The Slam Dunk: One of the most beautiful shots in basketball
The slam dunk, or simply the dunk, is one of the most beautiful shots in the game of basketball. It occurs when a player forces the ball down into the hoop using one or two hands. Over the years, dunking has become very popular and has even spawned contests
outside of regular games. The shot is a huge crowd pleaser and is a great way to fire up the audience during a game.
The shot was invented in the 1940s and proved to be pretty controversial in the beginning. It slowly became a firmly established part of the game and today counts for a normal two point field goal. Many fantastic dunkers have come over the years and in the
future we will see many more very interesting dunks being invented.
The first time someone dunked the ball in a game of basketball is disputed; some say it took place in the 1950s while others say it was in the 1960s when it first happened in a game. A large number of sources point to a man named Bob Kurland who first dunked
a ball in professional games in the fifties. The NBA on the other hand gives the claim to a man named George Mikan who they state was the first to dunk the ball, but he rarely did so during games. It is claimed that Wilt Chamberlain dunked the ball through
a 12 foot hoop in the late 50s. Dunking was a little controversial in the 50s and 60s and when it emerged in the NCAA collegiate level a lot of people were concerned.
The other problem was a young player named Lew Alcindor who while playing at the college level started popularising dunking during games. Alcindor who later became Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was so good at the shot that it put a lot of other players at a disadvantage.
So from 1967 to 1976 dunking the ball was banned at the NCAA level.
A lot of people have said that this was a direct result of Alincdor’s presence in the game. Over time the dunk became a part of the game and the first time it was called a slam dunk was in 1972 when Los Angeles Lakers announcer, Chuck Hern, coined the term.
Today the slam dunk is so popular that an annual Slam Dunk Contest takes part in the NBA to find the best dunker in the league.
The slam dunk is one of the highest percentage shots in the whole game because it is very rare that someone misses one of them. Even though it is a very popular shot to make in basketball, it is difficult to learn how to do properly. A lot of people think
that just because a player is tall he or she will be able to dunk a ball. A lot of training and practice needs to be done in order to learn the proper techniques to make the shot.
A person has to be able to jump high enough to get their hands and half their arm over the height of the rim in order to put the ball through. Training to learn how to dunk involves weight training, jumping practice and performing basketball moves with weights
attached to the arms and legs or what is known as plyometric weight training. A famous example of a player not being able to dunk was when Shaquille O’Neil could not do so even though he was tall and he had to be taught how to properly dunk a ball.
Over the years there have been some very famous slam dunk specialists to play the game. Michael Jordan with his high flying acrobatics paved the way for a whole generation of trick dunk masters. Recent notables include Vince Carter and Dwight Howard who
not only are able to dunk the ball but come up with innovative ways to do so, such as the windmill dunk or the Superman dunk.
The shot has even been achieved in the women’s game and despite many people thinking that women cannot dunk the ball; a few female basketball players have been able to do so. In the WNBA, Lisa Leslie, Michelle Snow, Candace Parker and Sylvia Fowles have
all dunked the ball to huge admiration from the crowd. In the years to come we will see a whole new generation of players who will come up with new and innovative ways to dunk the ball and make the crowds go crazy.
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