duncan228
02-14-2010, 04:29 AM
Dallas dunk-off replayed (http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spurs/Dallas_dunk-off_replayed.html)
Mike Monroe
When the NBA took its All-Star Weekend to Dallas for the first time, in 1986, the slam-dunk contest was still in its infancy. Introduced at Denver’s McNichols Sports Arena in 1984 (Phoenix’s Larry Nance upset 76ers star Julius Erving in the finals that year), the ’86 contest got a local favorite when 5-foot-7 Hawks guard Anthony “Spud” Webb, who grew up in Dallas, was a late addition to the field.
What ensued was the greatest dunk-off in contest history, with Webb defeating teammate Dominique “The Human Highlight Reel” Wilkins. In the process, Webb attempted, and completed, the first dunks in which he bounced the ball off the floor, caught it and dunked it.
“That was pretty amazing, that a 5-7 guy could do that,” Wilkins recalled. “But I thought my stuff was pretty damn good, too.”
Indeed, it was, which is what made the dunk-off so memorable.
There have been other great moments in the contest over the years, including Nate Robinson’s leap over Dwight Howard in the 2009 contest in Phoenix, but veteran All-Star Weekend observers agree: The Webb-Wilkins dunk-off was, well, the stuff of legends.
All puns intended.
Dominique Wilkins
Age in ’86: 26
Size: 6-foot-7, 200 pounds
Position: Small forward
’85-’86 scoring average: 30.3
Wilkins’ take: It was a pretty damn good show, maybe the best ever. My dunk-off against MJ (Michael Jordan) in Chicago (in 1988) was pretty damn good, too. Most of the top dunkers were in both those contests.
What I remember most about Dallas is that I never saw Spud do that stuff in practice, and I was with him the whole year. I thought: “Where in the hell did that come from?” That little so-and-so must have been working on that stuff behind closed doors.
I was more excited to see him win than he was for himself. I thought I should have beat him, but I was happy for him.
Anthony "Spud" Webb
Age in ’86: 22
Size: 5-foot-7, 133 pounds
Position: Point guard
’85-’86 scoring average: 7.8
Webb’s take: It was my rookie year. I wasn’t thinking about dunks. All I thought about that whole year was: How can I make this team? It wasn’t really in my makeup (to be in the contest). If I wanted to do things like that, I’d have gone to play for the Globetrotters.
When they asked me to participate, I thought they were joking. I was an oddity. They thought it would be one dunk and out. The sideshow would be over. I didn’t get to practice on Friday (before the contest) because I’d been in Los Angeles to be on the Johnny Carson show.
I’d seen Dominique dunk, and I knew his little tricks. My thought process was, “Can I win this?” I would never walk in there and say, “I can’t beat Dominique Wilkins because he’s the greatest dunker ever.”
Mike Monroe
When the NBA took its All-Star Weekend to Dallas for the first time, in 1986, the slam-dunk contest was still in its infancy. Introduced at Denver’s McNichols Sports Arena in 1984 (Phoenix’s Larry Nance upset 76ers star Julius Erving in the finals that year), the ’86 contest got a local favorite when 5-foot-7 Hawks guard Anthony “Spud” Webb, who grew up in Dallas, was a late addition to the field.
What ensued was the greatest dunk-off in contest history, with Webb defeating teammate Dominique “The Human Highlight Reel” Wilkins. In the process, Webb attempted, and completed, the first dunks in which he bounced the ball off the floor, caught it and dunked it.
“That was pretty amazing, that a 5-7 guy could do that,” Wilkins recalled. “But I thought my stuff was pretty damn good, too.”
Indeed, it was, which is what made the dunk-off so memorable.
There have been other great moments in the contest over the years, including Nate Robinson’s leap over Dwight Howard in the 2009 contest in Phoenix, but veteran All-Star Weekend observers agree: The Webb-Wilkins dunk-off was, well, the stuff of legends.
All puns intended.
Dominique Wilkins
Age in ’86: 26
Size: 6-foot-7, 200 pounds
Position: Small forward
’85-’86 scoring average: 30.3
Wilkins’ take: It was a pretty damn good show, maybe the best ever. My dunk-off against MJ (Michael Jordan) in Chicago (in 1988) was pretty damn good, too. Most of the top dunkers were in both those contests.
What I remember most about Dallas is that I never saw Spud do that stuff in practice, and I was with him the whole year. I thought: “Where in the hell did that come from?” That little so-and-so must have been working on that stuff behind closed doors.
I was more excited to see him win than he was for himself. I thought I should have beat him, but I was happy for him.
Anthony "Spud" Webb
Age in ’86: 22
Size: 5-foot-7, 133 pounds
Position: Point guard
’85-’86 scoring average: 7.8
Webb’s take: It was my rookie year. I wasn’t thinking about dunks. All I thought about that whole year was: How can I make this team? It wasn’t really in my makeup (to be in the contest). If I wanted to do things like that, I’d have gone to play for the Globetrotters.
When they asked me to participate, I thought they were joking. I was an oddity. They thought it would be one dunk and out. The sideshow would be over. I didn’t get to practice on Friday (before the contest) because I’d been in Los Angeles to be on the Johnny Carson show.
I’d seen Dominique dunk, and I knew his little tricks. My thought process was, “Can I win this?” I would never walk in there and say, “I can’t beat Dominique Wilkins because he’s the greatest dunker ever.”