Top 5 Most Disrespectful Dunks In NBA History

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Every few years, we come across a few nasty dunks that get immortalized on highlight reels for years to come. We're not talking about just dunks that made us go "OH NO HE DID NOT!!!". We're talking about the dunks that were so disrespectful, the whole arena went berserk.

Not all dunks are disrespectful. So, how do you know when a dunk is disrespectful? There are some dunks that go over someone and there are dunks that go through someone. Some dunks just happen, the dunker dunks the ball and the sequence ends. A disrespectful dunk has an aftermath that is everlasting.

So a for a dunk to be disrespectful the following factors have to be considered - Do the Dunker and Dunkee have a history? How did the Dunker react after the dunk? What was the reaction of the crowd? How difficult was the dunk? Did the Dunkee try to stop the dunk?

With the above qualifications in mind - Here is a list of the 5 most disrespectful dunks in NBA history!


#5 LeBron James on Jason Terry (March 18, 2013)

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History Between the Dunker and Dunkee - Jason Terry outplayed LeBron James in the 2011 Finals and had denied LeBron his first ring with the Miami Heat Superteam. Terry kept telling the media how LeBron James - one of the greatest players to ever play the game won't be able to guard him and somehow it came true.

Terry completely outplayed LeBron in Game 4, 5 and 6 including a clutch shot in Game 5 over James to win the game and the Mavs ran away with the NBA Championship that year.

The Dunk - Jason Terry was a member of Boston Celtics in 2013. After a steal, he was bringing the ball up the court but Dwyane Wade poked the ball loose and passed it to Mario Chalmers who tossed it to Norris Cole. By now, Jason Terry was all over the place and was trying desperately hard to recover the ball. Cole lobbed the basketball up for LeBron James who was running at Terry at breakneck speed like the train in Unstoppable.

Terry tried to stop LeBron but the latter caught it first and dunked it all over Terry. Terry fell on his back and LeBron took a step towards him and then stared him down for a while (and picked up a technical) and walked away without saying a word. Savage!

#4 Ricky Davis on Steve Nash (November 13, 2002)

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There's no history between Ricky Davis and Nash here. (Well, Steve Nash was one of the nicest guys - he doesn't really have a history with anybody) This dunk was just disrespectful.

The Dunk - Shawn Bradley passed the ball to Dirk Nowitzki but Ricky Davis stole the ball. He shifted into 5th gear and attacked the glass. Steve Nash (never really known for his shot blocking expertise) stepped in the way to draw a charge. Ricky planted his left foot down and soared high enough to have his knee on Nash's shoulder and threw it down.

The ref called a foul on Nash - it was an and one dunk. Ricky just stood there - screaming, "oh shit oh shit!" - even he was surprised he pulled that ridiculous dunk off! Ricky Davis was a notorious character and this dunked proved it.

#3 Shaquille O'Neal on Chris Dudley (March 28, 1999)

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Shaq needs no introduction especially when it comes to nasty dunks. He's broken quite a few backboards in his career. But with this particular dunk, he broke Chris Dudley.

The Dunk - Shaq got the ball in low-post as Dudley tried to guard him. O'Neal put his shoulder into Dudley's chest, jumped and dunked the ball all over Dudley. Unfortunately for Dudley, he didn't fall down because if he did, that would have been the end of the whole sequence. But he didn't fall down and after contesting the dunk against the most powerful man in NBA history, things went south. Literally.

Shaq pulled the ring and opened his legs and Dudley was stuck right in there. Dudley tried to hang on to Shaq to stay on his feet but Shaq just shoved Dudley to the ground.

Here's the best part - after being humiliated, Dudley thought it was okay to throw the ball back at Shaq! It will forever be one of the most petty moments in NBA history

#2 Shawn Kemp on Alton Lister (April 30, 1992)

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This dunk, which became known as "The Lister Blister" will forever be remembered as one of the nastiest in-game dunks in Playoff history. It was game 4 of the First Round of Playoffs in 1992 and Seattle Supersonics were up 2-1 against a higher seeded Warriors.

History Between the Dunker and Dunkee - In Game 2 of the same series, Shawn Kemp and Alton Lister got into a fight so it was clear that they really get along too well.

The Dunk - Sonics guard Ricky Pierce dribbled down the left side but was quickly doubled up. He looked up and found Shawn Kemp just inside the 3-point line. Kemp saw the open lane and attacked the lane like a war chariot at full speed. Just as he began to jump, Lister stepped in and tried to take a charge. Somehow, Kemp jumped high enough to land his knees on Lister's chest for the tomahawk dunk.

That's barely the end of the sequence. As Lister tried to draw the charge, he took a brutal hit and slid several feet on the floor. Shawn Kemp (this would be the highlight play of his career) squatted, looked at Lister and pointed both his index fingers towards Lister almost as if to say - "HA HA!!! WHAT A WEAK BOY!" (This would easily be a technical in today's "soft" NBA) This was - without any shadow of a doubt - the greatest post-dunk celebration of all time!

#1 Scottie Pippen on Patrick Ewing (May 20, 1994)

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Hands down, this was the most disrespectful dunk of all time. This was a full-speed, one-on-one dunk in a fastbreak that hit Ewing like a train! The stakes too were high on this one as the Bulls were playing the Knicks in the Playoffs and were down 3-2 in that series.

History between the Dunker and Dunkee - The Bulls had defeated the Knicks in the playoffs in 1989,1991, 1992 and 1993. The Bulls were to the Knicks what LeBron James was to the Toronto Raptors when playing in the East.

The Dunk - After a block on the defensive end, the Bulls brought the ball forward on a fast-break. Myers Pete received the ball near the key on the right side and threw a bounce pass to Scottie Pippen on the left side. Scottie took off as soon as he got the ball just outside the paint and exploded on Ewing!

Ewing tried to block the dunk (could be his biggest regret in life) and lost his balance after getting dunked on and fell backward on the floor. He tried to latch himself onto Scottie but Scottie shoved him down. Scottie's momentum carried him several steps after the dunk and Pippen was literally stood over Ewing.

Ewing looked like he had just survived a car crash. Pippen then walked over Ewing and walked passed Spike Lee and told him - "Sit your a** down."

The announcers went crazy - "OH MY! OH BABY! HOLY COW!" The crowd went nuts. Pete Myers had a few words for Ewing. Knicks players rushed in to do some damage control. Bulls players came in and started shoving the Knicks players. The refs had to step in to take control. It was CHAOS. Scottie Pippen had the meanest dunk in NBA HISTORY!


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Edited by Raunak J