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Slam Dunker Biography & Facts

A slam dunk, also simply known as dunk, is a type of basketball shot that is performed when a player jumps in the air, controls the ball above the horizontal plane of the rim, and scores by shoving the ball directly through the basket with one or both hands. It is a type of field goal that is worth two points. Such a shot was known as a "dunk shot" until the term "slam dunk" was coined by former Los Angeles Lakers announcer Chick Hearn. The slam dunk is usually the highest percentage shot and a crowd-pleaser. Thus, the maneuver is often taken from the basketball game and showcased in slam dunk contests such as the NBA Slam Dunk Contest held during the annual NBA All-Star Weekend. The first incarnation of the NBA Slam Dunk Contest was held during the half-time of the 1976 ABA All-Star Game. A study was carried out in 2015 to show the effectiveness of different shot types, including slam dunks. The study was carried out across five different levels of basketball (NBA, EuroBasket, the Slovenian 1st Division, and two minor leagues). Overall the study showed that slam dunks were a very effective way of scoring in the game of basketball, particularly in the NBA, which had the highest dunk percentage in the study. History Joe Fortenberry, playing for the McPherson Globe Refiners, dunked the ball in 1936 in Madison Square Garden. The feat was immortalized by Arthur Daley, Pulitzer Prize winning sports writer for The New York Times in an article in March 1936. He wrote that Joe Fortenberry and his teammate, Willard Schmidt, instead of shooting up for a layup, leaped up and "pitch[ed] the ball downward into the hoop, much like a cafeteria customer dunking a roll in coffee". During the 1940s, 7-foot center and Olympic gold medalist Bob Kurland was dunking regularly during games. Yet defenders viewed the execution of a slam dunk as a personal affront that deserved retribution; thus defenders often intimidated offensive players and thwarted the move. Kurland's rival big man George Mikan noted "We used to dunk in pregame practice, not in the game." Satch Sanders, a career Boston Celtic from 1960 to 1973, said: "in the old days, [defenders] would run under you when you were in the air ... trying to take people out of games so they couldn't play. It was an unwritten rule." Still, by the 1950s and early 1960s some of the NBA's tallest and strongest centers such as Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain had incorporated the move into their offensive arsenal. Slightly smaller players at forward and guard then began to dunk, helping to popularize the move, like "Jumping" Johnny Green, Gus Johnson, Elgin Baylor, and Connie Hawkins in the 1960s; and David Thompson and Julius Erving in the 1970s. This transformed dunking into the standard fare it is today. 1956 rule changes In the 1950s, Jim Pollard and Wilt Chamberlain had both dunked from the free throw line—15 feet from the basket. Chamberlain was able to dunk from the free-throw line without a running start, beginning his forward movement from within the top half of the free-throw circle. This was the catalyst for the 1956 NCAA rule change which requires that a shooter maintain both feet behind the line during a free-throw attempt. An inbounds pass over the backboard was also banned because of Chamberlain. Offensive goaltending, also called basket interference, was introduced as a rule in 1956 after Bill Russell had exploited it at San Francisco and Chamberlain was soon to enter college play. While at the University of Kansas, Chamberlain was known to have dunked on an experimental 12-foot basket set up by Phog Allen. When Chamberlain dunked the ball it was called a "dipper dunk." Lew Alcindor rule Dunking was banned in the NCAA and high school sports from 1967 to 1976. Many people have attributed the ban to the dominance of the college phenomenon Lew Alcindor (now known as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar); the no-dunking rule is sometimes referred to as the "Lew Alcindor rule." Others have attributed the ban to racial motivations, as at the time most of the prominent dunkers in college basketball were African-American, and the ban took place less than a year after the 1966 NCAA University Division basketball championship game, wherein a Texas Western team with an all-black starting lineup beat an all-white Kentucky team to win the national championship. Under head coach Guy Lewis, Houston (with Elvin Hayes) made considerable use of the "stuff" shot on their way to the Final Four in 1967. Breakaway rims In the NBA, in 1976 Arthur Erhat filed a patent for "a rim that had give but immediately returned to its original position," making dunking safe for the first time by significantly reducing the shattering of backboards. In 1979, Erving's teammate and center Darryl Dawkins twice shattered NBA backboards with dunks leading to a quickly-enacted rule making it an offence to break the backboard. Technology has evolved to adapt to the increased strength and weight of players to withstand the force of such dunks, such as the breakaway rim (introduced to the NBA in 1981) changes to the material used for the backboards, and strengthening of the goal standards themselves. The invention by Arthur Ehrat to create the breakaway rim with a spring on it led to the return of the dunk in college basketball. All-star power forward Gus Johnson of the Baltimore Bullets was the first of the famous backboard breakers in the NBA, shattering three during his career in the 1960s and early 1970s. Luke Jackson also shattered a backboard in 1968. In the ABA, Charlie Hentz broke two backboards in the same game on 6 November 1970 resulting in the game being called. The NBA has made shattering the backboard a technical foul, although it will not count towards a player's count of seven that can draw a suspension, or two towards ejection from a game, and it counts towards a player's count of six personal fouls. This has assisted in deterring this action, as it can cost the team points. Slam Dunk Contest era The first-ever Slam Dunk Contest was held on January 27, 1976 at McNichols Sports Arena in Denver during halftime of the 1976 ABA All-Star Game, the league's final All-Star game before the completion of the ABA–NBA merger. Erving defeated Thompson in the championship round, after leaping from the free-throw line. The other participants were Artis Gilmore, George Gervin, and Larry Kenon. The NBA held its first Slam Dunk Contest as a one-off, season-long event similar to NBA Horse event held the following season. During halftime at each game, there was a one-on-one slam dunk competition. Former ABA player Darnell "Dr. Dunk" Hillman was named the winner that season. Although he received the winner's $15,000 check, Hillman did not receive a trophy until 2017. Modern era The Houston Cougars from 1982 to 1984, with Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler, were known as Phi Slama Jama. The national champion 1982 North Carolina Tar Heels also featured two notable dunkers: James W.... Discover the Slam Dunker popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Slam Dunker books.