Getty Zach LaVine, Bulls
Recently, Chicago Bulls superstar Zach LaVine went on The Draymond Green Show, where he discussed a hypothetical NBA dunk contest between himself, Vince Carter, Kobe Bryant, and Michael Jordan.
LaVine, a two-time slam dunk champion, believed he and Carter would find themselves in the finals, and that Carter would ultimately win.
‘I Think Vince Might Take Me’
LaVine kept it honest, arguing why the 2000 dunk champ would beat him in the final round.
“I think Vince might take me,” LaVine said. “Vince came with some stuff.”
LaVine did hedge on his bet, saying “It depends on who makes the first dunk,” suggesting the door would be open for him to win it.
Furthermore, LaVine broke down what would happen in the hypothetical dunk contest, breaking down his competitors.
“Oh wow. A lot of people wouldn’t put Kobe in there, but Kobe was one hell of a dunker,” the Bulls guard argued about the late Laker, who won a slam dunk crown in 1997.
As for Jordan, LaVine didn’t hesitate. “I mean, MJ is going to get the biggest fan reaction,” he said about Jordan, who won the contest in 1987 and 1988.
Carter, one of the most dominating dunkers ever, also had LaVine’s immediate respect.
“Vince is gonna come with the most, I would say, creative,” he argued.
“I think it’s going to be me and Vince in the final, but I think Vince might take me”.
(Dunk discussion starts at 4:39)
Looking Back at the Candidates
LaVine presents a very likely outcome here. During Jordan’s days, dunks weren’t as creative as today. In the video, Green and LaVine note players didn’t even really go between the legs before Bryant did it in 1997.
Bryant, despite winning the award, wasn’t necessarily a player who put a ton of emphasis or time into the raw creativity of his dunks. Most of Bryant’s throw-downs over the course of his career were very situational, which might not help him a ton against the likes of LaVine and Carter.
Simply by having more moves in their arsenal, it stands to reason that Carter and LaVine would be the last two standing.
Carter, ever the power-dunker, could get the crowd going to hammering down dunks with authority, whereas LaVine is more about finesse and in-air movement.
LaVine, along with Aaron Gordon, spearheaded what many consider the best dunk contest ever six years, when they went toe-to-toe, displaying athletic ability and creativity that would be tough for even Carter to mimic.
At the end of it, it really comes down to eras. Jordan excelled in the 80’s, where dunks were more conservative and scaled back. Bryant launched the first hint of a dunk evolution in 1997, which would be completed by Carter three years later.
16 years later, it was time to scale up the ideas and LaVine entered that era ready to start something new, due in large part to the pioneers before him.
You can watch the full episode of The Draymond Green Show right here below: