Blake Griffin, Dwyane Wade, LeBron James and the Top 10 Dunks of the NBA Season

There's nothing more exciting for fans than seeing their favorite player rise up and finish with two hands above the rim.

It's the reason Blake Griffin and the Los Angeles Clippers are must-watch television.

It's the reason the Sprite Slam Dunk Contest is almost as big as the All-Star Game itself.

The 2010-11 season didn't disappoint in terms of aerial excitement.

Without further ado, here are the top 10 dunks of the year.

Dishonorable Mention: Von Wafer

Taunting on the road is not generally well received.

But it's especially funny when you're unaware you've actually missed the easy finish to begin with.

Poor Von.

Instead of quietly sucking up his pride, he then manages to bump into Jermaine O'Neal and force the double-dribble turnover.

Unless by some miracle he manages to make a championship-clinching buzzer-beater, Wafer won't be able to live down this comedy of errors.

Ever.

10. Andre Iguodala

Poor Gerald Wallace.

The farther the former Bobcat pushed Iggy away, the farther Iggy extended.

Iguodala is a regular as far as highlight reels go, and it's only just he makes this list.

The slow-motion replay is, as the title suggests, simply "sick."

9. Wilson Chandler

The Knicks' Wilson Chandler starts and finishes the offense on this particular play.

Of course, Chandler's dunk is all the more impressive given he stuffs it in the face of one of the league's best shot-blockers too.

JaVale McGee might just find himself on a Knicks poster one day.

8. Eric Gordon

Staples Center is the place to be right now.

The Lakers may be the best basketball team on the planet, but the Clippers might just put on the best show.

I love the excitement with which Blake Griffin grabs Eric Gordon after the play.

Maybe he taught him a thing or two in morning practice.

7. Rodney Stuckey

Chris Bosh might not be known for his defense.

But the Miami Heat star gets nothing short of owned here.

Stuckey was never going anywhere but straight at the rim.

And Bosh gets left to turn his back in, well, shame I suppose.

6. Shannon Brown

Everyone knows Shannon Brown has crazy hops.

But this is ridiculous.

Steve Blake's pass was ending up in the seventh row.

Brown rises, changes hands and stares down his teammates for good measures.

Props.

5. Blake Griffin

Blake Griffin was like a walking highlight reel in this encounter against the Knicks.

Gallinari does his best to stay with the play but can't get close in the end.

This was so good the Clippers players spent the proceeding timeout watching it over and over again.

4. JR Smith

JR Smith owes Kevin Harlan a beer.

Or a Gatorade.

This buzzer-beating poster dunk was seriously good on its own.

But when you see, "a man fly," the mind is blown.

"Ride 'em cowboy."

3. LeBron James

Any "and-one" dunk deserves special mention in my book.

But what makes LeBron's special so incredible is the unbelievable timing of the referee's double whistle and the studio microphone thump.

Not to mention that Channing Frye manages to completely alter James' path, and he still finishes above the rim.

Marv got excited.

Who didn't?

2. Blake Griffin

The fact that Griffin manages to throw the ball in the rim makes this dunk both

a) more incredible

b) impossible to put at No. 1.

I wonder if Timofey Mozgov has nightmares about Blake Griffin's crotch.

1. Dwyane Wade

I simply can't go past this Wade dunk.

How many guys can spin past two defenders, draw contact and finish two-handed above the rim in the face of two genuine shot-blockers?

I still can't believe it.

And neither could the ESPN crew in South Beach that night.