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: 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.