LeBron James, Shaq and the Most Powerful Finishers in NBA History
Welcome back to the "Greatest Ever" series as we continue with the ranks of the most powerful finishers in the NBA History!
There are some players who when they get a good chance to attack the rim, they finish so hard with often a strong jam that rocks the rim.The athleticism and strength of the players in this league has been great as far as the league had the first black athletes.
That level has never been better than it is now, as there are now great conditions to get muscles, go to the gym and so on. Those are some of the today's effective ways to get stronger and athletic if you really want that.
Some players are born with that, some gain it through years of hard work and deduction. Usually the smart ones, who know how to take use of those abilities, can profit in so many ways. Some have made fantastic careers of it, some entered the Hall Of Fame and Greatest Of All Time debates and so on.
Here are the game's most powerful finishers of all time!
Darryl Dawkins
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One of the most unique players of all times, Darryl Dawkins was one of the most powerful dunkers that the game has ever seen.
He had a rare combination of speed, athleticism and touch for a 6'11" center as he had the ability to throw it down with lots of strength in it. He had insane vertical jump for players back in his day and revolutionized the power dunks.
Darryl was known as the Chocolate Thunder, who was a thing we may never see ever again and what a great player he was in his day. He managed to break the backboard twice! He used that ability to jump high to be good in shot blocking, offensive rebounding and so on.
His strength was undeniable as he went on to achieve a successful career and to become the first high school player to jump directly into the NBA, having a great career. His ability to finish at the rim made him a problem for the opponents in the paint.
Enjoy!
Dominique Wilkins
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Dominique Wilkins made a successful transition from playing in the Euro League to the NBA and earning his place in the history of the more elite competition as one of the greatest small forwards of all time, enjoying a nice career.
He played for the most part of his career in the 80s and 90s, where he was known for his abilities to score well inside the three-point line and electrifying jams. He was called the "Human Highlight Film," for his dunks.
Dominique was athletically forward with nice skills and speed to back who just used his entire strength to finish with big time strength. He was capable of doing it on a nightly basis during his entire career. Heck, that's why he won two slam dunk titles.
'Nique was so superb in that aspect of basketball; that's what made him so great.
Here are the Top 10 slams from his NBA career:
Enjoy!
Wilt Chamberlain
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Arguably the greatest player in the history of the NBA, Wilt Chamberlain was the very first powerful player who dominated his competition back in the day.
In terms of strength, no one outside of the court as a basketball player was stronger than Wilt who could lift over 500 pounds in the gym, as he often used to work out with The Terminator! Hence, that's why non other than Bill Russell and Nate Thurmond (Bill did better job of slowing him down) came close to stop him
Back in his day, he was a track start as he held track records, was a 10-time champion in high jump competitions and he developed his strength in college and as a pro, where he spent most of his time in development. He just dunked all over the defenders.
His raw combination of size (7'1"), speed, athleticism and skills made him a powerful dunker. The guy had no trouble dunking over his opponents who had no solution but to send him to the free-throw line. Some claim that he actually broke a hand of one guy with a jam.
Now, that's power!
Enjoy!
David Thompson
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David Thompson marked his spot in basketball history by taking the game to the rim along side Dr. J., and he earned a reputation as one of the finest guards to ever play in the NBA!
He was arguably the most explosive player to step foot on a basketball court, had laser quick moves and sick vertical jump that earned him the nickname the "Sky Walker." He was also an athletic and intelligent player that was capable of finishing strong at the rim.
Thompson had an arsenal of so many powerful slams that put the opponents defense in so much trouble, and he knew how to take use of his body in order to score efficiently and steal the lights out the score board or get to the line.
His vertical leap of 44 inches was just awesome.
Here are the Top 10 plays of David Thompson's career:
Enjoy!
Josh Smith
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Josh Smith is one of the very few active players to make this list, but he deserves his place among these guys.
He's one of the most athletic and strongest players in the NBA right now, who now has a higher IQ which is the biggest reason for his progress on both ends of the floor. Also, he has mad hoops and when he attacks the rim, it's a powerful slam.
Smith is a power dunker, who when he attacks the rim is almost sure he's going to score and rocks the rim with variety of jams, that just make the people to say "wow," all the time! As far as his career, he will need to keep up this tempo if he wants to become better.
Those are his Top 10 dunks of the last season.
Enjoy!
LeBron James
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LeBron James is arguably the best player in the NBA, right now, because of his rare combination of skills, athleticism, speed and strength that make him a triple-double machine and one of the toughest to guard.
James is capable of blowing past his defenders, break an entire concept of team defense that's set to defend him, has great vertical jump as he can get way up, and then, he translates those athletic abilities and power of his excellent body into powerful dunks.
When he gets on the fast break, he's almost 99 percent of the time if not 100 percent sure that he will score and has a nice hang time which he uses just to fly and perform some great dunks, like the windmill, his trademark one-handed dunk, etc..
He also has huge hands that help him control the ball, just like he wishes.
Here are the Top 10 dunks of his career so far:
Enjoy!
Dwight Howard
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Standing at 6'11" with excellent athleticism, speed in a body of a power forward with the typical strength of a center, Dwight Howard is arguably the best big man in the NBA today.
Dwight's ability to jump high and use his fantastic strength and crazy athletic abilities make him a powerful finisher at the rim. Recently, he improved his postgame, making him an even bigger threat for the other teams.
He has marked his career with a variety of sick dunks that just seem like they will break the rim. Whether it's from an alley oop played nicely with Nelson, offensive rebounding or finding little space in the opponents defense, he will throw it in so hard.
Once during one of the many playoff matchups between Orlando and Cleveland, he just dunked and all of a sudden, the shot clock went down! Wow! Amazing!
Here are Dwight's Top 10 dunks of his career so far:
Shawn Kemp
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Shawn Kemp was an incredibly physical presence as an athletic power forward who had great success in the 90s with the Seattle SuperSonics.
He was most known for his ability to simply throw the ball. I mean he was one of the baddest and most powerful dunkers to ever walk on a NBA hardwood. He put people on the posters on a nightly basis as it was just too easy.
That made him a terrific inside finisher who was also known for finishing dozens of alley oops from his teammate Gary Payton. They were arguably the most popular alley oop duo of their day. Kemp possessed an explosiveness as well.
He may well have been the overall best and most powerful dunker of the 90s!
Here are the Top 10 dunks from the Reign Man:
Enjoy!
Amar'e Stoudemire
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Amar'e Stoudemire is a lot like Karl Malone—minus the elbows and defense. He's one of the best big men in the NBA right now.
He's such a strong finisher when he gets inside. He is one of the most athletic players the league has ever seen, who has size, speed and touch. He has a little of Shawn Kemp in him; I mean when he gets to an easy look, it's going in.
He can easily jump so high and dunk in someone's face. He rocks the rim, thanks to his fantastic strength Plus, he can use all of that and still, despite the defender scoring, come away with a foul.
Here are the top plays from his career:
Enjoy!
Karl Malone
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Very few players define positions with their plays like former Utah Jazz legend, the great Karl Malone with his playing style. He's the definition of how the modern power forward in the NBA should be, and that's why he's respected.
Malone possessed incredible strength which combined nicely with his body and speed to create great and powerful finisher when he got inside. He had so many powerful jams, presenting problems for the opponents defense but great to run a break with.
He kept himself in a good shape his entire career, and that's why he was capable of simply dunking over someone and putting people on a poster with ease after running the pick-n-roll, etc. He wasn't called "The Mail Man" for nothing.
Here is a dunking mix from Karl Malone:
Enjoy!
Larry Nance
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Larry Nance, during his career with the Cleveland Cavaliers, was one of the best power dunkers and blockers in that time, but in 1984, he made history as he was the first ever dunk contest winner held in the NBA, thanks to his powerful jams.
That's why he deserves his place on the list. Nance could power it down over a couple of defenders with ease and just awed the people with his so strong dunk attempts. For the defenders, he was a nightmare—for many reasons.
Here is a video of his best dunks:
Enjoy!
Julius Erving
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It's just hard to imagine speaking about the greatest dunkers (power, style, overall) and not include Julius Erving, isn't it?
Dr. J. or the Doctor, as he was called back in the day, was one of the finest wizards with the ball and exciting players to step on a basketball court. He did magical things with the ball in his hands, especially on breaks where he would finish with a powerful and flashy dunk.
He was capable of throwing a powerful dunk, coming off with explosive moves to blow past his defense and just power his way to the rim with a jam, over often one, if not more, defenders in the paint. It was plain and simple, silly to watch someone attempt to block his dunk.
He was also the first one ever to dunk from the free-throw line in a dunk contest and the first one to ever win a competition of that kind in professional basketball which was held in 1976 in Denver, as part of the ABA. It came to the NBA in 1984.
Here are the Top 10 dunks of his career:
Enjoy!
Michael Jordan
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Michael Jordan can be found on many lists and the list of the most powerful dunkers is one of those.
Jordan was known for his ability to perform a sick dunk from the baseline, in the heart of the defense and on the break. He possessed a nice hang time and athleticism to remain long enough in the air to usually throw it on the top of the shot blocker.
He wasn't called "Air Jordan" for nothing.
Here are the top 10 dunks of his career:
Enjoy!
David Robinson
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A 7'2" muscular athlete, David Robinson had amazing strength and speed that made him an excellent finisher inside, whether it was a lay up or a power dunk. Yes, he could just finish with authority thanks to his strong jams because of his gifts.
He often ran the break well for a big man and connected like thousands of times on the alley oops from his teammates. He would sometimes finish with a windmill dunk or a 360, which for a center is beyond great to be able to do it.
Here is a mix of the Admiral:
Enjoy!
Shaquille O'Neal
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Shaquille O'Neal is perhaps the game's greatest power dunker of all time. He was a rare combination of size, strength, power and speed for a player, making him the most unstoppable force basketball has ever seen (no offense to Wilt fans).
He has been known for his strong jams that almost seem to break the rim, even though the rims now have better construction. When you are 7'1" with over 300 pounds, those things are just too easy for you, and for him, I'm sure they still are.
The dude has been known to just dunk in someone's face, over someone and rock the rim like no one else has done before. He has also broke the rim twice in the NBA!
Here are the best facial dunks of his career and the two breaking-the-rim dunks...
Enjoy!
Honorable Mention
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Kevin Garnett, Kobe Bryant and so on.
