Dr. J calls LaVine best dunker since Carter
The aerial acrobatics of one Zach LaVine have dazzled basketball fans at each of the last two Slam Dunk Contests.
From going through his legs off the bounce while donning Michael Jordan's Space Jam jersey to taking off from the charity stripe and windmilling the ball in the air, the 21-year-old shooting guard for the Minnesota Timberwolves continues to raise the bar over and over again with his creativity, athleticism, and technical prowess.
"Dr. J" Julius Erving knows a thing or two about the Slam Dunk Contest, having competed in the inaugural competition back in 1984 at McNichols Sports Arena in Denver, Colo. In a recent interview with Complex Sports' Ryan Morik, the former league Most Valuable Player put LaVine in an esteemed group of dunkers based off his past performances.
"I'll tell you; Zach has put on a show the last couple of years," Erving said. "He has to get kudos. I don't know if the surprise factor and the timing coordination dunks that he does are as impactful as what Vince Carter brought to the scene when he did a few things that hadn't been seen before.
"I think with Connie Hawkins, myself, Michael Jordan, Dominique Wilkins, Clyde Drexler, there's a lineage there, and I think Vince shook it up a little bit there with a couple of dunks there. I’m gonna let him reside in that spot right there."
LaVine's duel with Orlando Magic big man Aaron Gordon earlier this year at the Air Canada Centre was undoubtedly one for the ages, with Erving comparing it to what has long been considered the greatest in league history.
"It was clearly as good as the Wilkins-Jordan showdown, and I had a showdown with David Thompson back in '76 which was the last year in the ABA. It doesn't get acknowledged as much, but it was a great showdown. But Zach and Gordon, in terms of the guys who are judging and to hear what they had to say during that time, records are made to be broken, and standards of the bar are established to be challenged so somebody can go above it," Erving said.
"I would put those two guys, the things they did this past show in Toronto, at the top of the bar. Even for them to chase next year, or put some new guys next year to go after it ... they have raised the bar to a different level.