Kobe's place in dunk history?

[Mr. Jabbar]

I have a hard time of knowing where to rank Kobe amongst the best dunkers of all-time. I've watched him dunk his whole career and he has a wonderful resume in terms of variety and execution, but he never struck me as revolutionary. I completely understand how fans of his would get very amped and hyped for any cool dunk he completed, but as someone with no real tie to Bryant, I struggle to recall dunk moments of his that made me jump out of my seat.

Thinking back, I honestly believe his between-the-legs in '97 may have been my best Bryant dunking moment. At the time I thought it was incredible to see because he was the first non-Woolridge person to pull that jam off since J.R. Rider three years earlier... and Kobe did it out of nowhere.

Otherwise, I just have a tough time explaining what it was about Kobe's dunking that made me say, "Whew, that was very impressive and great" instead of "Holy lord that was sick!" I wonder if he was too smooth or sterile, but he had some nasty jams too. I really just can't put my finger on as to why his dunks didn't make me feel more, like a Vince Carter, Jason Richardson, Desmond Mason, Blake Griffin, or Dominique Wilkins would.

negged

[moe94]

I completely understand how fans of his would get very amped and hyped for any cool dunk he completed, but as someone with no real tie to Bryant, I struggle to recall dunk moments of his that made me jump out of my seat.

Aside from the fact that his dunk contest is among the worst ever, what are you talking about here?

This is one of the best dunks of all time.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXo0x0ZiNoE

[TheMarkMadsen]

Kobe and VC are the GOAT Windmill dunkers

Kobe is in my Top 5 dunkers ever when it comes to in-game

[mang]

Also, a lot of people like to say Kobe's dunk contest was weak as hell (which it was), but if you watch the dunk he attempted to do as his last, it was pretty creative for that time period.

Everyone remembers the between the legs dunk he did for the contest, and probably simply assumes that was the best dunk he had up his sleeve.

http://youtu.be/KxsWBP_TDOc?t=3m2s

Now, I'm not necessarily saying it was an impressive attempt (especially compared to today's standards), but a creative attempt for the 90s nontheless.

[Black and White]

I have a hard time of knowing where to rank Kobe amongst the best dunkers of all-time. I've watched him dunk his whole career and he has a wonderful resume in terms of variety and execution, but he never struck me as revolutionary. I completely understand how fans of his would get very amped and hyped for any cool dunk he completed, but as someone with no real tie to Bryant, I struggle to recall dunk moments of his that made me jump out of my seat.
Thinking back, I honestly believe his between-the-legs in '97 may have been my best Bryant dunking moment. At the time I thought it was incredible to see because he was the first non-Woolridge person to pull that jam off since J.R. Rider three years earlier... and Kobe did it out of nowhere.

Otherwise, I just have a tough time explaining what it was about Kobe's dunking that made me say, "Whew, that was very impressive and great" instead of "Holy lord that was sick!" I wonder if he was too smooth or sterile, but he had some nasty jams too. I really just can't put my finger on as to why his dunks didn't make me feel more, like a Vince Carter, Jason Richardson, Desmond Mason, Blake Griffin, or Dominique Wilkins would.

That doesn't make you jump out of your seat????

[G-Funk]

[Rake2204]

Aside from the fact that his dunk contest is among the worst ever, what are you talking about here?

This is one of the best dunks of all time.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXo0x0ZiNoE

Yeah I like that dunk. But as a random outsider, it didn't blow me away. It was almost more about the move preceding the dunk than the jam itself (though the dunk was still very good).

That doesn't make you jump out of your seat????

That was one that came to mind. And the baseline double pump reverse. And Dwight Howard's. I know for a fact they were great dunks but somehow I never ended up feeling as excited as I thought I should be.

Actually, in hindsight, I think I really did like that preseason jam and likely just grew numb to it over the years, kind of how that Jordan dunk on Ewing really does nothing for me anymore.

I was not intending to sound critical of Kobe's dunking style with my initial post. Rather, I was just trying to explore why I always seem to think of many other dunkers first when contemplating the real nasty throw-down artists of our day. Perhaps KBlaze was correct. All things considered, maybe Kobe is amongst the best, but still maybe a half step below the absolute greatest dunkers, for which there is no shame (if that is the case).

[G-Funk]

[salwan]

get healthy soon, kobe

[Kblaze8855]

That doesn't make you jump out of your seat????

ID say dunks like this make me jump out of my seat:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oY3TV3vgs7k


Kobes best dunks are generally his posters and that run of up and under one handers...like the one vs Minnesota in the playoffs.

[G-Funk]

[moe94]

ID say dunks like this make me jump out of my seat:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oY3TV3vgs7k

Amazing. Swinging after a poster makes it 10x better.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjNMXdOdigo

[G-Funk]

[Kblaze8855]

http://youtu.be/x5Eq0hht2Rg?t=2m6s


^

Thats the one. From that angle...probably his best dunk to me.

[G-Funk]