He was so good, Red Auerbach saw him play in a schoolyard game and invited him to camp with the Celtics. But listen to Wilt. City, and a member of the Parade Magazine All-America Team. Before the game, English and I went back and forth. Its not just his personality that gets attention, though; hes been an NBA Champion in 2013, participated in the Slam Dunk Contest twice, and his vertical leap measures in at a not-too-shabby 37 inches. With an average height of 64, Arizin had fantastic ball handling skills, played a mean defense, and had some seriously bouncy feet. An influential figure on the game at large, Julius Erving won a 1983 NBA title in Philadelphia and was the face of the ABA as well. He ran out of his house and to the hoop at St. Rose of Lima grammar school, three blocks away. It looked like the half-court line was around a mile and a half away, Cunningham said. He walked into the gym one morning and there was a TV crew set up. No man, I dont believe, has been up that far., With Chamberlain over 50--years of age, not points per game--Nissalke feels safe in saying, That would be the ultimate challenge: Bet any amount of money, and you wouldnt find anyone who could come close to the top of the board.. He stood below the basket, no run, just jumped straight up with his arms at his sides, flipped his head sideways and dunked his cap.. So much has been written and said about Julius Erving over the years that i, Allen, Marcus 1960 See, for example, Jan Hubbard, ed., The Official NBA Basketball Encyclopedia, 3d ed. Dunk is cheap. Jerry West could get up. On December 20, 1970, Cunningham scored 31 points and grabbed a career-high 27 rebounds en route to a 134132 road win over the Portland Trail Blazers. That said, you can see his leaping ability when he takes off. Then he goes into coaching and, percentage-wise, becomes one of the best ever. Throughout his life, Cunningham excelled at all aspects of the game he loved. The color barrier and the sex barrier of slam-dunk have fallen: Many white guys and a few women can dunk. Billy Cunningham found success as a coach in the NBA after his playing days were through. As a rebounder and jump shooter he averaged 18.5 ppg and 7.3 rpg. Thunder Dan has more than made friends with the rim and earned his name! [8] During his tenure, the team featured Bobby Jones, Maurice Cheeks, Andrew Toney, Moses Malone, and Julius Erving. Thompson was on a par with Erving but after five great NBA seasons, his career hit a quick decline, caused in part by cocaine problems. Small Forward and Power Forward Every time Gus slam-dunked at home, the recorded sound of a rifle shot would whistle through the arena. 22 Feb. 2023 . He succeeded Gene Shue as head coach of the 24 76ers on November 4, 1977. Billy Cunningham averaged 21.2 points, 10.4 rebounds, and 4.3 assists per game. In 1987, the NBA Board of Governors awarded the group an expansion franchise to begin play in 1988-89 and thus the Miami Heat was born. He did prefer ball to hockey, after all. Theres no greater feeling than going up in a crowd, over guys a foot taller., Tommy (the Hawk) Hawkins said: If you can think about Peter Pan, thats the feeling. Theyll all be going through and over their mountainous opponents in no time! Until recently, nobody ever tried to keep track of dunks on any league-wide scale. His standing vertical was 37.5 inches. It doesnt take a detective to see these were obviously a foreshadowing of plays to come. And the problem these days is inflation. Some are best at soaring up for a three-pointer, some rock at the jump shots, some can perform slam dunks like nobodys business, and they all work their butts off to prove that they belong in this black mans sport. Close to the superleaper class in Kupchaks book, but a shade short, are Charles Barkley, Larry Nance, Orlando Woolridge, Roy Hinson, Tom Chambers and Akeem Olajuwon. They are enshrined in a mythical Museum of Leap. Right now Johnson is red-shirting at ASU. Many of the great leapers of that era inhabited the fringes of reality as we know it. The Grizzlies say their star guard will be away from the team for 'at least' the next 2 games. Use without license or authorization is expressly prohibited. In 1966 Cunningham William John Cunningham (born June 3, 1943) is an American former professional basketball player and coach, who was nicknamed the Kangaroo Kid for his leaping and record-setting rebounding abilities. He was a competitor, said Lewis Schaffel, one of Cunninghams partners in the Miami Heat who grew up with him in Brooklyn. It takes a lot more to get people excited now, said Chris Wallace, editor of the Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook. Hed shoot it short and Joe and I would leap up and shake hands over the basket.. Ive never felt another feeling like it, being able to go up in the air, over someone much bigger, and stay up there. After that season, Cunningham jumped from the NBA to the ABA with the Carolina Cougars. Michael Jordan has stopped just short of holding the ball in his mouth, uncoiling his tongue in mid-flight and inventing the Anteater Slam. Billy Cunningham wasnt nicknamed the Kangaroo Kid because he had a pouch. White started five games, but was mostly a mop-up guy, then was injured and finished his career in a pro league in Mexico. If accurate, that would have put him as the 10th-highest max vertical leaper (not standing, but with a short running start) in the NBA Draft, just behind Grayson Allen's number of 40.5 inches. And the man has pulled out some pretty crazy surprise dunks. Griffin has been one of the most electrifying dunkers in the NBA for the past eight years. In Cunninghams debut year the team went 55-27 and won the Atlantic Division before losing to eventual-champion Washington in the Eastern Conference finals. During one game he went THROUGH and OVER the 77 Manute Bol of the Golden State Warriors to ALMOST score. The 1984-85 season, Cunninghams last as coach, featured the addition of rookie Charles Barkley to the team. billy cunningham vertical jump. As an owner and commentator, he also made a favorable impression. Hes earned a list of nicknames, including LaVine The Machine as well as being part of the Bounce Brothers duo with Minnesota Timerwolves teammate Andrew Wiggins. When Dominique (the Human Highlight Film) Wilkins was in college, a 5-9 laundry man named Leroy Nowells would saunter into the Georgia gym and match slams with Wilkins. In the far-up Land of Leap, the unit of currency is the dunk. Cunningham has been on 50,000-watt radio station 700 WLW for over 30 years, beginning in 1983. He holds the second-best regular-season winning percentage in league history of .698 (only Phil Jackson is ahead of him). Billy Cunningham, Actor: You've Got to Walk It Like You Talk It or You'll Lose That Beat. Part of Dr. Js legend is the same as the mystique of a gunfighter coming into town, Costas said. Sura strutted and slammed his stuff in both the 1997 Slam Dunk Competition and the All Star Weekend, and his jumps were recorded to be about 39 inches. Latrell Sprewell, a rising NBA star, would be known more for his off-court antics than his bas, Erving, Julius 1950 Could this be Gods way of telling us its time to raise the hoop? Dont send letters, leapers. The SPORTS REFERENCE and STATHEAD trademarks are owned exclusively by Sports Reference LLC. They were like jazz musicians in sneakers. the official stats partner of the NBA, NHL and MLB. Claims of sergeants in the mid- and high 40s are common. After acquiring the talented Moses Malone for the 19821983 season, Philadelphia won sixty-five regular season games and then the league championship, losing one of thirteen play-off games. David came the closest, Kupchak said. Billy can jump up to 29-31 inches (vertical leap). I was phoning the Charlotte Hornets to reach David (Skywalker) Thompson, who now works in the teams front office, when a female secretary said: Ive only seen two players who did things that I watched and I didnt believe--David, and Michael Jordan. Chamberlain remembers other playground legends: Boy named Helicopter (real name: Herman Knowings) had incredible wingspan. In our museum of hoop flight, there is a special wing for the charter members, the dinosaurs of dunk. 1943 In 1961, his senior year, Cunningham led his team to the city championship and was a high school All-American. Curtis Bunn, a 6-1 reporter for Newsday, has a very decent repertoire of slams. The 6-2 product of the Harlem slums could dunk, catch the ball with his opposite hand and dunk it again, all in the same leap. . They asked him to show how high he could jump, so with no warmup of any kind, in his school clothes, Joey stood there, jumped up and put his chin on the rim. Chamberlain was asked, werent there any great leapers of the white persuasion? He was a consummate team player, and he used the same unifying concept and enthusiasm to become a successful head coach. His list of accolades from his time at the University of North Carolina is probably as long as his legs (hes 67, in case youre wondering), which is not surprising since anybody with the nickname Kangaroo Kid must have worked pretty hard and jumped pretty high to earn it. He cant even walk.. Billy Cunningham weighed 210 lbs (95 kg) when playing. He cant quite jump out of the gym, but he has come close to jumping out of a bar or two. But the final came down to David Thompson vs. Julius Erving--the Skywalker vs. the Doctor. Joey walked up to the wall, one foot planted, no rocking, jumped up and missed the nail. Its almost like you were floating, like there was no such thing as gravity. Can the old Elevator still ascend? Actually he was a 62% free throw shooter, which is poor except in comparison to his 51% as a pro. Cunningham would later rejoin the CBS broadcast team starting with the 198586 season, again often paired with Musburger, covering both the NBA as well as NCAA men's college basketball for the network. As a player and then a coach for the Philadelphia 76ers, he was part of two NBA championship teams. The ABA folded after that season, but the slam-off was such a hit with the media that the concept was eventually ripped off by the NBA. He rises to the highest level of broadcasting. To think that we can thank a bunch of sweaty dancers for this fundamental basketball maneuver. Do you have a sports website? You get it. Dawkins named it, Chocolate Thunder Flying, Robinzine Crying, Teeth Shaking, Glass Breaking, Rump Roasting, Bun Toasting, Wham, Bam, Glass Breaker, I Am Jam.. Against Tulane University on 10 December 1964, he set a UNC record by scoring forty-eight points. The following season, with the ABAs future in jeopardy, Cunningham returned to the 76ers. All rights reserved. When I went to Kansas, they had a 12-foot basket in the gym, because Dr. Phog Allen was advocating the 12-foot basket. Destined to become one of the first of basketball's most talented big men, as a young man George Mikan, Sprewell, Latrell 1970 That swagger had to come from somewhere. A sample: In Your Face Disgrace, Sexophonic Turbo Delight, Hammer of Thor, and Yo Mamma. He led the Cougars to the best record in the league and was selected to the All-ABA First Team and was named the ABA MVP. Billy Cunningham of the Philadelphia 76ers shoots a jump shot against the Boston Celtics during a game played in 1968 at the Boston Garden in Boston,. As the NBA celebrates it's 75th Anniversary Season, get to know dozens of star players who helped make the NBA what it is today. In 1972-73, he was named the Most Valuable Player of the American Basketball Association and he scored 18 points in the ABA All-Star Game. His man takes him into the key, gives a head fake and sends Jackie skyward. News on all your favorite celebs, reality TV, and movies. If youve got a good imagination, imagine yourself wearing a baseball cap, and leaping so high, arms at your side, that you flick your head sideways and dunk your cap. They drove a new nail in for Joey, measured it at 11-7 1/2. Find out more. In his basketball uniform and shoes, with a short, unmeasured run-up, he soared over seven feet. As a sophomore, with as little work, he improved to 7-5 7/8. Sure, Casper and friends tend to dominate less vertically challenging sports like golf, hockey, and tennis, but they have also held their own on the floorboards. NBA.com is part of Warner Media, LLCs Turner Sports & Entertainment Digital Network, *Translations are limited to select pages, NBA Legends: Profiling the league's greats, Brooks suspended after receiving 16th technical foul, Grizzlies' Clarke (torn achilles) out indefinitely, Ja will be away from team for 'at least' 2 games, Ex-NBA player Morrow facing assault charges, Durant passes 'Big O' for 13th in career points, NBA Fantasy: Under-the-radar additions for playoffs. He also became an NBA broadcaster on national television and later a part-owner of the Miami Heat. By word of mouth, you would get to know who the best dunkers were, and by the end of the season it was pretty much agreed the best two were a Portland guy named Claude English and me. Then theres Jerry Mr. He coached eight years with 76ers, never finishing lower than second place in the Atlantic and posted a career record of 454-196 (.698). He led Philadelphia to the playoffs in every year as coach, and advanced to the NBA Finals 3 times, in the 197980, 198182 and 198283 seasons.
Matt Martinez Miami,
Articles B
