3. One-Handed Throwdown vs. Nets
Crime Date: February 5, 2013
Scene of the Crime: Barclays Center, Brooklyn, NY
Victim(s): Gerald Wallace aka Crash, Kris Humphries
Accomplice(s): None
Eyewitness Statement:
DUNKS: Honorable Mentions | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1
There was desperation in the air. The Lakers were trying to turn their season around and make a playoff push. Furthermore, they were trying to hold on to a game they led by double-digits in the first half.
Tied at 80, Kobe had the ball above the three-point line as Gerald Wallace, one of the better defenders in the NBA for years, stood in front of him. Kobe would drive by Wallace and rise up as Kris Humphries offered resistance at the rim.
Neither Humphries or Wallace could do anything as Kobe slammed it down through both of their arms as the Brooklyn crowd roared in approval of Bryant’s throwback jam.
It was almost unfair as the 34-year-old Bryant turned back the clock with authority. But this dunk was so special because people had wondered whether Kobe could still play at the level he had in previous years.
To do this over two people at his age was making a statement that Kobe Bryant wasn’t going anywhere, anytime soon.