What if the NBA Disallowed Dunking?

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What if the NBA Disallowed Dunking?

Postby John-John Joe on Tue Sep 14, 2004 4:17 pm

I caught an old interview with Bob Cousy the other night (Man, was he talented!) and he was talking about how he wasn't a big fan of dunking. Then I got to thinking, what if the NBA banned it for the upcoming season?

How would it affect the game? Better/Worse? Would ratings or popularity plummet? Would it affect how much you personally continue to watch? How would it affect a Shaquille O'Neal or a Darius Miles? How would it affect scoring? I'm interested in hearing the views of the NLSC community....
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Postby Andrew on Tue Sep 14, 2004 5:08 pm

Beyond being an entertaining way of scoring, it's also a high percentage shot. Layups are more easily fumbled or altered by a crowd in the paint. Big men could still shoot high percentages as they would have the size to muscle the ball up and drop it in the basket without touching the rim. Shooting percentages might take a bit of a dip to begin with but seeing as players would be encouraged to develop reliable jumpshots and post moves.

In that regard, I guess you could say it's a good idea. However, I wouldn't like to see it happen.

Dunking is not the most important facet of the game, but dunks are very entertaining. They are a high percentage shot that allow players to take advantage of their athleticism, they're crowd pleasing and they can influence momentum.

Most importantly, dunking represents two ideals that make basketball my favourite sport - freedom of expression and an unrestricted game. Other sports have little restrictions on the way goals can be scored, something that basketball has but not to the same degree. The dunk is an emphatic means of defining a player's character.

Some might argue that's where the problem in today's game lies, but has the popularity of the dunk really ruined the game? Is it more destructive than the ballhandling wizardry of Bob Cousy and Magic Johnson? Their highlight reels could just as easily influence future point guards to work on fancy passes and dribble moves rather than mastering the fundamentals just the same as Dr J and MJ's slams.

Furthermore, players who are simply athletes who can pull off flashy dunks are recognised as such. The Harold Miners and Terence Stansburys are admired for their dunking prowess but there is no illusion when it comes to their complete games. Neither saw the PT worthy of much better players. The infatuation with the dunk might encourage some players to simply become occasional highlight reel participants, but ultimately those players are recognised for what they are and are not considered top players.

Banning the dunk in the NBA having kept it legal for more than half a century would be a change for the worse.
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Postby Matthew on Tue Sep 14, 2004 5:11 pm

It would be horrible. The skills of the game would go up (think skyhook, kareem developed that becuase they banned dunking in college), but man, i love seeing dunks. Darius Miles would be out of the nba though, so i guess theres a positive.
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Postby Jowe on Tue Sep 14, 2004 10:02 pm

it would be worse in the shortterm,
but good for the game in the longterm.
the shooters would dominate ofcoarse, you'd see the shooters like peja, ray allen being mvps.

The drafting of flashy players would stop, instead players who have good fundamentals would be drafted. :)
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Postby Arcane on Tue Sep 14, 2004 10:15 pm

it would make the game boring as hell like soccer boring really it be like cricket being told u cant hit a six or hit a home run in baseball and so on it basically be like playin back in the 40's.
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Postby cklitsie on Tue Sep 14, 2004 10:21 pm

its would be tight as hell! europeans would have even bigger chances to make it into the league and much more people would recognize defense as a spectacular part of the game too
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Postby Matt on Tue Sep 14, 2004 10:24 pm

I thnk this would affect the big guys more than the smaller ones.

First off, dunking is a fundamental part of the game. Everyone who CAN dunk SHOULD dunk. It's almost a guaranteed 2 points which the chance to go for a 3rd point on many occasions. Layups can be easily stopped from dropping in.

The biggest affected would be Shaq. If Shaq couldnt dunk, he'd get hacked real bad and be forced to earn points from the FT line. This would essentially take away his biggest strength.....his ability to finish around the basket. His FG% would take some sort of dip as would his points (much to the relief of opponents). Others affected would be guys that clean up on offensive boards such as Ben Wallace.

As far as small guys go, the impact would be less on them. I think big guys tend to do more dunks. Perhaps FG% would drop, we could also see an increase in goal tending calls and an increase in blocked shots which would subsequently result in a drop in points. We'd have less 3 point plays

I wonder how this would affect a duo of say Kidd-Martin or Kidd-Jefferson where alley-oops ending in dunks are normal? Perhaps less assists for Kidd? Shaq is also a frequent receiver of alleyoops.

Bottom line: dunking is a critical part of the game and should not be banned
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Postby allamerican08 on Tue Sep 14, 2004 10:39 pm

The reason Dunkig is such a big part of the game is coz it doesnt happen very often. If it does, it will loose its image. Just like a lay-up did. Layup is probly one of the hardest shots in the game. You have to time the though perfectly, and you usualy go very fast and strong twards the basket, then u have to quickly change you speed and stregth to get the ball down softly. And thats not including anyone playing D.
Look at those streetball tapes, a dunk doesnt seem to excite me anymore, bocause it occures at every 2ns or 3rd trip down the floor. Althouh it does take surtain amount of skill and athletic ability to put downa dunk, but lets face it, the less we see of it, the more we want!

And dont be saying that Dmile will be out of NBA is the Dunk was banned. No ONE stays in the NBA for their dunking alone. D-mile has MANY other skills which NBA teams need.
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Postby Sauru on Tue Sep 14, 2004 11:03 pm

it was funny when they banned the dunk in college cause of kareem. the guy was so damn good they tried to even out the playing field by takeing away his main weapon. well it seems they only helped him because, since he could not dunk he went and learned that sky hook. still i forget how long the ban was in effect for.
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Postby J@3 on Tue Sep 14, 2004 11:16 pm

If the dunk was banned the NBA would become a more marketable version of the NBL
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Postby Arcane on Tue Sep 14, 2004 11:26 pm

Jae™ wrote:If the dunk was banned the NBA would become a more marketable version of the NBL


i agree did u read the nbl voting thing they did freeman #1 dunker sam mckinnon (dont care how its spelt) number 2 i thought sm was washed for showtime dunkin after his injury a few years ago
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Postby J@3 on Tue Sep 14, 2004 11:29 pm

Anyone in the NBL who can throw down a half decent two hander is considered a human highlight reel. Mackinnon's still getting votes in those things because most Australian basketball fans dont seem to know, well, anything.
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Postby Arcane on Tue Sep 14, 2004 11:33 pm

it was votes by nbl players i forgot to add not fans but u r right about the fan thing
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Postby . on Wed Sep 15, 2004 6:24 am

NBA - Dunks = WNBA
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Postby NNpF on Wed Sep 15, 2004 7:48 am

As far as small guys go, the impact would be less on them. I think big guys tend to do more dunks.


:roll: ...You think?

Anyways, dunking is a huge part of the game and can bring energy to a team and the crowd. Some guys who are known for their huge dunks would slowly drift away from popularity, big men would lose a big offensive weapon they have (not all of them but...). If dunking was taken out of the NBA then ratings would drop and they would start losing money. As much as I love the game, without the dunks it makes the game a lot less interesting.
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Postby Ruff Ryder on Wed Sep 15, 2004 11:19 am

I think it would suck if there was no dunking! The game is getting slower paced as it is and people are getting more bored watching it but as long as dunking is there it still attracts people. How boring would it be to see Vince Carter on a breakaway and do a finger roll? The highlights wouldn't be as good either. The crowd wouldn't stand up and applaud and dance around crazy if you did a layup on a guy. If you dunk on a guy, it's the shit. :D
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Postby air gordon on Wed Sep 15, 2004 11:45 am

i don't think it will affect the big guys overall as much as some are saying.

imo most dunks from big men are a result of a dribble drive penetration or a great pass. and from what i've seen, the only post player with the ability to drop step and dunk with regularity is shaq - the rest of the halfway decent post men have good postgames that do not rely on dunkage. power players like amare stoudemire or shaq can still finish a shot downlow strong without dunking.

but then there are players like stromile swift & tyson chandler. i wonder what would happen to them?

and i strongly disagree with the statement of guards dominating the game. it wouldn't matter to the great post players if you removed dunking, they'd still be effective. if anything it would hurt the guard/forward types that rely on taking it to bucket. no dunking= easier for tall guys to block smaller guys. and if you took a little further, less penetration= less open perimeter looks
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Postby Sauru on Wed Sep 15, 2004 3:10 pm

Mr T wrote:NBA - Dunks = WNBA



well said
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Postby MaD_hAND1e on Wed Sep 15, 2004 5:53 pm

If the dunks were banned in the NBA, it would lose popularity among casual fans who know next to nothing about basketball. David Stern would never disallow dunks, because it would be risking too much financially. I think what would be better, would be to ban dunking in all other levels other than the NBA, such as high school, college, NBDL, CBA, etc. That way, young players could develop other fundamentals (like Kareem did).
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Postby Matt on Wed Sep 15, 2004 6:11 pm

^^^ that makes sense
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Postby Andrew on Wed Sep 15, 2004 6:19 pm

But where does it end? Should the backboard be removed to encourage precision shooting and deadly aim? The players who are only good for a couple of flashy dunks tend to fade away pretty quickly. Think Harold Miner or Terence Stansbury. If it wasn't for the dunk contest, would most younger fans even know of these guys?
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Postby Jowe on Wed Sep 15, 2004 9:40 pm

Andrew wrote:But where does it end? Should the backboard be removed to encourage precision shooting and deadly aim? The players who are only good for a couple of flashy dunks tend to fade away pretty quickly. Think Harold Miner or Terence Stansbury. If it wasn't for the dunk contest, would most younger fans even know of these guys?


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Postby . on Thu Sep 16, 2004 8:53 am

Imagine how happy Yao would be if they dissalowed the dunk, he would never be dunked on again.
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Postby Alcoholic on Thu Sep 16, 2004 11:06 am

I can imagine it now, Vince Carter on the fast break doing a 360 then just throwing it down through the net without ever touching the rim.. :lol: fancing layups.
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Postby twolvezfanfoever on Thu Sep 16, 2004 2:55 pm

I would wanna see some damn dunks.Its nice to see jumpshots.But not durin the whole game.Dunkin brings instant excitement to everybody.The NBA would be alrigt without it though
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