February 19, 2022 • 43 mins
Hosted by Sarah Kustok, NBA Flashback is the podcast that takes you back to the best moments in NBA history through exclusive archival audio from the NBA vault, along with new interviews with the players and coaches who were in the building.
In this episode of NBA Flashback, we go back to Feb. 12th, 2000 and relive the night Vince Carter changed the course of dunking history with an epic performance that has stood the test of time. Check out part one first to hear about Vince's trouble getting to the contest in the first place, and for a deep dive into his first two dunks.
In part two, we talk with Vince about hiking up his shorts in anticipation of his between-the-legs dunk, the difference between dunk contest and in-game dunkers, and his thoughts on current players. Vince walks us through his final three dunks from the contest and breaks down his mindset and plan for each one, as well as comparing his performance to the other best dunkers of all-time.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
NBA Flashback is a production of I Heart Radio and
the NBA. This episode, we're back with Vince Carter for
part two of the two thousand dunk Contest. If you
haven't heard the first part yet, go back and listen
to last week's episode to catch up. I'm Sarah Coustack,
(00:20):
and you're listening to NBA Flashback, the show that takes
you back to the greatest moments in NBA history, using
archival audio from the NBA as well as new interviews
with the players and coaches who were in the building.
A few quick reminders. Vince is nursing an injury Ona's
(00:44):
left hand, which is all stitched up. That was just
the dumbest thing ever that how I did it. But
I'm sure you know that he's abandoned his plan dunks
and is pretty much winging it. I said to myself,
you know what, this is not gonna work, meaning the
routine that was set to do for the dunks that
I want to do. It's not that he's not good
(01:04):
enough and he's going into his third dunk having already
made the finals. No, thanks to Kenny Smith. Yeah, I
have still talking because you know he's my Carolina guy,
and god darn it, Kenny Smith. So before your third dunk,
you had already made the finals, so it didn't matter
what you did on the third one. Did you think
about that? Did you think about that at the time
(01:26):
or were you just still in every every every dunk
is the first bring the house down mode? So dunk
number three another all timer. It was the bounce from
t mac So I'm gonna assume similar to what you
said about his dunk, you guys hadn't worked on that.
I don't know how he felt about. No, we had
not at all. He and so now I'm worried about
(01:46):
in the finals. They said, hey, remember you have to
use a teammate at some point, if you know, because
you've not advanced. I was like, oh my good, let's
get this out of the way, so at least if
it doesn't go well, well I still have another dunk
to kind of make up for that. Blah blah blah.
This is where though, I want to hear about the stitches.
How did that affect you? So the fingers still know?
(02:07):
So I got this piece of tape wrapped up in
my finger, and if I'm gonna go between the legs,
will they get caught in my shorts because it's so
so it's because it's sticking out. It's just taping. It's
catching tapes, so it's kind of sticky tape to where
you know, it could catch on stuff and all of
these things. I'm thinking about while it's my turn. So
I'm out there, I'm walking team back through, and I
(02:27):
told him to stand here and said mount it and
just get out of the way. So as I'm sitting there,
I'm thinking about this. I saw a picture in East
Bay magazine of a guy jumping in the air with
the jump shoot. Remember the jump shoot. Everybody remembers the
jump shoot. Okay, so that picture was probably a week
and a half prior to the dunk contest. Literally, the
(02:49):
picture was the man literally standing there like this. I'm
not sure any of the kids listening to this rule remember,
but I specifically remember. Yeah. But I mean yeah, Eastly.
I think it's still around. I think, uh, I haven't
been there a while. I see that picture, but we
can have prior to. So I'm going through and I'm like,
all right, I'm going to try that. I'm gonna try that,
though I have to use a bounce, so I gotta
(03:10):
get it low enough to pull it off because if
I get between legs and just do the window, it's
like but it's just the women between. Yes. Now, I
saw Jerr Rider also through the East Bay funk or whatever,
so I'm combining that with a bounce because that's why
I was like, yeah, I saw that in the magazine,
but I didn't. So I tell him to bounce it.
And we hadn't practice, so I told him. I said
(03:31):
to bounce it about this height. So I'm like, so
I'm pointing between my waist in my chest. I needed
the ball. Yeah, I know what I'm saying. So I'm
saying I'm pointing between my my waist in my chest.
Somewhere in the mid section is where I wanted it.
So I'm like, I'm like here, and he's like, okay,
we never practiced it, so he doesn't know how fast
or slow I'm gonna go because he doesn't know what
(03:52):
I'm doing. I just said, bounce it and get out
of the way. So he does the first attempt and
it's too high ming down and I remember intrivious dunk
contest not to attempt the dunk, so it doesn't count
as a dunk, so I want to give it another shot.
But that's from years of me watching it as a
little kid, and it just stuck in my mind. Those
are the things that I remember. The can't dues in
(04:14):
a dunk contest came to life. It was it was
a cool moment. I was like, I know what to do.
So I said no. I said, okay, bring it down
a little bit, bring it here, meaning now I'm telling
him waist side. So if he doesn't, this is I'm
thinking this right there. So I figured if he's still
bouncing too high, I said, waiste height for him, which
still will put it in the area which I could
(04:35):
still grab the ball with my left hand and go through.
So I said, hey, man, just bounce it here. He said, Cause,
what are you gonna do? Said, I'm gonna try to
put it between legs. I said, just bounce the ball.
This hype, get the hell out the way. Smart play.
Tracy throwing along so he can't catch it. Now you
know what he's doing, Danny to bounce. He's gonna catch it,
put it between his legs and dunking. So he wants
it long to do that. If he does this, like
(04:57):
I said, Ted is not enough, and I remember him
walking around. He's like, all right, man, you're crazy. I said,
all right, I might be. Why doesn't they save this
one though? Unless he's got two or three more in
his bag? Yeah. Keep in mind rich Card also has
a few stitches in that left hand where he occurred
an injury dealing with weights in the waiting room, So
he stitched up in the left hand doing all that.
(05:17):
So he does it. He walks away and seeing the
video now that I've seen it so many times, seeing
the video, hell bouncing the ball and walking back, looking
back like, oh, over, it's over. It is the gentleman.
And I just remember catching the ball and just trying
(05:40):
to get it between my legs and getting up there
and that coming all over the table right to take smarter?
This is I heard of. Oh my goodness, cries it
is over? Did I call it? Danny a white? Racy mcgrandy.
He doesn't even know what to do and he's walking away.
He played with this guy every day. What what made
(06:03):
you point? What was the meaning of it? The point
was just so random and emotion that I was thinking
the basketball guys that was it was just pointing to
the to the guys, thank you, basketball guys, because I've
never done it. I've never done that. I've never done
it with a partner, and we didn't practice. So I pointed,
I've done something like that, and if you go back
(06:23):
to the high school dunk contest, I did like a
little something version of that then in the But it's
just now I'm thinking the basketball guys like, thank you.
I pulled this off. And that's where the whole It's
overcame from. So after I'm walking down, I'm cool, collected,
like we've done this before, and I was like, oh
my god, just pulled this off. Camera pops in my
face and I just said it's over. It's over. And
(06:45):
the reason I said that because I'm like I am
now I have changed my routine. I'm making this up
on the fly and I'm able to pull these dunks off.
It's over for you, Like I'm in another in another zone.
I feel good and I feel like nothing can stop me.
Now it's over. Like that's just it was just the
emotion of the moment, and uh, it was a cool moment.
(07:07):
So now I mean, I see it. I just I
always think of that. But what do you think when
you see it. I mean, for as many people do
people come up to you and do that to you?
What mean yeah, I mean I think back to literally
telling that story, and I mean I think about those moments,
(07:27):
and I think about the things I'm thinking through and
it's funny the dunks happened so fast, but I think
I take myself back and think about I'm thinking some
of these things as it happens, like catch the ball
scoopid because I I rolled my I pulled my shorts up,
like to my neighbor, I wrote them up just to
make sure I can get the ball between cause I
never practiced it. Sarah, Way, you're laughing. I'm serious. I
(07:50):
didn't know you're laughing. I'm serious. I didn't know if
if I could pull this off. So I'm not. I'm
giving myself every chance to pull this off. So I'm like,
what makes sense to details don't have long, short, saggy pants.
You can't do that. You have to pull them up.
They have to look like Stockton right now, pull them up,
(08:10):
you know. And it's funny saying that now because all
of the young guys were the short of short. So
now it's because you don't have to say you wouldn't
have to worry about it. But that back then it
was the Michigan fat five long shorts error. So I
was like, roll them up or pull them up high
enough just so I can get them through. So once
I got up through, it's just all about transition. Think
about this. I still had this finger messed up, so
(08:30):
I'm like transition, but I'm I don't want to hit
If I hit my finger, let's say, in the transition
with my hand or something, I don't pull that off
because it was still tender. It was still tender. So
that's why all the dunks I did were one hand
one Yeah, all one handed dunks except for the last
dunk man. So anyway, it's over, the first time I've
(08:53):
ever done out of my life. I was. I just
sat there and thought of it, just sitting on the bench.
You know, you should be perfect throughout the three rounds.
Do you have anything to say to Kenny Smith? Thanks, Kenny,
that's okay, Um, we'll talk later. Are you still coming
to my basketball camp? That's what I want to know, Kenny.
(09:16):
I Kenn even like, now, are you still coming to us? Ny?
I'm coming, Okay, you're coming back? And do that ship,
thank you, thank you, dunk number four finals. How about
when the rim dunk breakdown? But how does that even
(09:38):
go through your mind to create that dunk? At that
point after the third duke. I can hear the crowd.
I remember Cynthia Cooper, Isaiah Thomas cracking up. It's like
going crazy, like Vince had Isaiah Thomas literally jumping you.
You can't think I just reacted. I was excited. I
(10:01):
just jumped out of my seat. He made me say oh,
he made me say oh, and then I just jumped.
You mess up your scoring system. Now he ain't no
point total. He's off the charge. I mean really off
the charge. People say that, but this guy, he and
another planet. I'll never forget. It was just some of
the cools moments, like like you're talking about legends of
the game who are acting like little kids. You were
(10:24):
able to turn these guys, these grown folks into kids,
like I'm to my historians, icons of the game into
little kids in the moment. And it was just like
a great feeling to see like center A Cooper, Rick Berry,
Isaiah Thomas like and even Kitty just tickled and just
living in the moment because of what I'm doing for
the fans, and that's all I wanted to while the
crowd and every dunk, I just wanted to kind of
(10:45):
give you a different look and just want you to
feel like you can go home and try this at home.
Until you go home and try this at home, you're like, wait, wait,
wait a second. No one felt like they could go
at home. But at at the same time, you tried it,
like people go to a nerve poop and try it.
But I wanted to make it look easy. I didn't
(11:05):
want to make it a look like a struggle. I
want to have grace. I want to, you know, to
to look like I was floating out there like I
mean all of that you said, attention to details, and
that was it. And I made these dunks up, all right.
I pulled these dunks off that night. But I I
literally tried to think through all of these things of
what I'm trying to accomplish out of these dumps as well,
and I try not to overthink it where I forget
to make the thing go dunk. So I was just
(11:28):
in in in the right pocket and in the moon
and stars were all lined up once again correctly. Because
there was another time we all know when the moon
and stars were lined up correctly, I was able to
jump over a human being, but that was months later,
so uh yeah, so I pulled it off. So now
I'm sitting there like what do I do? And I
remember getting off the seeing whoever the guy was for me.
(11:50):
So I'm sitting there, I see him, but I don't
even see the dunks. I'm thinking like I am going
through a list of options to of dunking. You know,
it was amazing. It was Vince Carter was out watching
the mascots jump off the trampoline looking for ideas the finals.
So I remember getting up Steve Frances and Cotino Mobile
on the back end on the other half of the court,
(12:10):
stood on the floor and I played in the charity
game with Coatino Mobile. It was Gary Payton's charity game.
And I remember in the layout line, I was jumping
into the rim and dropping the ball over the front
of the rim inside the rim, just putting my arm
in and just dropping it through, you know, just just
try to show off and show guys I can jump
high or whatever. And I thought, hey, you know what
(12:30):
Contino I said. You remember that remember the land line
at Gary Payton game. With that, I said, I'm gonna
do that, but I'm gonna try to hang up there
hanging on the rim. He said, what are you crazy?
I was like, probably probably, but all right, So so
as I get the ball from the referee, if so
to a lot of things happened from the time I
got the ball from the referee. I didn't know what
side I was gonna take off on. I didn't know
(12:52):
what felt comfortable for me to jump up there and
hanging the rim. I wasn't big with I couldn't use
my left hand, so I knew I wasn't jumping in
and hanging left left hand because I didn't want anything
to go wrong. But I didn't know which way come
from the left side, come from the right side. Side.
Chose the right side, which but I walked it off.
So I'm walking it off to Biby some time to
think this all through, get the proper steps. How far
(13:12):
do I so? How fast do I go? Because what
do I want to accomplish and show the people? And
I also thought the last thing my coach, Butch Carter
said to t mc and I before he was going
on vacation, because he said, I'm not gonna be I
gonna be on vacation. I'm gonna be on the boat.
I don't want to have to get a phone call
saying that you guys broke something because y'all doing something
stupid in the dunk contest. Okay, cool, I said, I
(13:34):
got your coach, no problem, all right, yeah, right whatever.
So I'm thinking about man, all right, I'm gonna hang up.
So I hang on this rim. So I walked it.
I walked it off, and I remember looking at the rim.
I said, God, please don't let me break my arm.
You were rubbing your arm. You were rubbing your arm beforehand.
Let's see that swagger. He's looking at me like I'm
supposed to say something. He's got the swagger. He's got
(13:57):
it all the same kind of swagging at the dominique
in it you on time a French connor. When I
was first, I'm a fight a rode. What ladies wait
a time time out? Can I take your time out?
How can you take it? Take it till I saw
(14:17):
I saw him rubbing this upper wrong, and I was
wondering what he was doing. He was just cleaning it off,
making show there was nothing to slipped me there because
you knew how far did the river he was going.
So as I walked up there, I'm like, all right, cool,
I know this is gonna hurt, all right, but I
want to get up hot. So I remember. The last
thing I did is I rubbed my arm. Sorry, I
(14:37):
don't know what's gonna happen. I don't know if my
arms gonna be this color when I when I'm done
with this or not. I don't know. I've never done
this before, so I don't know what's gonna happen. But
I knew what I wanted to accomplish out of this.
I wanted to show height. I wanted to show how
high that I could be above the rim. That's why,
if you notice when I jumped in the air, I
waited a second first to make sure I was high enough.
(14:57):
Want to show hip, then put the arm instead of
just jump and just put my arm in because I
felt like doing it that way you'll probably break your
arm because you might get caught. I didn't know if
I you know, I knew I wanted to get my
arm in the rim, not across the rim, across the room.
I probably break mark. Think about it. If you go
in and snapping on. I don't know, it just made
sense of working. It seemed like, yeah, you know. So
(15:19):
after that, so I'm like, okay, here we go again.
Show heights, but don't float away from the rim. You
float a ray from the rim. You won't put your
arm in the rim. Now you probably break your arm
again trying to hold on. Snap all right, So I
wanted to show height, go straight up so I can
come down. Have you ever seen that. I've never seen
it before. I'm not sure that I can't go into
the rim head. Let's see if there's a trampoline out there,
(15:44):
and what he's doing this stuff? Come mask, got something
to trampoline out here? I think my goal once the
dunk was accomplished with silence. I wanted silence. I didn't
want to hear a peep, and I felt like that's
giving you a different look while in the crowd. Simply
you've never seen before. So it's funny in the dunk contest.
(16:05):
And it's one angle. One angle you can see when
I'm holding on the rim, My eyes are closed for
two reasons. One, I'm holding on for dear life so
I don't fall off. Because I didn't think I didn't
know if I can get up high enough. I really
did not, but it didn't. I'm going on for dear
life one two. I'm listening to see while I'm up
there for a second, I'm listening to see if everybody
(16:26):
said oh or just nothing. And it was nothing. I
remember hopping down. I had like a little smirk and skip,
like go ahead, everybody, eat from my hand. Come on.
I got it, and and it was just and I
wanted it's funny. I wanted people to see it the
second time on the jumper tron as I'm walking away,
and that's what happened. And then once and I never
(16:47):
looked up. I remember looking up and once the jumble Troy.
Here you hear people now reacting. I was like, got it,
it worked off and maybe leaving change. That's about as
close as you you will come to say that. That
was unbelieving much Carter, to just fall off a share
(17:09):
and see's this guy hanging up on the rim like that,
worrying about shoulder. I didn't even say. I don't think
they have an alley you play in Toronto. What you're
doing up there was might have been right? Then another
fifty provents Carter And I want to say this because
I've never had the opportunity to actually say this, because
I see people comment or talk about it sometimes and like, oh,
(17:30):
he stole that from Kobe, or he stole that from
Barry Nance somebody. Guys who did I didn't know Kobe
did it in China. This is two thousand people. The
internet wasn't booing like that. You just look on social
media and know that. So I didn't know it was
done prior to that. You know, if anything, if you want,
it was a tribute to these guys. You know, I
(17:52):
just wanted to put my spin on it. There you go.
I didn't know that, so I wanted to do it.
In this moment, I made it up. I came up
with the idea for myself, and the rest is history.
Because we could sit here easily talk about how it
didn't go. I mean, how how the other side of
that me falling off? So I held on for dear life.
(18:14):
And I'm gonna tell you this Sunday morning, We'll get
to the other dunk. But Sunday morning, now, this is
the day of the All Star Game. I woke up, Sarah.
I could not I could barely move my arm so
all of the adrenaline from that night, I felt nothing.
I felt fine, no soreness. The next morning prior to
our little shoot around, locked up and it was purple
(18:35):
like like where I was holding on. Oh man, oh man. Yes,
but I iced it up and I was still here
to play in the game like I was like whatever,
playing the game. But that morning M all from that,
but I had I felt nothing. I had no pain,
no soreness the entire night until that morning when the
adrenaline finally wore off. Heaven S night, I felt like, uh,
(18:58):
Stephen Tracy, they had some incredible dons. That's awesome responding
just Steve Francis. Let's see how the judges responded. Well,
I had to give him a temp off. You know
this was It wasn't a sympathy tending that this guy
really went up. He got this. He could have said
I'm just gonna leave the competition, but he goes up
(19:20):
between them. That's unbelievable. Guy. Yeah. I mean he's six too,
but he doesn't have short arms or big hands. I
mean that It's awesome and he just did right there.
This win. This guy would win it a lot of years.
Have you talked to them about that night, about how
they failed, about them watching you feeling like they had
some of these really really amazing dunks and then there
(19:44):
you go and just steal the show of time and
time again only Team Mac with family. So we talked
a lot, and we talked a lot about it after
on the flight home. Steve and I never really conversated
like that. I mean I heard, you know, it's well
documented that he felt like he should have won and
um and he was cheated and all that stuff. So
I just want a good competition, and I wanted to
(20:06):
let these guys know that not tonight, not tonight, bring it.
And I wanted the best competition. I wanted the best
guys to do it. And they were great competition. I
just I talked to obviously, uh Patino Mobile, a lot
of a lot of guys, A lot of guys I
mentioned earlier, Antoine, James and I have really really good
friends at golf with Jason Williams a lot. J K
was still my teammate later on. So just hearing these
(20:27):
guys talking about it, layer KG, obviously shocks of friends
still talk about it now, We're still talking about it now.
It's just it's just a beautiful moment and I'm thankful,
Like it's just it's timeless, and you know, you're seeing
different renditions of them of it now and it's a
you know, everybody kind of felt feels like or asked me,
you know, does it bother you whatever? People are taking
that dump to the next level, Like absolutely not. People
(20:49):
are impressed and honored with that dunk or enjoyed it
enough to try to take it to the next level,
because that's what I was trying to do. It that
I was trying to do, Like the between the legs
was a version of j R. Ryder gives it a
different look, and I just tried to take it to
the next level. So yes, there's gonna be the next athlete,
the next guy to take the dunk. I mean, look
at what Zach Lavine, look at Erin Gordon, look at
those guys do look what John Marin is doing now,
(21:10):
like his his mentality someone like mine. So it was
just an unbelievable name. I want to ask you about
those guys real quick after. But the last dunk it
so now we're talking about did you feel like you
you you only need to afforded to to win? Did
you feel like you when when after the arming rim dunk,
(21:30):
I was initially told it's over. Don contests over, that's it.
I guess for TV purposes they had to you know
how you know how TV goes. You have to stick
within your schedule, and you know I didn't want to
finish earlier, so they literally told me it was done.
So I'm done right now, I'm trying to bring this
high down. I'm turned it and turned attack mode off
(21:52):
and go. Then they said no, no, no, wait wait
you got to do it more. No no, no no no,
you said no no, I've yeah, we've already, We've already
detailed here with no So I'm like, okay, just do something.
Don't miss the duncan. I've done something like from the
free throw line two hands before, So I was just like,
(22:13):
anything from there or close will work without hurt myself
and get it over with because they told me I won,
but you gotta do one more, all right, everyone standing,
hair cuffs potter and put it down. He goes two
(22:34):
hands from the freak to line. It's got as we said,
it was only a forty two the vectory, Well, I'll
get forty two, but ken'ty better not give him a
hand this time. I think that was a smart dump.
That was a smart safety dump, absolutely elevated. He took
(22:55):
off close to the foul lie, but he knew what
he needed to win. That's a smart dunk at the end,
get the championship, and that it's a great dunk, two
hands from as far as he jumped off, very safe,
and he's saving something for next year. You know what, Danny,
that was a nine, but I owed him one, so
I gave him a tenous It pains me watching you now.
(23:15):
I mean, obviously I wish I could go back and
just if I could put myself in a moment I
didn't have enough time in between the kind of get
it all back where I want to be. I think
I could have done better, And so I just look
at him just like you would think, like sitting here,
you would think I missed the dunk. It just for
what I gave people for four dunks. The finale dunk
should be on the level or above in my opinion,
(23:39):
And I don't feel like I gave you that. But
like I said, I only needed forty two. So it's
just me being me. Yeah, I need to let that
go at some point you need to let that go.
So also the miss also the miss d okay, here's
fair and fair enough. When I can't dunk anymore at all,
I think that's when I connected it. Honestly, I hope
you lived to your a hundred head. I hope you
(24:00):
lived to your hundred times you reached that point? Will
be what was your favorite dunk of the NiFe? Do
you have a favorite? Oh? Man, um most talked about
is arming and rim. Obviously the three sixty women. I
like those three three sixty win mil to the between
the legs to the arming room because I set the
tone with a dunk that I wasn't able to accomplish early.
(24:22):
I now did a dunk that I've never practiced with
another person that could have gone left. And then I
now high risk, high reward dunk that I pulled off.
So those three, you know, and I hate to have
to pick one. I'll just go with arm and the
rim because you don't have to, you don't have to.
Have you ever done a seven? Is that arm in
the rim is the favorite? I mean, I would probably
(24:43):
say this because I mean it's it's now become iconic
and talked about, probably more than anything, But at the
same time, it's like the close second is between the
legs and then yeah, so there was talking you do
in a seven seven twenty dunk sack sack shack. That's
this shock being shacked. We know he's a great promoter
(25:04):
of people. Was it over with the first dune? Yeah,
but he told me he's gonna do a seven twenty.
I'm just telling me what held. I don't even know
what that is, so that's not true. No, I thought
about it. Had you ever Had you ever done that
in practice? I have done it once or twice in
my life. But you know, there again, there was something
like the three sixty women. I didn't feel confident enough
(25:27):
to do it at that time. That was probably that
probably would have been the right time to do it
because of where I was, and I was past cloud nine. Um,
I was on another level of confidence and feeling good
about myself. That probably could have been or should have
should have and could have been my last stump. But
there again, I just wanted to make something, get up
(25:48):
out of there and get my trophy in and live
and live that moment that I've been dreaming of. And
here are his French corner. The trampion n b A
done comming the competend Carter Steve Francis runner up, followed
by great here's Craig h n flying, skying, swooping, but
(26:22):
hanging by your elbow around. What was the best duck
you think of the day? I don't know. Um, I
like to the bounce with the between the legs because
that was the first time I've ever done that. I
just that was off the fly. I thought about it
right before I went, and I'm just happy I made it.
But uh, yeah, it feels good right now. I'm just
shocked before that final dunk. You knew you had that one,
(26:43):
but still I spectacular two hands from the followup, well
not quite fill line, and you know, I like to
get that opportunity to try that again, you know. But
but it feels good right now. I mean, I think
everybody did a great job, and I'm just happy to win.
You obviously impressed everybody here in the arena, the millions
watching on television. But when you look over there and
(27:05):
see your fellow pros, we are in awe. What does
that make you feel? It feels good because sometimes in
your fellow classmates and teammates are hard to impress. So, UM,
I'm just happy to I think I'm maybe interviewing the
wrong Carter. What do you think your coach, which Carter
is thinking right now after seeing you hang on the
room with your help, he's probably he's probably fishing, so
(27:28):
he's probably get to see it. But UM, I hope
I pressed another Carter and that's my brother. I hope
he enjoyed that. I think you did. How do you
think this performance will rate over history with the Jordan's
and the Dominiques. I don't know. Um, you're talking about
too great, great great slam dump champions there, and UM,
I'm just happy to win. And maybe one day I'll
(27:50):
look back at the taste and compare. But I'm not
gonna compare unless others compare. You dodged the question afterwards
with um the legendary god rest of soul, Craig Sager.
Looking back, now, this is the question you dodged. No,
in a very polite, in a very polite way, Um,
but about comparing your dunk contests to the best of
all time with Dr j Jordan, Dominique, everyone, What about now?
(28:13):
I couldn't disrespect and that still don't because I have
so much respect for those guys. Dominique. I work with
Dominique all the time, as you know, um Dr j Um.
I get the opportunity now to spend some time with
him a lot. And MJ like, these are guys that
I looked at and I didn't I felt like I
did my thing and I held my own and I
represented myself. I represented Toronto. Well, I feel like it's
(28:36):
up there? Is it better? I mean, it's it's hard
for people to say. I mean, I hear because I
tell you what. As far as individual performance, I think possibly,
But it's hard to to to not give some credit
to Zach Levine and Aaron Gordon. Yeah, what did you
think of their What did you think of their contests?
I don't watch dunk contests like live really really because
(29:00):
you know this thing we have here now, the phone,
my phone goes crazy. I'll start weekend what do you think?
What do you think should that have been? So I'm
just like, I don't know, And then later on that
evening I'll watch it kind of after just because it's
just it's a lot of work, it's a lot of
person because a lot of people are asking a lot
of questions. But I tell you what. I was like this,
(29:20):
what's next? What's next? And I and I how I
felt watching those guys. I could imagine how people felt
that night watching that contest. So I enjoy and I
said that was up there. I mean, I still think
M J. Dominique was iconic and in a great duel.
When you talk about individual performances, I felt like I
(29:43):
can hold my own with whoever is considered the greatest.
But I mean, my competition with Mac and Steve Francis
wasn't no joke either. I think you are the best
dunker of all time. Thank you. Who do you think
is the best dunker of all time? That's hard to say.
I think I deserve consideration. And and here's why I
felt like I was fearless. I wasn't. I wasn't afraid
(30:06):
to try difficult dunks. And to me, you know me
well enough to wear it like we can't. I can't
just answer a dunk question like that. I there's end
game dunkers and there's dunk contest dunkers, and then you
have the dunkers in between that can do both. And
sometimes we look at some of the end game dunkers
(30:29):
and feel like there will be great dunk contest dunkers
and they can't do it. Why does it not necessarily
translate because it's like you look at guys because let
let's say, it's hard to pick a person who can
we pick a guy that jumps really high and that
dunks the ball. Jannest. Let's just say, Yannest, you he
probably like he probably wouldn't be a great dunk contest dunker,
(30:50):
but in game, when he's taken off, you're gonna get
the heck out the way. It's just a different the
way and they jump. He jumped really high and he
could probably prove me wrong, and that's fine. But I
don't know if the in game dunks, you know, because
you have like the John Marintz of the world, Zach
Lvine's guys who are doing wind meals between the legs.
I mean, now, I mean it's a laundry list of guys. Now,
(31:11):
I'm just naming these two guys that can do a
lot of things in the game that people are trying
in dunk contest. I put those guys in that can
do both. Gerald Green, I gotta add to that list.
We have yet to see John Rent do it in
the dunk contest. We assume that. So I'm gonna, you know,
judging the book by its cover, if you would, I'm
gonna put him there. We've seen Zach Levine do it.
(31:32):
We've seen Aaron Gordon do it. We've seen Donovan Mitchell
do it. Some of the dunks that you see him
do in game or in the dunk contest, he's done
in game. So there's some of those guys in that
small group of guys. So I feel like that's where
I fall, You know, I was. I wasn't afraid to
do the dunks that I tried in the dunk contest
in the game. I did the arm and rim in
(31:53):
the game once. That's why you're the best of all time,
because you do both. Sure, if you say so, thank you,
I'm not gonna. I don't. You're gonna say that. I
said I to say why why no more dunk contests?
I didn't want to be a career dunker, And I'm
gonna tell you why I say that. You know, I
didn't want to be a career duntor and I didn't
want people to only put me in the box of hey, hey,
(32:14):
he best dunker. Whatever. But you're still like, Okay, what
else can you do? And I had that conversation with
three or four guys Zach Lavine, Gerald Green, Donovan Mitchell.
I feel like was the other one. You don't want
to be just a career dunker. I mean just did
Let's look at you and that's all when you say,
Joe Green, that to me, Bevince Carter, whoever, that's all
(32:38):
you think of. What do you think about Zach Lavine
now to get buckets, shoots, the blah blah blah, you know,
And Zack said you no, no, no, you're right, and
he thought about it, and that's something. And it was
crazy because he still gets asked about being in Dunk Contest.
He said no. I remember him to say, Bro, that
was some of the best advice ever, because now he's
(32:58):
getting the respect he's or as a basketball player. And
that was kind of thing to defend the title. I
wasn't a healthy to be able to put on that
type of performance. I don't want to be here. I
don't want to give you this and then underwhelm you
the following years or whatever. And obviously, you know the
rumors that came out about possibly doing the Dunk Contest again,
(33:20):
I actually entertained that are saying your your last season
or your last year. Later in my like my last
couple year, I heard it. I entertained it like you
know what, but it was it was easy to shut
that down because people like it doesn't matter what dunks
he does. It'll be cool to see. Okay for some people,
but if I go out there, we're the world that
(33:42):
we compare. When players come into the draft, they compare
to someone. Every player is compared to someone. You're gonna
automatically compare what I did and whatever dunk contests to
two thousands. That wouldn't be fair because I couldn't match that,
and I didn't want to try to. I didn't want
to tarnish what was done in two thousands, like that
(34:02):
was an unbelievable moment. It was an unbelievable night. And
people have given me the label of the greatest dunker
just that in the fourth and it's debatable, you can
give me top five whatever. I'm being listed in that,
and I didn't want to tarnish that, like that's it's
a it's an honor. And like some of the people
that you're talking about, from Dr J to some of
(34:23):
these young guys today, still to this day that I'm
still able to hold on hold onto that label like
I don't I don't want to lose that. Like you know, what,
what what all do we have? We don't have munch
as far as when your legacy, when you're done playing.
But that's why I chose not to. And then the
following year I said, okay, maybe, and I just had
like little Maggie injuries and it all like either ankle
(34:43):
a killers, I had an achilles injury. That kind of
it took. It took a lot to kind of get yeah,
I could play the game. I can play basketball. But
you know, and that's what people say, you're you're playing
in the game. How could it get It's different. It's
just different playing basketball and exploding for dunks and landing
and stuff like that. So that's why I didn't do
it again. Two more quick thanks for you, um you
(35:05):
bring out Dr J And I think the biggest smile
I saw from you all night and going back and
looking at that was when you were with him taking
a picture. What did that moment mean? So I just
I just did an interview with Dr Jay probably a
month ago, and I still I still thanked him for
that moment from two thousand and he looked like it.
(35:26):
I was like, you don't understand. I grew up as
a doctor Jay fan. He was my hero. He's he's
He's who I looked up to as a as a
basketball player in a role model, and and just the
way he carried himself, how how he played the game,
accomplishing what I want to complicit the dunk contest, holding
up that trophy, and it's just so a surreal moment
shaking Davis Third's hand and holding the trophy. I practiced
(35:48):
all of this, like I promise you. You know it's
probably it could be a polaroid. And I sound old
when I say that, but that's what was around of
me holding up practicing it because I had to see.
I stood in the mirror like practice and shaking ahead
like the weirdest thing. So when I'm shaking, it just
felt like I've done this eight thousand times before, just
not with the real person. David Sterns Where you rest
in peace? Hurd rock Tilla Store of ninety to win
(36:14):
the NBA dot Com Slam Dun two thousand Championships. That
ain't it work? Till Way Champion of Center Court is
NBA Commissioner. Slam Dunk Competition has made us return in
a big way. Favorite Carter of the Toronto Raptors. Coming
through was like some sational So after I'm walking off
(36:36):
and looking at my two friends and then and they're
going bananas because of all of what's happened earlier today
about us getting there and me not feeling confident, you know,
about not being able to practice and not gonna put
off my best performance. So walking up seeing them and there,
you know, we're trying to get him to the back
in Golden State, you know the old arena when you
(36:57):
walked at that curtain going to the back with black
rooms are Soon as I opened the curtain holding my trophy,
opened the curtain, it was just like I opened the
gates to Heaven. Dr J is standing right there. He's
standing right there. Unbelievable form and young man, thanks, thank
thank you. I'm like if somebody said it just felt
(37:18):
like it was set up to be that way. So
after all of that night, that all that moment and
everything that took place, and you know it's over because
I'm feeling good, trying to enjoy the moment. Dr Jay's
right there, like bring it in, bringing in and bring
a hug. And then I said, do you mind taking
a picture of the trophy. He's like yeah. I was like,
you know, oh man, So he took a picture with
me with the trophy and it's just cool. And he
(37:39):
actually took a picture of my voice or the four US.
It's just it was just an unbelievable moment that they
they'll never forget that. I never forget it. Like I said,
it always makes me smile and feels good to this
day and every time I see him, I still think
him like it was just you know, he didn't have
to do it. He it was enough, honestly if he
said no, and he just shook my hand and congratulated
(38:00):
first person literally not off the court, you know, after
all of the media, like alone time, first person I
see it was Dr J, Like, come on, man, doesn't
it doesn't get me better. The post competition VC certainly
sounded excited about seeing Dr J. It feels good. It
feels good. Um, I mean I just got the chance
to talk to Dr J, Sam Slam Dunk Champion in
(38:22):
in Dunton Legendar. I mean it feels good. I know,
I'm not in there and their rankings yet, but hey,
this is mine, this is mine. What do you think
is the next challenge for dunkers? You're seeing the evolution now,
believe it or not. It's like what could be done? Okay,
you don't see that many dunks that you haven't seen before,
(38:42):
but you're seeing more guys doing these dunks. It used
to be only a few guys. You can only think
of old man when you said reverse three sixty women
or whatever. When you think of windmills in the game,
you say, okay, there's only such such such such five
guys stop the caing more. How many dunks in the
last month of the two months have you seen guys
going between the legs in game on the fast break
(39:04):
over topping, Like there's like two or three guys did
it in the game, Grider did it in the dunk contest.
These guys are doing it in games, so that that
is now the evolution, Like you're seeing these guys just
more leapers and got guys who who who? Who's just
it's easy. You're seeing kids in middle school doing this
dunk now, like it's just what's in the food now?
I don't I mean tell me, tell me, please me.
(39:24):
You know, maybe I need to eat it so I
can still do it. But I think at some point
you may even have to raise the rim for the
dunk contest. It's because guys are gonna it's gonna be
so easy. I think that would be the next challenge.
I mean, they can find maybe it goes to ten
of the half and guys are dunking onto the half
of thems and just see what you could do, because
now it's dunking on ten is just like these duntors
(39:46):
dunking on nine feet. It's just so easy. So let's
go to the next level. You can still do your
same dunks dunking on ten feet and people won't appreciate
ten and a half feet until you walk up into
the rim and you look up and you see exactly
how that really is while still trying to do some
of these dunks. That I think that's kind of the
next day you put challenge these guys to to that level.
(40:08):
That will give the dunk contest a little spark, just
because I mean, you're gonna see some of these great
leaper doing something, but you're gonna see guys starting to
do go between the legs twice. You're already seeing people
attempting to do that. Now on social media, there's some
there's some dunkers who are not in the NBA who
are doing some amazing stuff, like guys are putting two
arms in the rim, which it's funny. I try. You
(40:33):
definitely should. So in high school I used to try
to put my elbow on the rim. So I used
to jump in high school, put both elbows in the
rim and then dunk it. Jump up the elbows and
dunk it. And I thought about yeah, so I tried.
That was one cause I tell you could touch the
top of backboard of high school. So I was able
to do that. And that's one of the dunks that
(40:54):
I thought about doing as the final dunk as well.
But I wasn't sure if I could put it all,
I could get my I you know, I don't think
I was. I was jumping higher at that thinking I
can't around that. But high school is it was my
my glory days as far as leaping, because I was
able to jump, I was able touch the top of
the backboard, like, oh man, that your glory days. I mean,
(41:17):
that's it doesn't even jumping like I was I was,
I was one eight five. How are you jumping? I
don't know. That's one thing I always get asked about
my vertical. What was your vertical at your at your height?
I got shot so at the combine, I'm jumping, hitting
you know, the things and knocking them down, and it
(41:38):
was like, all right, you know, it's only a few
guys there or whatever. And then you know, people got
started getting the april. Look where he is now, so
more people start coming out of watching more people and
I get shot. I get and I was like, I'm
good here. So I never I never. I never did
my max jump because I just, you know, you start
seeing all these big old crowds, and I was like,
(41:58):
you'll see it when I play. Only time I tried
to show off is when I was there's thirty nine nine.
I went to P three in San Diego and it
was a side by side picture of me and Andrew Wiggins,
and I think Andrew Wiggins was eighteen at the time,
like eighto night to young, and I'm trying to show
the a I'm thirty nine but I could still get
up there, and it's a it's a I mean, look,
(42:19):
it's a it's it's called Peter. And they compared my
vertical with with with his, I mean, because he was
one of the ones that was there and it was
That was a cool feeling to know that at that
age I could still How did it compare? Was it
the same saying I was up there? So I was
about the same above you were above Now you're being
shot again. I don't remember. I just know it was close. VC,
(42:41):
you are an icon, the greatest dunker of all time.
You can't thank you enough for all these memories and
all your time my pleasure. Thanks for having It's always
great talking about it always great. NBA Flashback is a
production of I Heart Radio and the NBA. For more
podcast from Heart Radio, visit the I Heart Radio app,
(43:02):
Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. H
NBA Flashback is a production of I Heart Radio and
the NBA. This episode, we're back with Vince Carter for
part two of the two thousand dunk Contest. If you
haven't heard the first part yet, go back and listen
to last week's episode to catch up. I'm Sarah Coustack,
(00:20):
and you're listening to NBA Flashback, the show that takes
you back to the greatest moments in NBA history, using
archival audio from the NBA as well as new interviews
with the players and coaches who were in the building.
A few quick reminders. Vince is nursing an injury Ona's
(00:44):
left hand, which is all stitched up. That was just
the dumbest thing ever that how I did it. But
I'm sure you know that he's abandoned his plan dunks
and is pretty much winging it. I said to myself,
you know what, this is not gonna work, meaning the
routine that was set to do for the dunks that
I want to do. It's not that he's not good
(01:04):
enough and he's going into his third dunk having already
made the finals. No, thanks to Kenny Smith. Yeah, I
have still talking because you know he's my Carolina guy,
and god darn it, Kenny Smith. So before your third dunk,
you had already made the finals, so it didn't matter
what you did on the third one. Did you think
about that? Did you think about that at the time
(01:26):
or were you just still in every every every dunk
is the first bring the house down mode? So dunk
number three another all timer. It was the bounce from
t mac So I'm gonna assume similar to what you
said about his dunk, you guys hadn't worked on that.
I don't know how he felt about. No, we had
not at all. He and so now I'm worried about
(01:46):
in the finals. They said, hey, remember you have to
use a teammate at some point, if you know, because
you've not advanced. I was like, oh my good, let's
get this out of the way, so at least if
it doesn't go well, well I still have another dunk
to kind of make up for that. Blah blah blah.
This is where though, I want to hear about the stitches.
How did that affect you? So the fingers still know?
(02:07):
So I got this piece of tape wrapped up in
my finger, and if I'm gonna go between the legs,
will they get caught in my shorts because it's so
so it's because it's sticking out. It's just taping. It's
catching tapes, so it's kind of sticky tape to where
you know, it could catch on stuff and all of
these things. I'm thinking about while it's my turn. So
I'm out there, I'm walking team back through, and I
(02:27):
told him to stand here and said mount it and
just get out of the way. So as I'm sitting there,
I'm thinking about this. I saw a picture in East
Bay magazine of a guy jumping in the air with
the jump shoot. Remember the jump shoot. Everybody remembers the
jump shoot. Okay, so that picture was probably a week
and a half prior to the dunk contest. Literally, the
(02:49):
picture was the man literally standing there like this. I'm
not sure any of the kids listening to this rule remember,
but I specifically remember. Yeah. But I mean yeah, Eastly.
I think it's still around. I think, uh, I haven't
been there a while. I see that picture, but we
can have prior to. So I'm going through and I'm like,
all right, I'm going to try that. I'm gonna try that,
though I have to use a bounce, so I gotta
(03:10):
get it low enough to pull it off because if
I get between legs and just do the window, it's
like but it's just the women between. Yes. Now, I
saw Jerr Rider also through the East Bay funk or whatever,
so I'm combining that with a bounce because that's why
I was like, yeah, I saw that in the magazine,
but I didn't. So I tell him to bounce it.
And we hadn't practice, so I told him. I said
(03:31):
to bounce it about this height. So I'm like, so
I'm pointing between my waist in my chest. I needed
the ball. Yeah, I know what I'm saying. So I'm
saying I'm pointing between my my waist in my chest.
Somewhere in the mid section is where I wanted it.
So I'm like, I'm like here, and he's like, okay,
we never practiced it, so he doesn't know how fast
or slow I'm gonna go because he doesn't know what
(03:52):
I'm doing. I just said, bounce it and get out
of the way. So he does the first attempt and
it's too high ming down and I remember intrivious dunk
contest not to attempt the dunk, so it doesn't count
as a dunk, so I want to give it another shot.
But that's from years of me watching it as a
little kid, and it just stuck in my mind. Those
are the things that I remember. The can't dues in
(04:14):
a dunk contest came to life. It was it was
a cool moment. I was like, I know what to do.
So I said no. I said, okay, bring it down
a little bit, bring it here, meaning now I'm telling
him waist side. So if he doesn't, this is I'm
thinking this right there. So I figured if he's still
bouncing too high, I said, waiste height for him, which
still will put it in the area which I could
(04:35):
still grab the ball with my left hand and go through.
So I said, hey, man, just bounce it here. He said, Cause,
what are you gonna do? Said, I'm gonna try to
put it between legs. I said, just bounce the ball.
This hype, get the hell out the way. Smart play.
Tracy throwing along so he can't catch it. Now you
know what he's doing, Danny to bounce. He's gonna catch it,
put it between his legs and dunking. So he wants
it long to do that. If he does this, like
(04:57):
I said, Ted is not enough, and I remember him
walking around. He's like, all right, man, you're crazy. I said,
all right, I might be. Why doesn't they save this
one though? Unless he's got two or three more in
his bag? Yeah. Keep in mind rich Card also has
a few stitches in that left hand where he occurred
an injury dealing with weights in the waiting room, So
he stitched up in the left hand doing all that.
(05:17):
So he does it. He walks away and seeing the
video now that I've seen it so many times, seeing
the video, hell bouncing the ball and walking back, looking
back like, oh, over, it's over. It is the gentleman.
And I just remember catching the ball and just trying
(05:40):
to get it between my legs and getting up there
and that coming all over the table right to take smarter?
This is I heard of. Oh my goodness, cries it
is over? Did I call it? Danny a white? Racy mcgrandy.
He doesn't even know what to do and he's walking away.
He played with this guy every day. What what made
(06:03):
you point? What was the meaning of it? The point
was just so random and emotion that I was thinking
the basketball guys that was it was just pointing to
the to the guys, thank you, basketball guys, because I've
never done it. I've never done that. I've never done
it with a partner, and we didn't practice. So I pointed,
I've done something like that, and if you go back
(06:23):
to the high school dunk contest, I did like a
little something version of that then in the But it's
just now I'm thinking the basketball guys like, thank you.
I pulled this off. And that's where the whole It's
overcame from. So after I'm walking down, I'm cool, collected,
like we've done this before, and I was like, oh
my god, just pulled this off. Camera pops in my
face and I just said it's over. It's over. And
(06:45):
the reason I said that because I'm like I am
now I have changed my routine. I'm making this up
on the fly and I'm able to pull these dunks off.
It's over for you, Like I'm in another in another zone.
I feel good and I feel like nothing can stop me.
Now it's over. Like that's just it was just the
emotion of the moment, and uh, it was a cool moment.
(07:07):
So now I mean, I see it. I just I
always think of that. But what do you think when
you see it. I mean, for as many people do
people come up to you and do that to you?
What mean yeah, I mean I think back to literally
telling that story, and I mean I think about those moments,
(07:27):
and I think about the things I'm thinking through and
it's funny the dunks happened so fast, but I think
I take myself back and think about I'm thinking some
of these things as it happens, like catch the ball
scoopid because I I rolled my I pulled my shorts up,
like to my neighbor, I wrote them up just to
make sure I can get the ball between cause I
never practiced it. Sarah, Way, you're laughing. I'm serious. I
(07:50):
didn't know you're laughing. I'm serious. I didn't know if
if I could pull this off. So I'm not. I'm
giving myself every chance to pull this off. So I'm like,
what makes sense to details don't have long, short, saggy pants.
You can't do that. You have to pull them up.
They have to look like Stockton right now, pull them up,
(08:10):
you know. And it's funny saying that now because all
of the young guys were the short of short. So
now it's because you don't have to say you wouldn't
have to worry about it. But that back then it
was the Michigan fat five long shorts error. So I
was like, roll them up or pull them up high
enough just so I can get them through. So once
I got up through, it's just all about transition. Think
about this. I still had this finger messed up, so
(08:30):
I'm like transition, but I'm I don't want to hit
If I hit my finger, let's say, in the transition
with my hand or something, I don't pull that off
because it was still tender. It was still tender. So
that's why all the dunks I did were one hand
one Yeah, all one handed dunks except for the last
dunk man. So anyway, it's over, the first time I've
(08:53):
ever done out of my life. I was. I just
sat there and thought of it, just sitting on the bench.
You know, you should be perfect throughout the three rounds.
Do you have anything to say to Kenny Smith? Thanks, Kenny,
that's okay, Um, we'll talk later. Are you still coming
to my basketball camp? That's what I want to know, Kenny.
(09:16):
I Kenn even like, now, are you still coming to us? Ny?
I'm coming, Okay, you're coming back? And do that ship,
thank you, thank you, dunk number four finals. How about
when the rim dunk breakdown? But how does that even
(09:38):
go through your mind to create that dunk? At that
point after the third duke. I can hear the crowd.
I remember Cynthia Cooper, Isaiah Thomas cracking up. It's like
going crazy, like Vince had Isaiah Thomas literally jumping you.
You can't think I just reacted. I was excited. I
(10:01):
just jumped out of my seat. He made me say oh,
he made me say oh, and then I just jumped.
You mess up your scoring system. Now he ain't no
point total. He's off the charge. I mean really off
the charge. People say that, but this guy, he and
another planet. I'll never forget. It was just some of
the cools moments, like like you're talking about legends of
the game who are acting like little kids. You were
(10:24):
able to turn these guys, these grown folks into kids,
like I'm to my historians, icons of the game into
little kids in the moment. And it was just like
a great feeling to see like center A Cooper, Rick Berry,
Isaiah Thomas like and even Kitty just tickled and just
living in the moment because of what I'm doing for
the fans, and that's all I wanted to while the
crowd and every dunk, I just wanted to kind of
(10:45):
give you a different look and just want you to
feel like you can go home and try this at home.
Until you go home and try this at home, you're like, wait, wait,
wait a second. No one felt like they could go
at home. But at at the same time, you tried it,
like people go to a nerve poop and try it.
But I wanted to make it look easy. I didn't
(11:05):
want to make it a look like a struggle. I
want to have grace. I want to, you know, to
to look like I was floating out there like I
mean all of that you said, attention to details, and
that was it. And I made these dunks up, all right.
I pulled these dunks off that night. But I I
literally tried to think through all of these things of
what I'm trying to accomplish out of these dumps as well,
and I try not to overthink it where I forget
to make the thing go dunk. So I was just
(11:28):
in in in the right pocket and in the moon
and stars were all lined up once again correctly. Because
there was another time we all know when the moon
and stars were lined up correctly, I was able to
jump over a human being, but that was months later,
so uh yeah, so I pulled it off. So now
I'm sitting there like what do I do? And I
remember getting off the seeing whoever the guy was for me.
(11:50):
So I'm sitting there, I see him, but I don't
even see the dunks. I'm thinking like I am going
through a list of options to of dunking. You know,
it was amazing. It was Vince Carter was out watching
the mascots jump off the trampoline looking for ideas the finals.
So I remember getting up Steve Frances and Cotino Mobile
on the back end on the other half of the court,
(12:10):
stood on the floor and I played in the charity
game with Coatino Mobile. It was Gary Payton's charity game.
And I remember in the layout line, I was jumping
into the rim and dropping the ball over the front
of the rim inside the rim, just putting my arm
in and just dropping it through, you know, just just
try to show off and show guys I can jump
high or whatever. And I thought, hey, you know what
(12:30):
Contino I said. You remember that remember the land line
at Gary Payton game. With that, I said, I'm gonna
do that, but I'm gonna try to hang up there
hanging on the rim. He said, what are you crazy?
I was like, probably probably, but all right, So so
as I get the ball from the referee, if so
to a lot of things happened from the time I
got the ball from the referee. I didn't know what
side I was gonna take off on. I didn't know
(12:52):
what felt comfortable for me to jump up there and
hanging the rim. I wasn't big with I couldn't use
my left hand, so I knew I wasn't jumping in
and hanging left left hand because I didn't want anything
to go wrong. But I didn't know which way come
from the left side, come from the right side. Side.
Chose the right side, which but I walked it off.
So I'm walking it off to Biby some time to
think this all through, get the proper steps. How far
(13:12):
do I so? How fast do I go? Because what
do I want to accomplish and show the people? And
I also thought the last thing my coach, Butch Carter
said to t mc and I before he was going
on vacation, because he said, I'm not gonna be I
gonna be on vacation. I'm gonna be on the boat.
I don't want to have to get a phone call
saying that you guys broke something because y'all doing something
stupid in the dunk contest. Okay, cool, I said, I
(13:34):
got your coach, no problem, all right, yeah, right whatever.
So I'm thinking about man, all right, I'm gonna hang up.
So I hang on this rim. So I walked it.
I walked it off, and I remember looking at the rim.
I said, God, please don't let me break my arm.
You were rubbing your arm. You were rubbing your arm beforehand.
Let's see that swagger. He's looking at me like I'm
supposed to say something. He's got the swagger. He's got
(13:57):
it all the same kind of swagging at the dominique
in it you on time a French connor. When I
was first, I'm a fight a rode. What ladies wait
a time time out? Can I take your time out?
How can you take it? Take it till I saw
(14:17):
I saw him rubbing this upper wrong, and I was
wondering what he was doing. He was just cleaning it off,
making show there was nothing to slipped me there because
you knew how far did the river he was going.
So as I walked up there, I'm like, all right, cool,
I know this is gonna hurt, all right, but I
want to get up hot. So I remember. The last
thing I did is I rubbed my arm. Sorry, I
(14:37):
don't know what's gonna happen. I don't know if my
arms gonna be this color when I when I'm done
with this or not. I don't know. I've never done
this before, so I don't know what's gonna happen. But
I knew what I wanted to accomplish out of this.
I wanted to show height. I wanted to show how
high that I could be above the rim. That's why,
if you notice when I jumped in the air, I
waited a second first to make sure I was high enough.
(14:57):
Want to show hip, then put the arm instead of
just jump and just put my arm in because I
felt like doing it that way you'll probably break your
arm because you might get caught. I didn't know if
I you know, I knew I wanted to get my
arm in the rim, not across the rim, across the room.
I probably break mark. Think about it. If you go
in and snapping on. I don't know, it just made
sense of working. It seemed like, yeah, you know. So
(15:19):
after that, so I'm like, okay, here we go again.
Show heights, but don't float away from the rim. You
float a ray from the rim. You won't put your
arm in the rim. Now you probably break your arm
again trying to hold on. Snap all right, So I
wanted to show height, go straight up so I can
come down. Have you ever seen that. I've never seen
it before. I'm not sure that I can't go into
the rim head. Let's see if there's a trampoline out there,
(15:44):
and what he's doing this stuff? Come mask, got something
to trampoline out here? I think my goal once the
dunk was accomplished with silence. I wanted silence. I didn't
want to hear a peep, and I felt like that's
giving you a different look while in the crowd. Simply
you've never seen before. So it's funny in the dunk contest.
(16:05):
And it's one angle. One angle you can see when
I'm holding on the rim, My eyes are closed for
two reasons. One, I'm holding on for dear life so
I don't fall off. Because I didn't think I didn't
know if I can get up high enough. I really
did not, but it didn't. I'm going on for dear
life one two. I'm listening to see while I'm up
there for a second, I'm listening to see if everybody
(16:26):
said oh or just nothing. And it was nothing. I
remember hopping down. I had like a little smirk and skip,
like go ahead, everybody, eat from my hand. Come on.
I got it, and and it was just and I
wanted it's funny. I wanted people to see it the
second time on the jumper tron as I'm walking away,
and that's what happened. And then once and I never
(16:47):
looked up. I remember looking up and once the jumble Troy.
Here you hear people now reacting. I was like, got it,
it worked off and maybe leaving change. That's about as
close as you you will come to say that. That
was unbelieving much Carter, to just fall off a share
(17:09):
and see's this guy hanging up on the rim like that,
worrying about shoulder. I didn't even say. I don't think
they have an alley you play in Toronto. What you're
doing up there was might have been right? Then another
fifty provents Carter And I want to say this because
I've never had the opportunity to actually say this, because
I see people comment or talk about it sometimes and like, oh,
(17:30):
he stole that from Kobe, or he stole that from
Barry Nance somebody. Guys who did I didn't know Kobe
did it in China. This is two thousand people. The
internet wasn't booing like that. You just look on social
media and know that. So I didn't know it was
done prior to that. You know, if anything, if you want,
it was a tribute to these guys. You know, I
(17:52):
just wanted to put my spin on it. There you go.
I didn't know that, so I wanted to do it.
In this moment, I made it up. I came up
with the idea for myself, and the rest is history.
Because we could sit here easily talk about how it
didn't go. I mean, how how the other side of
that me falling off? So I held on for dear life.
(18:14):
And I'm gonna tell you this Sunday morning, We'll get
to the other dunk. But Sunday morning, now, this is
the day of the All Star Game. I woke up, Sarah.
I could not I could barely move my arm so
all of the adrenaline from that night, I felt nothing.
I felt fine, no soreness. The next morning prior to
our little shoot around, locked up and it was purple
(18:35):
like like where I was holding on. Oh man, oh man. Yes,
but I iced it up and I was still here
to play in the game like I was like whatever,
playing the game. But that morning M all from that,
but I had I felt nothing. I had no pain,
no soreness the entire night until that morning when the
adrenaline finally wore off. Heaven S night, I felt like, uh,
(18:58):
Stephen Tracy, they had some incredible dons. That's awesome responding
just Steve Francis. Let's see how the judges responded. Well,
I had to give him a temp off. You know
this was It wasn't a sympathy tending that this guy
really went up. He got this. He could have said
I'm just gonna leave the competition, but he goes up
(19:20):
between them. That's unbelievable. Guy. Yeah. I mean he's six too,
but he doesn't have short arms or big hands. I
mean that It's awesome and he just did right there.
This win. This guy would win it a lot of years.
Have you talked to them about that night, about how
they failed, about them watching you feeling like they had
some of these really really amazing dunks and then there
(19:44):
you go and just steal the show of time and
time again only Team Mac with family. So we talked
a lot, and we talked a lot about it after
on the flight home. Steve and I never really conversated
like that. I mean I heard, you know, it's well
documented that he felt like he should have won and
um and he was cheated and all that stuff. So
I just want a good competition, and I wanted to
(20:06):
let these guys know that not tonight, not tonight, bring it.
And I wanted the best competition. I wanted the best
guys to do it. And they were great competition. I
just I talked to obviously, uh Patino Mobile, a lot
of a lot of guys, A lot of guys I
mentioned earlier, Antoine, James and I have really really good
friends at golf with Jason Williams a lot. J K
was still my teammate later on. So just hearing these
(20:27):
guys talking about it, layer KG, obviously shocks of friends
still talk about it now, We're still talking about it now.
It's just it's just a beautiful moment and I'm thankful,
Like it's just it's timeless, and you know, you're seeing
different renditions of them of it now and it's a
you know, everybody kind of felt feels like or asked me,
you know, does it bother you whatever? People are taking
that dump to the next level, Like absolutely not. People
(20:49):
are impressed and honored with that dunk or enjoyed it
enough to try to take it to the next level,
because that's what I was trying to do. It that
I was trying to do, Like the between the legs
was a version of j R. Ryder gives it a
different look, and I just tried to take it to
the next level. So yes, there's gonna be the next athlete,
the next guy to take the dunk. I mean, look
at what Zach Lavine, look at Erin Gordon, look at
those guys do look what John Marin is doing now,
(21:10):
like his his mentality someone like mine. So it was
just an unbelievable name. I want to ask you about
those guys real quick after. But the last dunk it
so now we're talking about did you feel like you
you you only need to afforded to to win? Did
you feel like you when when after the arming rim dunk,
(21:30):
I was initially told it's over. Don contests over, that's it.
I guess for TV purposes they had to you know
how you know how TV goes. You have to stick
within your schedule, and you know I didn't want to
finish earlier, so they literally told me it was done.
So I'm done right now, I'm trying to bring this
high down. I'm turned it and turned attack mode off
(21:52):
and go. Then they said no, no, no, wait wait
you got to do it more. No no, no no no,
you said no no, I've yeah, we've already, We've already
detailed here with no So I'm like, okay, just do something.
Don't miss the duncan. I've done something like from the
free throw line two hands before, So I was just like,
(22:13):
anything from there or close will work without hurt myself
and get it over with because they told me I won,
but you gotta do one more, all right, everyone standing,
hair cuffs potter and put it down. He goes two
(22:34):
hands from the freak to line. It's got as we said,
it was only a forty two the vectory, Well, I'll
get forty two, but ken'ty better not give him a
hand this time. I think that was a smart dump.
That was a smart safety dump, absolutely elevated. He took
(22:55):
off close to the foul lie, but he knew what
he needed to win. That's a smart dunk at the end,
get the championship, and that it's a great dunk, two
hands from as far as he jumped off, very safe,
and he's saving something for next year. You know what, Danny,
that was a nine, but I owed him one, so
I gave him a tenous It pains me watching you now.
(23:15):
I mean, obviously I wish I could go back and
just if I could put myself in a moment I
didn't have enough time in between the kind of get
it all back where I want to be. I think
I could have done better, And so I just look
at him just like you would think, like sitting here,
you would think I missed the dunk. It just for
what I gave people for four dunks. The finale dunk
should be on the level or above in my opinion,
(23:39):
And I don't feel like I gave you that. But
like I said, I only needed forty two. So it's
just me being me. Yeah, I need to let that
go at some point you need to let that go.
So also the miss also the miss d okay, here's
fair and fair enough. When I can't dunk anymore at all,
I think that's when I connected it. Honestly, I hope
you lived to your a hundred head. I hope you
(24:00):
lived to your hundred times you reached that point? Will
be what was your favorite dunk of the NiFe? Do
you have a favorite? Oh? Man, um most talked about
is arming and rim. Obviously the three sixty women. I
like those three three sixty win mil to the between
the legs to the arming room because I set the
tone with a dunk that I wasn't able to accomplish early.
(24:22):
I now did a dunk that I've never practiced with
another person that could have gone left. And then I
now high risk, high reward dunk that I pulled off.
So those three, you know, and I hate to have
to pick one. I'll just go with arm and the
rim because you don't have to, you don't have to.
Have you ever done a seven? Is that arm in
the rim is the favorite? I mean, I would probably
(24:43):
say this because I mean it's it's now become iconic
and talked about, probably more than anything, But at the
same time, it's like the close second is between the
legs and then yeah, so there was talking you do
in a seven seven twenty dunk sack sack shack. That's
this shock being shacked. We know he's a great promoter
(25:04):
of people. Was it over with the first dune? Yeah,
but he told me he's gonna do a seven twenty.
I'm just telling me what held. I don't even know
what that is, so that's not true. No, I thought
about it. Had you ever Had you ever done that
in practice? I have done it once or twice in
my life. But you know, there again, there was something
like the three sixty women. I didn't feel confident enough
(25:27):
to do it at that time. That was probably that
probably would have been the right time to do it
because of where I was, and I was past cloud nine. Um,
I was on another level of confidence and feeling good
about myself. That probably could have been or should have
should have and could have been my last stump. But
there again, I just wanted to make something, get up
(25:48):
out of there and get my trophy in and live
and live that moment that I've been dreaming of. And
here are his French corner. The trampion n b A
done comming the competend Carter Steve Francis runner up, followed
by great here's Craig h n flying, skying, swooping, but
(26:22):
hanging by your elbow around. What was the best duck
you think of the day? I don't know. Um, I
like to the bounce with the between the legs because
that was the first time I've ever done that. I
just that was off the fly. I thought about it
right before I went, and I'm just happy I made it.
But uh, yeah, it feels good right now. I'm just
shocked before that final dunk. You knew you had that one,
(26:43):
but still I spectacular two hands from the followup, well
not quite fill line, and you know, I like to
get that opportunity to try that again, you know. But
but it feels good right now. I mean, I think
everybody did a great job, and I'm just happy to win.
You obviously impressed everybody here in the arena, the millions
watching on television. But when you look over there and
(27:05):
see your fellow pros, we are in awe. What does
that make you feel? It feels good because sometimes in
your fellow classmates and teammates are hard to impress. So, UM,
I'm just happy to I think I'm maybe interviewing the
wrong Carter. What do you think your coach, which Carter
is thinking right now after seeing you hang on the
room with your help, he's probably he's probably fishing, so
(27:28):
he's probably get to see it. But UM, I hope
I pressed another Carter and that's my brother. I hope
he enjoyed that. I think you did. How do you
think this performance will rate over history with the Jordan's
and the Dominiques. I don't know. Um, you're talking about
too great, great great slam dump champions there, and UM,
I'm just happy to win. And maybe one day I'll
(27:50):
look back at the taste and compare. But I'm not
gonna compare unless others compare. You dodged the question afterwards
with um the legendary god rest of soul, Craig Sager.
Looking back, now, this is the question you dodged. No,
in a very polite, in a very polite way, Um,
but about comparing your dunk contests to the best of
all time with Dr j Jordan, Dominique, everyone, What about now?
(28:13):
I couldn't disrespect and that still don't because I have
so much respect for those guys. Dominique. I work with
Dominique all the time, as you know, um Dr j Um.
I get the opportunity now to spend some time with
him a lot. And MJ like, these are guys that
I looked at and I didn't I felt like I
did my thing and I held my own and I
represented myself. I represented Toronto. Well, I feel like it's
(28:36):
up there? Is it better? I mean, it's it's hard
for people to say. I mean, I hear because I
tell you what. As far as individual performance, I think possibly,
But it's hard to to to not give some credit
to Zach Levine and Aaron Gordon. Yeah, what did you
think of their What did you think of their contests?
I don't watch dunk contests like live really really because
(29:00):
you know this thing we have here now, the phone,
my phone goes crazy. I'll start weekend what do you think?
What do you think should that have been? So I'm
just like, I don't know, And then later on that
evening I'll watch it kind of after just because it's
just it's a lot of work, it's a lot of
person because a lot of people are asking a lot
of questions. But I tell you what. I was like this,
(29:20):
what's next? What's next? And I and I how I
felt watching those guys. I could imagine how people felt
that night watching that contest. So I enjoy and I
said that was up there. I mean, I still think
M J. Dominique was iconic and in a great duel.
When you talk about individual performances, I felt like I
(29:43):
can hold my own with whoever is considered the greatest.
But I mean, my competition with Mac and Steve Francis
wasn't no joke either. I think you are the best
dunker of all time. Thank you. Who do you think
is the best dunker of all time? That's hard to say.
I think I deserve consideration. And and here's why I
felt like I was fearless. I wasn't. I wasn't afraid
(30:06):
to try difficult dunks. And to me, you know me
well enough to wear it like we can't. I can't
just answer a dunk question like that. I there's end
game dunkers and there's dunk contest dunkers, and then you
have the dunkers in between that can do both. And
sometimes we look at some of the end game dunkers
(30:29):
and feel like there will be great dunk contest dunkers
and they can't do it. Why does it not necessarily
translate because it's like you look at guys because let
let's say, it's hard to pick a person who can
we pick a guy that jumps really high and that
dunks the ball. Jannest. Let's just say, Yannest, you he
probably like he probably wouldn't be a great dunk contest dunker,
(30:50):
but in game, when he's taken off, you're gonna get
the heck out the way. It's just a different the
way and they jump. He jumped really high and he
could probably prove me wrong, and that's fine. But I
don't know if the in game dunks, you know, because
you have like the John Marintz of the world, Zach
Lvine's guys who are doing wind meals between the legs.
I mean, now, I mean it's a laundry list of guys. Now,
(31:11):
I'm just naming these two guys that can do a
lot of things in the game that people are trying
in dunk contest. I put those guys in that can
do both. Gerald Green, I gotta add to that list.
We have yet to see John Rent do it in
the dunk contest. We assume that. So I'm gonna, you know,
judging the book by its cover, if you would, I'm
gonna put him there. We've seen Zach Levine do it.
(31:32):
We've seen Aaron Gordon do it. We've seen Donovan Mitchell
do it. Some of the dunks that you see him
do in game or in the dunk contest, he's done
in game. So there's some of those guys in that
small group of guys. So I feel like that's where
I fall, You know, I was. I wasn't afraid to
do the dunks that I tried in the dunk contest
in the game. I did the arm and rim in
(31:53):
the game once. That's why you're the best of all time,
because you do both. Sure, if you say so, thank you,
I'm not gonna. I don't. You're gonna say that. I
said I to say why why no more dunk contests?
I didn't want to be a career dunker, And I'm
gonna tell you why I say that. You know, I
didn't want to be a career duntor and I didn't
want people to only put me in the box of hey, hey,
(32:14):
he best dunker. Whatever. But you're still like, Okay, what
else can you do? And I had that conversation with
three or four guys Zach Lavine, Gerald Green, Donovan Mitchell.
I feel like was the other one. You don't want
to be just a career dunker. I mean just did
Let's look at you and that's all when you say,
Joe Green, that to me, Bevince Carter, whoever, that's all
(32:38):
you think of. What do you think about Zach Lavine
now to get buckets, shoots, the blah blah blah, you know,
And Zack said you no, no, no, you're right, and
he thought about it, and that's something. And it was
crazy because he still gets asked about being in Dunk Contest.
He said no. I remember him to say, Bro, that
was some of the best advice ever, because now he's
(32:58):
getting the respect he's or as a basketball player. And
that was kind of thing to defend the title. I
wasn't a healthy to be able to put on that
type of performance. I don't want to be here. I
don't want to give you this and then underwhelm you
the following years or whatever. And obviously, you know the
rumors that came out about possibly doing the Dunk Contest again,
(33:20):
I actually entertained that are saying your your last season
or your last year. Later in my like my last
couple year, I heard it. I entertained it like you
know what, but it was it was easy to shut
that down because people like it doesn't matter what dunks
he does. It'll be cool to see. Okay for some people,
but if I go out there, we're the world that
(33:42):
we compare. When players come into the draft, they compare
to someone. Every player is compared to someone. You're gonna
automatically compare what I did and whatever dunk contests to
two thousands. That wouldn't be fair because I couldn't match that,
and I didn't want to try to. I didn't want
to tarnish what was done in two thousands, like that
(34:02):
was an unbelievable moment. It was an unbelievable night. And
people have given me the label of the greatest dunker
just that in the fourth and it's debatable, you can
give me top five whatever. I'm being listed in that,
and I didn't want to tarnish that, like that's it's
a it's an honor. And like some of the people
that you're talking about, from Dr J to some of
(34:23):
these young guys today, still to this day that I'm
still able to hold on hold onto that label like
I don't I don't want to lose that. Like you know, what,
what what all do we have? We don't have munch
as far as when your legacy, when you're done playing.
But that's why I chose not to. And then the
following year I said, okay, maybe, and I just had
like little Maggie injuries and it all like either ankle
(34:43):
a killers, I had an achilles injury. That kind of
it took. It took a lot to kind of get yeah,
I could play the game. I can play basketball. But
you know, and that's what people say, you're you're playing
in the game. How could it get It's different. It's
just different playing basketball and exploding for dunks and landing
and stuff like that. So that's why I didn't do
it again. Two more quick thanks for you, um you
(35:05):
bring out Dr J And I think the biggest smile
I saw from you all night and going back and
looking at that was when you were with him taking
a picture. What did that moment mean? So I just
I just did an interview with Dr Jay probably a
month ago, and I still I still thanked him for
that moment from two thousand and he looked like it.
(35:26):
I was like, you don't understand. I grew up as
a doctor Jay fan. He was my hero. He's he's
He's who I looked up to as a as a
basketball player in a role model, and and just the
way he carried himself, how how he played the game,
accomplishing what I want to complicit the dunk contest, holding
up that trophy, and it's just so a surreal moment
shaking Davis Third's hand and holding the trophy. I practiced
(35:48):
all of this, like I promise you. You know it's
probably it could be a polaroid. And I sound old
when I say that, but that's what was around of
me holding up practicing it because I had to see.
I stood in the mirror like practice and shaking ahead
like the weirdest thing. So when I'm shaking, it just
felt like I've done this eight thousand times before, just
not with the real person. David Sterns Where you rest
in peace? Hurd rock Tilla Store of ninety to win
(36:14):
the NBA dot Com Slam Dun two thousand Championships. That
ain't it work? Till Way Champion of Center Court is
NBA Commissioner. Slam Dunk Competition has made us return in
a big way. Favorite Carter of the Toronto Raptors. Coming
through was like some sational So after I'm walking off
(36:36):
and looking at my two friends and then and they're
going bananas because of all of what's happened earlier today
about us getting there and me not feeling confident, you know,
about not being able to practice and not gonna put
off my best performance. So walking up seeing them and there,
you know, we're trying to get him to the back
in Golden State, you know the old arena when you
(36:57):
walked at that curtain going to the back with black
rooms are Soon as I opened the curtain holding my trophy,
opened the curtain, it was just like I opened the
gates to Heaven. Dr J is standing right there. He's
standing right there. Unbelievable form and young man, thanks, thank
thank you. I'm like if somebody said it just felt
(37:18):
like it was set up to be that way. So
after all of that night, that all that moment and
everything that took place, and you know it's over because
I'm feeling good, trying to enjoy the moment. Dr Jay's
right there, like bring it in, bringing in and bring
a hug. And then I said, do you mind taking
a picture of the trophy. He's like yeah. I was like,
you know, oh man, So he took a picture with
me with the trophy and it's just cool. And he
(37:39):
actually took a picture of my voice or the four US.
It's just it was just an unbelievable moment that they
they'll never forget that. I never forget it. Like I said,
it always makes me smile and feels good to this
day and every time I see him, I still think
him like it was just you know, he didn't have
to do it. He it was enough, honestly if he
said no, and he just shook my hand and congratulated
(38:00):
first person literally not off the court, you know, after
all of the media, like alone time, first person I
see it was Dr J, Like, come on, man, doesn't
it doesn't get me better. The post competition VC certainly
sounded excited about seeing Dr J. It feels good. It
feels good. Um, I mean I just got the chance
to talk to Dr J, Sam Slam Dunk Champion in
(38:22):
in Dunton Legendar. I mean it feels good. I know,
I'm not in there and their rankings yet, but hey,
this is mine, this is mine. What do you think
is the next challenge for dunkers? You're seeing the evolution now,
believe it or not. It's like what could be done? Okay,
you don't see that many dunks that you haven't seen before,
(38:42):
but you're seeing more guys doing these dunks. It used
to be only a few guys. You can only think
of old man when you said reverse three sixty women
or whatever. When you think of windmills in the game,
you say, okay, there's only such such such such five
guys stop the caing more. How many dunks in the
last month of the two months have you seen guys
going between the legs in game on the fast break
(39:04):
over topping, Like there's like two or three guys did
it in the game, Grider did it in the dunk contest.
These guys are doing it in games, so that that
is now the evolution, Like you're seeing these guys just
more leapers and got guys who who who? Who's just
it's easy. You're seeing kids in middle school doing this
dunk now, like it's just what's in the food now?
I don't I mean tell me, tell me, please me.
(39:24):
You know, maybe I need to eat it so I
can still do it. But I think at some point
you may even have to raise the rim for the
dunk contest. It's because guys are gonna it's gonna be
so easy. I think that would be the next challenge.
I mean, they can find maybe it goes to ten
of the half and guys are dunking onto the half
of thems and just see what you could do, because
now it's dunking on ten is just like these duntors
(39:46):
dunking on nine feet. It's just so easy. So let's
go to the next level. You can still do your
same dunks dunking on ten feet and people won't appreciate
ten and a half feet until you walk up into
the rim and you look up and you see exactly
how that really is while still trying to do some
of these dunks. That I think that's kind of the
next day you put challenge these guys to to that level.
(40:08):
That will give the dunk contest a little spark, just
because I mean, you're gonna see some of these great
leaper doing something, but you're gonna see guys starting to
do go between the legs twice. You're already seeing people
attempting to do that. Now on social media, there's some
there's some dunkers who are not in the NBA who
are doing some amazing stuff, like guys are putting two
arms in the rim, which it's funny. I try. You
(40:33):
definitely should. So in high school I used to try
to put my elbow on the rim. So I used
to jump in high school, put both elbows in the
rim and then dunk it. Jump up the elbows and
dunk it. And I thought about yeah, so I tried.
That was one cause I tell you could touch the
top of backboard of high school. So I was able
to do that. And that's one of the dunks that
(40:54):
I thought about doing as the final dunk as well.
But I wasn't sure if I could put it all,
I could get my I you know, I don't think
I was. I was jumping higher at that thinking I
can't around that. But high school is it was my
my glory days as far as leaping, because I was
able to jump, I was able touch the top of
the backboard, like, oh man, that your glory days. I mean,
(41:17):
that's it doesn't even jumping like I was I was,
I was one eight five. How are you jumping? I
don't know. That's one thing I always get asked about
my vertical. What was your vertical at your at your height?
I got shot so at the combine, I'm jumping, hitting
you know, the things and knocking them down, and it
(41:38):
was like, all right, you know, it's only a few
guys there or whatever. And then you know, people got
started getting the april. Look where he is now, so
more people start coming out of watching more people and
I get shot. I get and I was like, I'm
good here. So I never I never. I never did
my max jump because I just, you know, you start
seeing all these big old crowds, and I was like,
(41:58):
you'll see it when I play. Only time I tried
to show off is when I was there's thirty nine nine.
I went to P three in San Diego and it
was a side by side picture of me and Andrew Wiggins,
and I think Andrew Wiggins was eighteen at the time,
like eighto night to young, and I'm trying to show
the a I'm thirty nine but I could still get
up there, and it's a it's a I mean, look,
(42:19):
it's a it's it's called Peter. And they compared my
vertical with with with his, I mean, because he was
one of the ones that was there and it was
That was a cool feeling to know that at that
age I could still How did it compare? Was it
the same saying I was up there? So I was
about the same above you were above Now you're being
shot again. I don't remember. I just know it was close. VC,
(42:41):
you are an icon, the greatest dunker of all time.
You can't thank you enough for all these memories and
all your time my pleasure. Thanks for having It's always
great talking about it always great. NBA Flashback is a
production of I Heart Radio and the NBA. For more
podcast from Heart Radio, visit the I Heart Radio app,
(43:02):
Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. H
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