With Vince Carter set to enter the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame following a celebrated 22-year NBA career, here’s a look at the aerial savant’s 10 best dunks from his time in college, the Association, and international play.
10. Showing off as a rookie
Kicking off the list is a casual, 360-degree, one-handed fast-break stuff from Carter, all taking place after one dribble. Carter said it was the first 360 of his career, making it even more memorable. He gets bonus points for his dance celebration, capping off the final game of his Rookie of the Year campaign.
9. Double-pump on Olowokandi
Carter frequently threw much of what we knew about gravity out the window. But Carter also gave us eye-opening looks at ridiculous finesse and dexterity, like when he somehow evaded the Kandi Man in midair to throw down a dunk that he’s still unsure how he pulled off.
8. Duncan poster
Tim Duncan rightfully earned the nickname the Big Fundamental over a 19-year Hall of Fame career partly due to his impeccable defensive timing, instincts, and shot-blocking acumen. So it was a little jarring when Carter posterized the Spurs legend so effortlessly that he looked helpless.
7. Air Canada reaches maximum altitude
Carter showed with this dunk in 2000 how high he could get when he had the space to take off. With his eyes essentially at the rim, he seemingly floats to the cup with no defenders around him to complete the slam on the fast break. For extra difficulty, Carter caught the alley-oop pass from Dee Brown with one hand while midair – a true display of brilliance as a dunker.
6. UNC alley-oop vs. Clemson
Well before taking up the Air Canada mantle, Carter was already turning heads in college during his three years at North Carolina, including with this nasty one-handed alley-oop off an inbound in his freshman year. To really appreciate the absurdity of this one, pause the clip as soon as the ball reaches Carter’s outstretched right hand.
5. Vinsanity climbs Mount Mutombo
The late Dikembe Mutombo finished his career as the NBA’s second-best shot-blocker, recording 3,289 swats over 18 seasons. However, he couldn’t get this one on Carter. Mutombo was a slight step behind as Carter drove the baseline for a ridiculous slam in which he let himself and the ball descend to complete the poster over the four-time Defensive Player of the Year.
4. Reaching new heights
The legend of Vince Carter was born on a February night in 2000. With his first attempt in the dunk contest, Carter broke out a jaw-dropping jam that made the crowd in Oakland Arena rise to their feet and shower him with waves of applause, giving them a preview of his creativity and ferocity as a dunker.
3. ‘It’s over’
Never has a post-dunk reaction more accurately captured the thoughts of everyone in attendance than Carter’s between-the-legs spectacle from the 2000 Slam Dunk Contest. His subsequent no-nonsense look into the camera has become nearly as synonymous with the moment as the dunk itself, which Carter pulled off with such ease that he almost had his bell rung by the rim.
2. Mourning, watch out
While Carter’s dunks on Duncan and Mutombo are impressive, his determination to put Alonzo Mourning on the other end of the highlight reel is truly special. Faking out Jason Williams with the behind-the-back dribble, Carter planted his feet and jumped with power and precision to throw down a vicious poster on one of the premier shot-blockers of the era. Being able to move the 6-foot-10, 261-pound center off his spot under the basket to pull off this feat is something that only Vinsanity could do.
1. Posterizing Weis
No surprises here. Carter’s clearing leap over French 7-footer Frederic Weis at the 2000 Summer Games in Sydney is – pun intended – head and shoulders above the rest of his slam dunk catalog. Not only did it earn one of the greatest nicknames of all time – le dunk de la mort (the Dunk of Death) – but the highlight even has its own Wikipedia entry.Even the game’s French commentators couldn’t temper their astonishment at what they witnessed.
