on the fast break slam over Jae Crowder
Spending last summer with USA Basketball for the FIBA World Cup has really helped Sacramento Kings big man DeMarcus Cousins. He has become more dominant in the paint and has learnt to rack up the assists as he draws double teams in the post. Playing in the post around the basket might be his biggest strength but Cousins is an underrated mid-range shooter. His agility for a 6 foot 11 inch big man and his ability to run the fast break like he does in the video below is a lot similar to Charles Barkley in his prime.
There’s probably no stopping Cousins when he is rolling full speed towards the basket, surely Jae Crowder should have known better. Instead he got put on a poster, trying to draw a charge while he was in the restricted area.
#4 Nikola Vucevic puts Pau Gasol on a poster
Posters are not something you usually associate with Montenegrian national Nikola Vucevic as racking up double doubles is more his forte. Playing for the Magic, Vucevic might not have the same influence that Dwight Howard had in the Amway Arena but his stats are quite similar. He has averaged 19.3 points and 10.9 rebounds at 53% shooting from the field. Being a European he is a traditional inside-outside threat as he can knock down the mid-range jumper and score efficiently in the post.
Here, on a drive to the basket Vucevic slams down a left handed dunk right on Pau Gasol, which the latter should be quite familiar with after what Blake Griffin did to him in a game 3 years back.
#3 Andrew Wiggins posterizes block master Rudy Gobert
Being traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Kevin Love could have been the best thing that happened to the rookie Andrew Wiggins. He was pushed into the spotlight in a team that had no immediate expectations of a championships, allowing him to grow and expand as a player in his first year in the league. Right from the beginning of the season, Wiggins made it clear how much he liked dunking the ball and how good he was at it.
Throwing a dunk on Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert is no piece of cake but Wiggins made it look easy. Mind you, Gobert after the Enes Kanter trade, was among the leading shotblockers in the league.
#2 LeBron James serves up a facial on Mike Muscala
The best player on the planet, LeBron James just completed 11 seasons in the league and yet some things never change. At 6 foot 8 inches and weigning 250 pounds, there are very few players in the league who can stop King James when he decides to make his way to the rim. Over the years, he has worked hard to maintain his biggest assets - his physical strength and body.
In the 2015 Playoffs, James single-handedly willed the Cleveland Cavaliers to the NBA Finals. Putting up monstrous numbers of 30.1 points, 11.3 rebounds and 8.3 assists during the post-season, there were numerous highlights of James that should not be missed but since we were on posters, here’s a vicious one of him against Hawks’ big man Mike Muscala:
#1 Blake Griffin posterizes Aron Baynes thrice in once game
If LeBron James is a physical specimen, Blake Griffin is no different. He has this uncanny ability to jump for a dunk as if there was a launching pad under his feet and once he gets to the spot where he can launch himself, there’s no stopping him. In the first round of the 2015 NBA Playoffs, a depleted Los Angeles Clippers faced deep rostered defending champs the San Antonio Spurs. However, the Spurs had their hands full trying to guard Griffin for whom they had no single speicalized defender.
Boris Diaw was too slow for Griffin’s movement and Tim Duncan a touch too soft. It got to a stage in Game 1 where Griffin was not only dunking at will but posterizing at will. The video below shows him putting Spurs’ back-up center Aron Baynes on a poster not once, not twice, but three times in the same game. Have a look:
Guess the Lakers players!
