Sickest Dunks, Plays and Highlights from the Drew League

The Drew League out of Los Angeles runs from May until mid-August. Already this summer, we've been treated to a flurry of incomparable highlights and rim-shaking dunks, including some from the NBA's best players.

Generally, the first few weeks of The Drew include a mixture of local legends, streetballers and high school and college kids all putting together a show for as many people as can pack into King-Drew Magnet High School.

Once the NBA season wraps up and the players have taken a few weeks off, however, they get the itch to compete again.

That's when guys like JaVale McGee, Nick Young, James Harden and a ton of others decide to hit the pro-am circuit for the summer. At one point or another, many land on the corner of 120th and Compton for a bit of Drew League action.

What you'll see isn't exactly streetball, but it's not the organized, defensive-minded college or professional level basketball either.

It's somewhere in the middle, as a premium is put on highlight plays, but actually winning games still means something. Because of that, the product is an exciting game that remains competitive throughout.

So far, nine weeks of Drew League action have passed. So let's go ahead and get caught up on what's been going on with a look at the best highlights from the first nine weeks.

10. The Game Has Game

One of this year's Drew League standouts has been Jayceon Terrell Taylor, more commonly known as The Game.

Rapper The Game, a 33-year-old Dr. Dre discovery, may be one of the oldest dudes on the court in most situations, but he's still got athleticism to rival anybody who takes him on.

Playing alongside James Harden for the undefeated Money Gang, Game grabs the pass in the corner and gets the defender on his heels with a subtle fake to the left before driving right.

With little standing in his way, he drives to the lane and slams down a swooping right-handed dunk as the crowd reacts with a chorus of "ooooohhhhs."

Who would have thought The Game would be so good without Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg or 50 Cent by his side?

9. Kieon Arkwright's Mixtape

Sometimes when it comes time to really appreciate the good a player can do on the court, the only thing you can do is sit back and watch a mix-tape. 

Kieon Arkwright doesn't have many huge dunks or game-winning shots, but his ability to handle the ball might just be unrivaled in the Drew League.

In the first 15 seconds alone, you can see how quick Arkwirght is with the drag of a toe or a spin move. Wait another five seconds and watch as he knocks down a bomb from a good four feet behind the three-point line.

Also, who doesn't love a mix-tape that includes highlights of a guy shooting free throws? We're going back to basics here, folks.

8. Swaggy P's Too Quick

Guys like JaVale McGee, Nick Young and Brandon Jennings were made for basketball during the summer.

There's not really a need for that much defense, and as long as you have one thing that you're amazing at, odds are the crowd will love you.

McGee can jump high, while Young has a quick first step and can dribble well enough to avoid a crash-and-burn on his way to the hoop.

Add in a bit of athleticism and you've got a Drew League favorite.

These two dunks really show off what he can do when defense gets lackadaisical and he doesn't have to deal with Rajon Rondo or Avery Bradley sticking him.

Plus, these clips are perfect for convincing Los Angeles Lakers fans to get their hopes up when it comes to Swaggy P.

7. JaVale's Arms Are Too Long

When it comes to pro-am leagues, most teams don't have a big guy who measures much over 6'10", and they most certainly don't have a player who is well over seven feet tall with the wingspan of an albatross.

So, having a guy like JaVale McGee on the court is definitely a bonus, even if he is a bonehead.

The mix of height and athleticism he exhibits is unique in any circle, so when he grabs an outlet pass and has just a single defender in his way, it's best to pop some popcorn and get ready for a show.

It's just impossible to defend a guy like McGee when he jumps so high that his elbow gets parallel to the rim.

6. Kirpatrick McCauley over Keith Closs' Afro

Kirkpatrick McCauley can jump incredibly high. That much was made obvious when he recored a leap that would have put his fingertips at the top of a backboard.

However, simply running and jumping is much different from actually pulling off a feat of athleticism during a game.

His dunk over Keith Closs is probably enough to prove that he's not just a guy who can jump high.

Of course, it seems as if Closs has hung around the Drew League solely to be that tall guy who gets dunked on a lot.

That's right, the former Los Angeles Clippers center is essentially the Drew League equivalent of Dallas Mavericks Era Shawn Bradley.

5. Steven Mallory Does It Again

Two years ago, Cal State Northridge guard Steven Mallory made a name for himself on the Drew League court by dunking over Denver Nuggets forward Kenneth Faried.

This time around he's dunking on a slightly smaller, older man, but he's still a big name and the dunk is still impressive.

Mallory finds himself free of a defender who gets distracted by a screen. At That point he blows past and drops down a huge two-handed slam over Gilbert Arenas.

In case you're worried about Arenas becoming the same dunk-puppet as Closs, don't. He's doing fine for himself even if he is one of the older guys in The Drew.

4. James Harden's Duo of Dunks

This clip is the exact reason why we need to have the Drew League Championship televised, with Marv Albert commentary included.

I would order the game on pay-per-view so long as I got to hear Albert over-emphasize, "And The Game with a ridiculous alley-oop to James Harden."

It's the simple things in life that really keep a person going.

The alley-oop tells more about the trust that Game has for Harden in a situation like this than anything else. He knew Harden was coming down the court behind him, but just chucking the ball up and over his head is definitely a gamble.

Harden has his back and throws it down for a crowd-pleaser.

Later on Harden gets into isolation against a defender. He throws out a crossover, followed by a delightful hesitation, and is able to easily blow by for a clean dunk.

This man was made for Drew League action.

3. Week 2 and Marcus Williams

Most exciting about weekly updates from Drew League goings on has to be the highlight videos coming out following every weekend of games.

Week 2 was a particularly fun video, as Marcus Williams made his return to The Drew after winning championships with LAUFND in 2010 and 2011.

Starting out we get Kwame Alexander doing his best Kenneth Faried impression, and go on to get some dribbling from Gilbert Arenas. Kirkpatrick McCauley comes back and slams down a vicious put-back, plus some Jordan Faizon dunks before moving on to Williams.

The former Oak Hill and UConn standout just knows how to play basketball, evidenced by his silly behind-the-back pass to his teammate for an easy layup.

Go ahead and waste about an hour watching these highlight mixes. Trust me, they're well worth your time.

2. DeMar DeRozan Can Leap

One's a nice feed from his teammate, the other is a solid feed to himself, but both end up as bodacious dunks.

The first mash comes on a fast-break as DeRozan streaks from behind the action, grabbing the pass that slips just out of the reach of the transition defense. 

From there all he has to do is jump and sweep his incredibly long arm around his defender to slam it home.

That dunk alone isn't enough to warrant one of the two top spots, but combine it with the second, an alley-oop off the backboard, and DeRozan is more than deserving.

Easily most impressive about the self-oop is the fact that he uses it out of necessity, to get around his first defender and grab a few points.

And all the while, James Harden looks on in silent approval.

1. The Game's 29 in Week Three

The highlight mix of the summer came after the Drew League's third weekend, which was apparently full of some of the most amazing basketball imaginable.

Kwame Alexander put on another masterful display of blocking shots and dunking, we got a little bit more from Marcus Williams, Jahsha Bluntt's had some dunks that would be worthy in any contest, there was Will F's hair, Darius Johnson-Odom being a silly dribbler and little Mark Lyons playing above the rim.

However, the highlight of the weekend was The Game leading his team to a triple-overtime win with 29 points, while showing off some serious post-up skills and legitimate range.

If you consider yourself a basketball fan and don't keep up with the weekly highlights coming from The Drew, you're doing yourself a serious disservice.