Iconic Warriors Dunk Tournament: #3 Steph on Lowry vs #14 Webber on Barkley; & open thread

Purely scientific investigation

Most Iconic Warriors Dunk Tournament

The question is simple: What is the most iconic Warriors dunk?

To settle this extremely important matter, we will have a straight single elimination bracket tournament. You might say, wait isn’t this just an excuse to rewatch fantastic dunks? Of course not, this is purely for science.

DNHQ commenters nominated a number of dunks. I filtered out 16 based on whether I could find an official NBA or ESPN YouTube video about the play. The reasoning is simple: How iconic can a play be if it doesn’t have its own video?

I considered determining the seeding using the same strategy as NCAA March Madness Committees — “pulling it out of my butt” — but I opted to seed the plays based on the number of views the official video had. Humans must make the final decision. Humans like you.

I suggest for this very scientific process that you carefully view each dunk and put the volume on loud.

#3 Steph angry dunk on Lowry

#14 Webber behind the back dunk on Barkley

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Vote

To vote, you can use the Substack poll here or write a comment including exactly one hashtag #THREE or #FOURTEEN. Comment votes with explanation are worth 10 poll votes.

Results of Last Vote

The weighted results of last vote.

• 93% — #4 Wiggins on KAT

• 6% — #13 Jordan Bell self-alley-oop

I fudged the rules with this round. I could not actually find a proper NBA or ESPN video just about the Wiggins on KAT dunk. But given that Steph and others have referred specifically to the KAT dunk, I had to include it. (I also fudged the rules with #14, as I couldn’t find an official NBA/ESPN video about the Webber dunk. But I figure it counts that Nike made one of the greatest ads in history about that dunk.)

Iconic Warriors Dunk Tournament: #4 Wiggins…

they dunk, we vote

• mDuo13 (17 ♡):

  I love the Jordan Bell dunk, I really do. You gotta respect the swagger that kid brought to the court after being picked up for "cash considerations" because the Bulls saw no one they liked that late in the draft. It's certainly showboating in a blowout game, but apparently some people in the NBA have different standards for that than I do, based on the criticism Bell faced for that one. The fact that it was an and-1 opportunity is even better! Unfortunately we already know where the Jordan Bell story goes after this and it only serves to highlight the problems: the showboating recalls the immaturity that caused him to be dropped, the missed free throw resembles the mid-range jumper that never materialized, the garbage time where it occurred reminds us Bell wouldn't get much beyond that even in subsequent seasons.

  But the Wiggins dunk is gonna be the runaway winner this round and it deserves it. Let me count the reasons.

  First, the backstory: the narrative of Wiggins' career ("worst contract in the NBA"), the infamous blowup with Jimmy Butler (specifically, being mad that Wiggins and KAT didn't show the dedication to put their talent to use), the All-Star consideration he finally earned while playing for GSW, and even the subsequent slump and the questions that came up. This one felt like Andrew exorcising his demons by announcing to the whole world that he was not like Towns, content to make bank by half-assing his opportunities in the frozen wastes of the north (disclaimer, the Twin Cities area is actually super nice outside of peak winter, I recommend a visit). This Wiggins was here to take names and win games, something he did with a vengeance.

  Second, the dunk itself: the insane hangtime, the direct body contact with the defender, the savageness of the flush. It's a kinetic work of art.

  Third, the immediate reaction. KD's look following the Bell dunk was good, but Iguodala and GP2 losing their minds after the Wiggs one is even better.

  And #FOUR, the aftermath: Steph Curry joked(?) about texting Wiggins the photo of this dunk every day to motivate him; which was probably not needed... but clearly this play signified how to unlock the best version of Maple Jordan. And someone took that lesson, and applied it to the 16 most important games of the year, leading to shockingly stellar play, at least one other dunk also in this competition, and a championship. The legacy of this dunk will hang in the rafters of Chase Center.

  Not bad, eh?

• Night Night (8 ♡):

  #FOUR

  Said it before, said it again: The Timberwolves traded 5 players and 5 picks just to get Gobert...just to get someone to keep Wiggins from dunking all over KAT's overhyped dome. That's how iconic the Wiggins dunk was, and is. It's the dunk that blew up the Timberwolves roster.

  And someone here kindly reminded us that Wiggins is gonna dunk all over Gobert, too:

• Post-dunk ball bouncing off Gobert's shocked face.

  EDIT: This entire post and thread is actually Andrew Wiggins dunking all over Jordan Bell, in this dunk comparison. And I'm here for that, too.

• Trogdor (5 ♡):

  #THIRTEEN

  I know, surprised myself a bit with that one, too!

  Maybe it's because 13 is my lucky number. Maybe it's because for some reason I have a soft spot for Jordan Bell. Maybe it's because the situation surrounding it was so unsportsmanlike that Kerr had to apologize for his second round draft pick rookie acting like he's the show time Lakers during garbage time.

  There's so much wrong with this dunk yet it feels so right!

  Whatever the reason, I'm going against conventional wisdom on this one and ringing the Bell.

• Shimmy (5 ♡):

  Wiggins dunk for sure! This isnt even close. The history between wiggs and KAT, the hate the wiggins trade received, wiggs first allstar year, and the technical aspects of wiggins dunking OVER KAT vs Bell ooping to himself w no defenders. Also I dont have any emotional connection to Bell. Watching wiggins dunk on Kat makes my heart soar.