[ojandpizza]

Quote: Originally Posted by VDusen04

I've been a lifelong fan of the dunk. That 2000 contest still resonates strongly in my mind. I was a sophomore in high school and had my Snowcoming Dance that evening (like homecoming, but for basketball/winter season). I honestly considered staying home to watch the contest, but I was into taping every contest back then so I knew I'd be able to watch when I got back. I was hyped about Carter. I was envisioning him doing a really stylistic reverse dunk (like his one against Indiana his rookie year), or doing a neat standard 360... and I thought that'd be good enough for him to win it. I thought those dunks would look great. But when I was sitting in the living past midnight watching my tape, and that first dunk happened... I believe I literally fell out of my chair. I typically do not react very externally to stimulus, but I remember leaving my seat and moving closer to the TV on the carpeted floor, mind absolutely blown. I was mega hyped for Carter's dunk contest appearance, but I had zero idea he'd invent and complete a dunk I never even fathomed in my wildest dreams. My other big memory from that night was Carter's first final round dunk. I watched him approach the rim in pretty standard form, and I saw him rise for what looked to be a regular one-handed dunk. A thousand thoughts went through my mind in that split second between his approach and finish. I thought he'd run out of dunks. I thought he was throwing the competition. I was absolutely just as confused as the crowd in Oakland. I saw him dangling from his elbow and it didn't add up. Then when I was finally able to compute, there were just no words. It was just a dunk contest, yes, but even so, it's one of the most exciting moments of basketball I've ever been able to witness live in my life. I'm honestly a little bummed for those who were not able to live it firsthand back then, because once the contest became known, and Carter's dunks became replicable, a lot of the magic was lost. Being at ground zero for their initial reveal though? Priceless. Also, the first minute of the video below is NBA stars chiming in before the contest about who they thought might win. The hype was strong with VC, and he eclipsed it by miles.

My jaw didn't leave the floor until the next morning lol.. His dunks, both in the contest and in games, were just insane.