The Worst Showboat Moments in NBA History

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Showboating. It can be great. It can be horrible. It can be both at the same time. 

It can also come back to bite you in the hiney. 

I have to say, there's a certain amount of glee to seeing a showboater getting his comeuppance.

Here are the 10 worst showboat moments in the history of the NBA, or at least the 10 best/worst ones I can find on YouTube. 

 

Kelly Scaletta is an NBA and Chicago Bulls Featured Columnist, and one of the top NBA writers on Bleacher Report. He is trying to get better at twitter if you would like to follow him. 

Rudy Gay's 360 Dunk Against the Hornets

Sadly, this one came a day late, on April 2, 2010. 

This is another one where you wonder, why can't you just go up and make the dunk?

Look, a straight forward tomahawk dunk I get, but we don't need all the extra dunk contest theatrics. 

Still, this wan't the worst of all showboat moments. It was just the 10th one I could find to fill out the list. If you have something better, feel free to post a link to the video. 

JaVale McGee's off-the-Backboard Dunk

This one got the most recent attention.

When you're already on the league's worst team, and then you try a cheap showboat play like this, it doesn't bode well. 

When your mommy has to stick up for you, it pretty much indicates you shouldn't have done what you did. Whether he's a knucklehead or not, that was a knucklehead move. 

Steve Francis' Self Alley-Oop

This one is almost the same thing as McGee's, except he passed to himself off the floor instead of the backboard. I guess at least he didn't pad his stats with an extra rebound, but I bet he thought he deserved the extra assist. 

Note the score when he made the dunk. Showboating while losing is even worse than showboating while winning. 

Gilbert Arenas Holsters His Guns

The problem with this one is that it came right after Gilbert Arenas gun incident. Of course, the other problem is all he did was make a long two-point shot.

Bravo, Gilbert. You made a basket! You didn't even have the sense to take a step back and make it a three. 

After he does it, he holsters his "guns." Even as he does it, you can tell he knows it's wrong as he sheepishly looks around to see if anyone noticed. 

You're on camera, Gilbert! We noticed. 

LeBron James Dancing During Blowout

The LeBron James dancing at the free throw line was pretty childish. Joakim Noah didn't take to kindly to it, which leads LeBron James to go over and talk about to Noah. 

Weirdly, after the game, he said, "There's a fine line between saying something and being disrespectful." 

What about doing a jig at the free-throw line when you're winning by 20? Which side of the line is that on, LeBron?

Von Wafer Celebrates Missed Dunk

This is hilarious. Watch Von Wafer taunt the fans, completely oblivious to the fact that he's missed the dunk entirely, then he comes back and causes the double dribble by running into Jermaine O'Neal. 

At least the other guys made the dunk when they showboated!

Scottie Pippen Conquers Patrick Ewing, Then Smack Talks Spike Lee

This one is the best or worst, depending on your perspective. Scottie Pippen completely dominates Patrick Ewing, then stands and lingers over him like a gladiator in the Colosseum about to slay his enemy. 

Then he goes and lets Spike Lee know what just happened. 

Sure, he got called for the technical, but it was one of the great dunks ever. 

Rickey Davis "Triple Double" Attempt

Probably the single most selfish act in the history of the NBA was Ricky Davis' attempt to get his first career triple-double. One rebound shy and with time running out, Davis took, and missed, a field goal attempt by himself under his own basket so that he could get the 10th rebound and a triple double. 

I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that during that year he spent in college, Davis skipped class, because he sure doesn't have any. 

Reggie Miller's Bow and Toni Kukoc's Final Curtain

Sadly, I can't find this entire play, particularly the showboating part. 

With 0.8 seconds left on the clock, Reggie Miller drained a three-point shot to give the Pacers the lead against the Bulls. Then, standing on the Bull, he bowed in four directions to the Chicago crowd. 

If you go to about the 1:50 mark of the video here, you see what happened next. 

Dwyane Wade's Pose

Probably the single best instance of comeuppance coming in the history of the league. Dwyane Wade's "pose" after he made this three that seemed to all but ice the championship for the Heat. 

I think that made for about the third championship celebration the Heat had last year before they won. First, the smoke machine in preseason. Then, the travesty after beating Boston.

Then this. 

Dallas didn't seem to like it. First, they came back and tied the game. Then, they came back and took the series. 

I'm going to go "wade" into the prediction business here and speculate that if the Heat make it back to the finals this year, there won't be any celebrating until the game is over.