Best ever dunk by a Celtic player

Best Dunk?

  • Jaylen vs. Bamba

    Votes: 6 15.0%

  • Tony Allen alley oop off the backboard to Gerald Green

    Votes: 3 7.5%

  • JT vs. LBJ

    Votes: 16 40.0%

  • Dee Brown No-Look

    Votes: 10 25.0%

  • KG vs. Gasol

    Votes: 1 2.5%

  • Gerald Green putback dunk vs. Portland

    Votes: 1 2.5%

  • Conner Henry vs. Dr. J and Charles Barkley

    Votes: 2 5.0%

  • Eddie House to Tony Allen

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Rondo vs. Maxiell

    Votes: 1 2.5%

  • Kedrick Brown vs. DET

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Total voters
    40
cardiacs

cardiacs

Admires Neville Chamberlain
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
3,001
Milford, CT
We're in a boring stretch...

I have been thinking about the Jaylen dunk on Bamba and I came to the conclusion this past weekend that it's my favorite dunk by a Celtic in a real game in all time.

What's better?
List it up and I will create a poll.
 
Last edited:
Ale Xander

Ale Xander

Hamilton
SoSH Member
Oct 31, 2013
73,256
There’s like a half dozen alley ops from Floor General Sherman Douglas to Dee Brown

then Tony Allen alley oop off the backboard to Gerald Green. I’d say this one but don’t want to give Clownshoes the benefit

for Games that count big, KG playoffs on Theo Ratliff against the pistons in 2008
 
Kenny F'ing Powers

Kenny F'ing Powers

posts way less than 18% useful shit
SoSH Member
Nov 17, 2010
14,477
There's a few Bird dunks that looked nice, but it's JT over Bron and it shouldn't be close.
 
Eddie Jurak

Eddie Jurak

canderson-lite
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Dec 12, 2002
44,734
Melrose, MA
It has to be JT over LeBron, at least in recent Celtic history. More generally, it has to be a dunk against a competing defender and generally from a half court set. Jaylen Brown doing a 360 and dunking when he is alone on a fast break, which he has done, is inherently less impressive than his dunk over Bamba because it was all for show. Same any for dunk contest dunks - which can be impressive in their way but aren't really basketball.

JT over Lebron was rookie JT, game 7 of the ECF, 4th quarter, against a defender who is a top 2 player in NBA history.
 
K

kfoss99

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2009
1,252
I've always loved this picture. Glad I could still find it on Google. Tony Allen.
49548
 
DGreenwood

DGreenwood

Member
SoSH Member
Feb 2, 2003
2,467
Seattle
4 6 3 DP

4 6 3 DP

Member
SoSH Member
Oct 24, 2001
2,377
I have a complete recollection but have never found a KG dunk probably late third or early 4th quarter against the Lakers in game 6 2008 that was kind of the sealing blow - Lakers called time out, Garden went nuts, and it was all over. I think of it similarly to that corner 3 pointer Larry hit in Game 6 1986 against Houston when he pumped his arm after making it, Garden went crazy, and that was the end of that series.

If anyone ever found it i'd be incredibly grateful, I suppose I'd need to go through a full game recap.

EDIT: Maybe I made it up and it's that one handed bank shot while falling down in the second quarter and I imagined the dunk, apologies for muddling the thread if I imagined it.
 
Last edited:
Kliq

Kliq

Member
SoSH Member
Mar 31, 2013
22,838
4 6 3 DP said:
I have a complete recollection but have never found a KG dunk probably late third or early 4th quarter against the Lakers in game 6 2008 that was kind of the sealing blow - Lakers called time out, Garden went nuts, and it was all over. I think of it similarly to that corner 3 pointer Larry hit in Game 6 1986 against Houston when he pumped his arm after making it, Garden went crazy, and that was the end of that series.

If anyone ever found it i'd be incredibly grateful, I suppose I'd need to go through a full game recap.
Click to expand...
It's not a dunk, I think you are thinking of his and-1 bucket towards the end of the half (2:40 in this video).

View: https://youtu.be/VL98ftwdyGE
 
jmcc5400

jmcc5400

Member
SoSH Member
Sep 29, 2000
5,354
RorschachsMask said:
Beautiful video quality here.

View: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=h6Lor0CwwTE


The Tatum dunk is a really good pick, but my favorite part of it is what happens the next trip up the court.

View: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=44NSSTbyHqM
Click to expand...
Up 1, Game 7 of the ECG at home with just 5:55 left. Sigh. One of the funny things about the recent Old Man and the Three interviews with Smart and Tatum was Smart saying "We definitely would have beaten Golden State" compared to Tatum's "We were never beating Golden State"
 
bankshot1

bankshot1

Member
SoSH Member
Feb 12, 2003
24,798
where I was last at
Red Auerbach's dunking on Al Attles netting Robert Parrish and Kevin McHale for the rights to Joe Barry Carroll and a mid-round 1 may have been the 2nd greatest dunk in Celtics history, only behind Red skating circles around the St Looey Hawks by swapping Easy Ed MacCauley, the rights to Cliff Hagan and a week or so of Ice Capades for WF Russell

Arguably the greatest slam dunk in NBA history.
 
lars10

lars10

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 31, 2007
11,832
Eddie Jurak said:
It has to be JT over LeBron, at least in recent Celtic history. More generally, it has to be a dunk against a competing defender and generally from a half court set. Jaylen Brown doing a 360 and dunking when he is alone on a fast break, which he has done, is inherently less impressive than his dunk over Bamba because it was all for show. Same any for dunk contest dunks - which can be impressive in their way but aren't really basketball.

JT over Lebron was rookie JT, game 7 of the ECF, 4th quarter, against a defender who is a top 2 player in NBA history.
Click to expand...
I guess my question would be.. what did it mean for the game and the series? They still lost both. If we're talking about best dunk in all of Celts history surely there has to be a dunk in a game that was a) more meaningful and b) a game and series they won.

I feel like there has to be a Paul Pierce dunk or two we've forgotten.

Tony Allen, Gerald Green.. was looking back through some highlights of the C's over the past few decades and even Jeff Green has some ridiculous dunks in a half court set.
 
Euclis20

Euclis20

Member
SoSH Member
Aug 3, 2004
8,222
Imaginationland
lars10 said:
I guess my question would be.. what did it mean for the game and the series? They still lost both. If we're talking about best dunk in all of Celts history surely there has to be a dunk in a game that was a) more meaningful and b) a game and series they won.

I feel like there has to be a Paul Pierce dunk or two we've forgotten.

Tony Allen, Gerald Green.. was looking back through some highlights of the C's over the past few decades and even Jeff Green has some ridiculous dunks in a half court set.
Click to expand...
It was the culmination of Tatum's rookie season. Tatum is either the first or second best player they've drafted in the last 40 years, and that dunk (over the best player of this generation) came in the 4th quarter of a game 7 in the conference finals, a series they had no business being in with 2/3 of their all-star FAs out for the year. Yeah it didn't help them win the game, but we remember it because of what it meant for Tatum and the future of the team - if that was Marcus Morris dunking on LeBron, it would have been quickly forgotten in the wake of the series loss and the end of the year. Maybe it gets a mention in this thread, but that's it.

Most young superstars have some kind of moment like that in their first season or two, a major move or play that announces their presence as a player. It's rare for it to happen on a stage as big as that, against an opponent like LeBron. I'm certainly open to the Celtics having a bigger dunk in their history, but to distill it down to "they still lost the game and the series" underscores how big of a moment that was for Tatum and the Celtics, at that moment in time and going forward.
 
Eddie Jurak

Eddie Jurak

canderson-lite
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Dec 12, 2002
44,734
Melrose, MA
lars10 said:
I guess my question would be.. what did it mean for the game and the series? They still lost both. If we're talking about best dunk in all of Celts history surely there has to be a dunk in a game that was a) more meaningful and b) a game and series they won.

I feel like there has to be a Paul Pierce dunk or two we've forgotten.

Tony Allen, Gerald Green.. was looking back through some highlights of the C's over the past few decades and even Jeff Green has some ridiculous dunks in a half court set.
Click to expand...
It's hard to get to a higher leverage situation than 4th quarter of game 7 of the conference finals. The Celtics were down by 4 and Tatum's dunk on Lebron with 6:41 to go cut the Cav lead to 2 (71-69). Then, with 6:04 to go, Tatum hit a three to put the Celtics up 1, 72-71. I think it is hard to get more meaningful than that. The rest of the game was all Cleveland, who outscored the Celtics 15-7 the rest of the way to win 87-79, but I don't see why that should detract from Tatum's moment.
 
worm0082

worm0082

Penbis
SoSH Member
Sep 19, 2002
4,501
The only one that automatically comes to mind is always the Dee Brown no look in the dunk contest. Regular season? I’m guessing it’s something Gerald Green did early on.
 
Jed Zeppelin

Jed Zeppelin

Member
SoSH Member
Aug 23, 2008
51,527
Tony Allen’s alley-oop late in Game 6 with the C’s up by about 100 was amazing. One of the most satisfying for sure. A true FU dunk.
 
Granite Sox

Granite Sox

Member
SoSH Member
Feb 6, 2003
5,064
The Granite State
I love the obscure guys… Gerald got my vote, as his occasional flashes of obscene athletic ability always made me laugh.

Going into the way-back machine a little, Charles Bradley was a 1st round draft pick in the early 80s out of Wyoming. He couldn’t do much of anything EXCEPT dunk, and had a few memorable throw downs in comparison to his more land-bound HOF teammates.
 
Van Everyman

Van Everyman

Member
SoSH Member
Apr 30, 2009
27,107
Newton
Eddie Jurak said:
It's hard to get to a higher leverage situation than 4th quarter of game 7 of the conference finals. The Celtics were down by 4 and Tatum's dunk on Lebron with 6:41 to go cut the Cav lead to 2 (71-69). Then, with 6:04 to go, Tatum hit a three to put the Celtics up 1, 72-71. I think it is hard to get more meaningful than that. The rest of the game was all Cleveland, who outscored the Celtics 15-7 the rest of the way to win 87-79, but I don't see why that should detract from Tatum's moment.
Click to expand...
Great thread. I would also add that Lebron himself said after the game that that play announced Tatum’s arrival as a force in the NBA.

Tho I still get a little salty they lost that game. Jeff Green of all people …
 
C

Cerebus the Batboy

New Member
Jul 15, 2005
42
As an honorable mention I’d like to add this dunk by Reggie Lewis.

Going back the end of the 1987 Finals, the C’s had lost five straight to the Lakers and with Bird out due to heel surgery it felt like it was going to be six. Jimmy Rodgers played the kids and they brought energy, speed and athleticism. When Lewis threw this one down I could see the bridge to the next generation of the Celtics.

Too bad the 1990s were such a washout.
 
cardiacs

cardiacs

Admires Neville Chamberlain
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
3,001
Milford, CT
Bumping the thread for this instant classic:


Watched this easily over 100 times now - the dopamine keeps hitting like when it was live last night.
The Pat Riley Face is just delicious.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom