Throwback Posterization: Drexler Dunks on Sean Elliot

This week's Throwback Posterization features Clyde "The Glide" Drexler dunking over the Spurs' Sean Elliot, who was a favorite of mine growing up. From what I hear, he's an awful commentator these days like so many other former players... I'm looking in your direction, Reggie Miller. I'm not sure what year this is from but it has to be sometime after 1995 when Clyde was traded midseason by the Blazers to the Rockets. If this was indeed the '95 season, the Rockets would go onto defeat the Spurs in the Western Conference Finals as Hakeem Olajuwon schooled MVP David Robinson.

Ok, onto the dunk. Terry Cummings gets trapped under the basket by Olajuwon and company, forcing him to make a bad pass that Kenny "The Jet" Smith picks off. While the Spurs struggle to get back on defense, Smith takes the ball up court and makes a nice bounce pass to Drexler trailing on the wing. Sean Elliot tries to draw the charge but Drexler goes up and throws it down hard, causing both players to fall to the floor.

Throwback Posterization: Pippen Absolutely Destroys Ewing

In honor of Scottie Pippen's induction to the Hall of Fame, this week's Throwback Posterizaation features one of the most famous posterizations of all time. This is from the second round of the 1994 NBA Playoffs, which was the Bulls' only playoff run without Michael Jordan between his first retirement and comeback. The third-seeded Bulls would fall to the second-seeded Knicks in seven games, and the Knicks would ultimately fall to the Rockets in the Finals in seven games. Game three of this series featured one of Pippen's most infamous moments in his career, when he refused to return to the game because Phil Jackson drew up the last shot for Toni Kukoc. Kukoc would hit the winning shot, but there wasn't much celebration due to the drama. It was a blemish on Pippen's otherwise stellar career.

Ok, onto the dunk. Horace Grant blocks a layup attempt by Derek Harper (I think) which sparks a fastbreak led by B.J. Armstrong. Armstrong sends a bounce pass across court to Pete Meyers, who immediately bounces it to Pippen. Pippen catches the pass and elevates over Ewing to throw down a vicious dunk. As Ewing falls to the floor, Pippen swipes at him as he comes down from the dunk. This would cost him a technical foul. After landing, Pippen defiantly walks over Ewing and stares him down. Pete Meyers tries to give Pippen a high five, but Scottie's just too fired up to bother. This dunk serves as a reminder of the physicality and intensity of '90s Playoff basketball.

Throwback Posterization: Shaq Throws Down Oop on Hakeem

For this week's Throwback Posterization, I'm going with a classic alley oop by Shaq over Hakeem from the 1995 NBA Finals. I chose this particular posterization by Shaq because recently a typed letter has surfaced on the internet that Shaq left with Olajuwon after the Rockets swept the Magic in the Finals. In the letter, Shaq challenges Hakeem to one-on-one, which many are speculating was the launching pad for their classic Taco Bell Ads. I really hope that that's true, but regardless, it's a pretty amusing letter.

As I'm sure most of you have heard, this letter isn't the only reason that Shaq has been in the news. After courting team after team (San Antonio, Miami, Atlanta) to try to come to terms on a contract, the Boston Celtics have signed Shaq to a one-year deal for the veteran's minimum. This proves yet again that Danny Ainge isn't afraid to take risks with potential locker room cancers, as he signed Stephon Marbury and Rasheed Wallace in the past two seasons respectively. Shaq will join fellow washed-up-center-with-an-Irish-sounding-name Jermaine O'Neal, as the two provide an insurance policy for the injured Kendrick Perkins. We'll see how that works out.

Now, finally, onto the dunk. Shaq gets good position on Hakeem under the rim, and does his patent "black tornado" to free himself from Olajuwon. The ball handler on the perimeter (I can't figure out who it is) takes notice of Shaq getting open and tosses a perfect lob to O'Neal. Shaq finishes the oop strong, throwing it down right in Hakeem's face. Olajuwon tries to contest the dunk, but it's just too late by the time he goes up. It was a small victory for Shaq in a series that saw Olajuwon score over 30 points in all four games.

Throwback Posterization: MJ Throws Down on Tree Rollins

I neglected to post a Throwback Posterization yesterday, so I'm doing one on a Friday this week to get you pumped for the weekend. This week's throw down is courtesy of the greatest of all time, Michael Jordan. I'm not entirely sure what season this is from but judging by his teammates and what appears to be Jordan 3's on his feet, I'm pretty sure it's from the '86-87 season.

Jordan catches a pass on the perimeter and does his patent palm-the-ball pass fake to Charles Oakley on the baseline, which breaks the ankles of the Hawks' Cliff Levingston. With his defender falling to the floor, Jordan takes it to the hoop as 7-footer Tree Rollins mans the paint. Taking just one dribble before taking off, MJ skies over Rollins for a textbook Jordan dunk. Rollins has good position to contest the dunk, but Jordan's teammate Earl Cureton cuts to the basket right before Jordan gets to the rim which distracts Tree. After the dunk, Jordan runs down the court with some serious swagger that foreshadows the superstar he would become.

I also want to point out that Tree Rollins became a running joke in my neighborhood when I was growing up because he had a funny name. Kiki Vandeweigh was another player whose name we ragged on. My brother and I even made up a song/story about him in which he was the narrator's best friend and ultimately died. I'm serious. I can still remember the melody which was likely ripped off from some other song.

Throwback Posterization: Kukoc Takes It To Zo

For those who don't know, Alonzo Mourning was my favorite player growing up. When he was traded there in 1995, I became a Miami Heat fan. Zo was regarded as one of the best shot blockers throughout the 90s, but as with any shot blocker, he got dunked on quite a bit too. For this week's Throwback Posterization, I present you Toni "The Croatian Sensation" Kukoc dunking on Mourning. Yeah, that really wasn't his nickname. This dunk is from the first round of the 1995 NBA Playoffs. The Bulls would go on to beat the Hornets three games to one, but would lose to the Orlando Magic in the following round. This was Jordan's first trip back to the playoffs since his infamous attempt at a baseball career.

Mourning hits a nice hook shot and as he's getting back on defense, he notices that Kukoc has an open lane to the basket. Larry "Grandmama" Johnson is in Zo's way as he's trying to defend Kukoc, so he shoves his own teammate out of the way. This moment is very likely indicative of the tension that grew between Mourning and Johnson. Mourning closes out too much on Kukoc, which opens up a small path to the rim. Kukoc makes a slight change of direction to get a step on Mourning and then takes it strong to the basket to dunk it over Zo's outstretched arm.

Throwback Posterization: D-Wade Throws Down On J.O.

I've been slipping lately with Throwback Posterizations, so I felt it would be necessary to post one today as a much needed distraction from all the LeBron James hoopla. In celebration of Miami's forthcoming return to relevance, I've decided to go with Dwyane Wade as a rookie dunking on Jermaine O'Neal from the 2004 Playoffs. The Pacers would go on to win the series in six games en route to a loss in the Conference Finals to the Detroit Pistons, who would go on to win the title.

Onto the dunk. Reggie Miller and Jamal Tinsley are distracted by Lamar Odom playing in the post, which opens up a clear lane to the hoop for Wade. Lamar Odom recognizes this and delivers the past to Wade who elevates up and over Jermaine O'Neal for the one-handed slam.

Throwback Posterization: T-Mac Crushes Some Scrub Named Kornel

I originally chose this T-Mac posterization because whoever uploaded it on youtube said it was from his rookie season, and I thought that would coincide nicely with tonight's NBA Draft. Turns out it's not from his rookie season, but it's a really nasty dunk, so I'm going with it. McGrady takes it coast to coast, shakes some dude around half court, and then throws it down hard on some scrub named Kornel David. As it turns out, Kornel David was a rookie in this clip, so my goal to have a rookie involved in this week's Throwback Posterization isn't lost after all. As soon as Kornel (what a weird name) jumps to contest the shot, he realizes he's about to get shat on so he just turns and falls to the ground with T-Mac comically riding on his back as he comes down from the dunk.

Thursday Throwback Posterization: Gasol Works KG

For the second week in a row, I'm going with a dunk on Kevin Garnett. This time, it's Pau Gasol during his days with the Grizzlies. Gasol sizes up Garnett from the corner and patiently waits for the perfect moment to get the first step on him. After passing by Garnett, Gasol goes up strong to the rim and throws it down hard on Gary Trent while KG unsuccessfully tries to block him from behind. It's pretty astonishing to see how much thinner Gasol was back then, which makes it all the more amusing to see him act with such swagger after the dunk. I don't even have to tell you how hilarious the spanish commentary is.

Thursday Throwback Posterization: Kobe Schools KG

That's right Dank Game, the NBA Finals begin tonight! Because I've decided to back the Lakers, this week's Throwback Posterization is Kobe Bryant serving it up on KG and Rasho Nesterovic in the first round of the 2003 Playoffs. The fifth seeded Lakers would go on to beat Kevin Garnett and the 4th seeded Timberwolves in six games, but the Lakers would then lose to the number one seeded Spurs in six games in the second round. This put an end to their hopes of winning their fourth straight championship.

Garnett tries to close out on Kobe on the perimeter, which Kobe takes advantage of and blows passed him. Garnett attempts to keep up with him as he takes it to the rim, but Kobe goes up so quickly and strong with the reverse jam that KG doesn't stand a chance. Rasho Nesterovic tries to provide some help defense, but it seems as if he didn't expect Kobe to go for the reverse dunk.

Thursday Throwback Posterization: Marion Finishes Oop Over Kobe

With the Suns evening up the series against the Lakers on Tuesday night, I felt it was appropriate for this week's Throwback Posterization to be a Suns player dunking on a Laker. I was hoping to find a video with two players who still play for both respective teams, but I had to settle for less. It was either young Amare dunking on Karl Malone during his days with LA, or Shawn Marion as a Sun dunking on Kobe. Marion's dunk was sweeter, so I went with it. Plus, I figure the Dank Game community would prefer seeing Kobe get served.

This dunk is from the first round of the 2006 NBA Playoffs, in which the 2nd seeded Suns came back from a 3-1 deficit to eliminate the 7th seeded Lakers. Before this year's series started, several Lakers cited this 2006 first round elimination as a source of motivation to seek vengeance on the Suns. Here's to hoping the Lakers blow another comfortable lead to Phoenix in the playoffs.

Now onto that dunk. Kobe gets stuck playing 1 on 2 against Diaw and Marion as his teammates attempt to force a turnover on the other end. After the Suns get the ball down court, Kobe is pretty much screwed, as Diaw lobs it to Marion for the throw down over Kobe.

Thursday Throwback Posterization: Shaq Crushes Kelvin Cato

With Shaq's future up in the air and the Lakers' recent dominance, I figured now was an opportune time to use a slam by Shaq during his prime years in LA. I'm pretty sure this is from the 1998-99 season, which was the season of the lockout.

Somehow Shaq ended up on his ass on the defensive end, and for some reason the Blazers neglected to clog the lane as Shaq storms down the court. As Derek Harper is being double-teamed by Brian Grant and Kelvin Cato, he finds Shaq as he comes down the open lane. Cato is late to contest the dunk and Shaq just absolutely destroys him.

Thursday Throwback Posterization: LeBron Over KG

Normally, for Throwback Posterizations, I like to find videos of dunks from at least ten years ago. Hence the name Throwback Posterization. But this week I'm making an exception and using a dunk from just two years ago.

With the internet going nuts over LeBron's miserable outing two nights ago, I figured it'd be appropriate to show a video of what LeBron should have been doing in game 5 at the Q. This is from game 4 of the 2008 Eastern Conference Semifinals, which the Cavs would win to even the series at two games a piece. The Celtics would go on to win the series en route to their 17th championship in franchise history.

LeBron has Pierce guarding him at the top of the key and loses him by dribbling around a pick by Joe Smith. James Posey comes out to help Pierce, so LeBron does a quick fake as if he's going to crossover into the paint. Posey bites on LeBron's fake forcing Garnett to come off of Varejao to help, but LeBron is just too quick in elevating to the rack.

Despite this being a memorable dunk in and of itself, Marv Albert proclaiming that LeBron has "no regard for human life" makes it that much more of a classic.

Thursday Throwback Posterization: Horry on Terry Mills

Unfortunately the video quality on this Throwback Posterization is sub-par at best, but this is such a sick dunk that I just had to post it anyway. This is from back in the mid to late 90s when someone in the Pistons organization decided to change their team colors to teal and red, and to incorporate a horse into their logo. Not a good idea. But hey, it was the 90s. There were a lot of bad ideas going on with sports teams logos and jerseys.

Ok, back to the dunk. This is one of those all or nothing dunks. The type where you just launch your body at the defender and pray in mid-air that you'll be able to reach the rim. And if you don't, you're probably in for a nasty fall. In this case, Horry was able to reach the rim and put the ball through the hoop while picking up the and 1 for good measure.

Thursday Throwback Posterization: Pippen Over The Mailman

Apologies for missing last week's Throwback Posterization, but I'm back with another classic throwdown. This week's jam is from none other than Scottie Pippen, or as my dad liked to call him, Pottie Scippen. This dunk is from game 5 of the 1997 NBA Finals, which the Bulls would go onto win 90-88 to take a 3-2 lead in the series. The Bulls closed the series out in the next game in Chicago, winning their fifth title in seven years.

Pippen blows by Utah's Chris Morris, who apparently had been giving Scottie trouble on defense up until that point. No one comes to help after Pippen gets into the lane, which forces Malone to leave his man and contest the dunk. The Mailman's help defense was too little too late, as Pippen absorbs the contact and finishes strong at the rim. I love how Pippen is all business after the dunk, but I guess you have to be all business when you're trailing 14-25 on the road in a crucial game 5 of the Finals.

Thursday Throwback Posterization: Shaq Crushes The Dream

It's already Thursday again Dank Gamers, so you know what that means... Throwback Posterization time! This week's throw down is courtesy of Shaq Diesel, as he absolutely destroys Hakeem "The Dream" Olajuwon. Because Scott Skiles was still with Orlando in this video, this is either from Shaq's first or second year in the NBA. Just a year or two later these two teams would meet in the Finals, with the Rockets sweeping Orlando for their second title in a row.

The Magic run a great play here to get Shaq the dunk. Scott Skiles cuts to the basket and gets a nice a bounce pass from Jeff Turner. Because Skiles beats his man Scott Brooks on the cut, Hakeem is forced to help on defense. Skiles notices that Olajuwon left Shaq open and immediately dishes it to him. Brooks makes a half-assed attempt to steal the ball from Shaq, and Olajuwon does his best to contest Shaq's dunk, but the Diesel is just too powerful. It's a great posterization by Shaq, who hangs on the rim with one hand to rub it in.

One thing worth noting is that both point guards in this video are candidates for this season's Coach of the Year Award. Both Scott Skiles and Scott Brooks have led young teams to unexpectedly successful seasons, with the Milwaukee Bucks and Oklahoma City Thunder, respectively.

Thursday Throwback Posterization: Young Kobe Throws It Down

This weeks Throwback Posterization features a young Kobe Bryant playing in what appears to be some sort of high school all-star game at the Palace of Auburn Hills. Kobe is around 17-years old here, so this is likely in 1996 during his senior year of high school. During this same year, Kobe took Brandy to his high school prom. Just thought that was worth noting. Kobe gets some impressive extension on the dunk, which allows him to get the ball up and over the defender, who does a decent job at contesting the dunk.

Thursday Throwback Posterization: The Admiral on Dennis Scott

This week's Throwback Posterizations features "The Admiral" David Robinson with a driving dunk over the Magic's Dennis Scott. The play occurs shortly before the 30 second mark, so you might want to skip ahead. According to the guy who uploaded the video, this play was from March 6, 1994 (Shaq's birthday) and the Spurs came back from a 15 point 4th quarter deficit for the win. Both the Magic and Spurs would go into the playoffs as the 4th seed, and lose in the first round to the Pacers and Jazz, respectively.

For some reason, the Magic decided to have Shaq guard Antoine Carr rather than David Robinson, which leads to Robinson burning Larry Krystkowiak off the dribble. Robinson then goes up strong on Dennis Scott for the dunk and 1. His momentum takes him to the floor and his leg swings towards Penny Hardaway, prompting him to swipe it away out of frustration.

While this is a pretty raw dunk, it's somewhat overshadowed by Dennis Rodman falling on top of Robinson and hugging him on the floor in celebration. It appears as though he even tries to kiss his head while wearing a protective mask. What a maniac. Robinson, always the reserved type, seems pretty uncomfortable with Rodman's passionate camaraderie.

Thursday Throwback Posterization: Phi Slamma Jamma's Finest

I mentioned Phi Slamma Jamma in last week's Throwback Posterization, so I figured I'd follow it up with another Clyde Drexler posterization from that era. The Glide's victim in this clip is a 5'11" point guard from Memphis State named Andre Turner AKA The Little General.

Damn, what an insane dunk. Truly mesmerizing.

By the way, if anyone knows what that song is, let me know.

As a bonus, I'm throwing in another short but sweet video highlighting Phi Slamma Jamma. It also has a real tight Camp Lo song, which is obviously a big plus.

Thursday Throwback Posterization: Drexler Throws Down on Laimbeer

For this week's late Thursday Throwback Posterization, I give you Clyde "The Glide" Drexler with a vicious one handed slam on Bill Laimbeer. This is from the 1990 NBA Finals, which would culminate with the Detroit Bad Boys winning in five games for their second straight title. This Blazers squad led by Drexler, Terry Porter, and Cliff Robinson would make it to the Finals again two years later only to fall prey to another back-to-back champion in the Chicago Bulls. Drexler would eventually get that elusive ring with the Rockets and fellow Phi Slamma Jamma alumni Hakeem Olajuwon in 1995.

Despite being one of the most highly regarded defenders of his era, Joe Dumars gets absolutely burned by Drexler. With Dumars left in the dust, Drexler goes up strong for the dunk on the late arriving Bill Laimbeer for the and 1. Laimbeer was notorious for hard fouls, so Drexler turns up the speed and throws it down extra hard to make sure he gets the bucket. It appears that Drexler didn't get a technical for slamming the ball, which would be a guaranteed technical in today's NBA.

Thursday Throwback Posterization: A.I. Put Back Over Camby

Allen Iverson is in the midst of some troubling times, so I figured this week was an appropriate time to pay homage to his legendary career with a Throwback Posterization. Iverson has recently parted ways with the Philadelphia 76ers, which could likely be the end of his career. His remarriage with the Sixers ended after he had been missing games to attend to his daughter, who has had an undisclosed illness. Shortly after this, news broke that he and his wife are in the process of being divorced. To make matters worse, Stephen A. Smith has revealed that Iverson has been struggling with drinking and gambling problems to the point that he's been banned from casinos in Detroit and Atlantic City. Needless to say, it's been a rough year for A.I.

But let's forget about all that, and take a moment to appreciate what this guy could do on the court. Iverson brought a style of play to the NBA that was incomparable to anyone that had played the game. Ultimately his game and attitude kept a championship just out of reach, but he did manage to carry a 76ers team to the Finals in 2001 that really had no business making it all the way to June.

Now, let's get back to the dunk. Eric Snow misses the short jumper, and Iverson soars up for the put back dunk over fellow 1996 draftee Marcus Camby. A.I. gets some serious air, which makes me pine for the days before his athletic ability began to fade. To add insult to injury, Iverson hangs on the rim over Camby for a moment, as Camby tries to inbound the ball and move on from a moment he'd like to forget.