With the death of Chocolate Thunder, Daryl Dawkins, Dr. Funkenstein himself … we think about who was the best Dunker in Denver Nuggets history?
David Thompson "Skywalker"
If Daryl Dawkins was Dr. Dunkenstein for his rim-destroying dunks, then the Nuggets own David "Skywalker" Thompson should be known as Count Dunkula. Flying high for one season in the colorful ABA, Thompson made his name in the first ever Slam Dunk Contest at halftime of the ABA All Star Game. facing off against another tremendous Dunker, Dr. J Julius Erving. While Skywalker lost due to Dr. J's incredible free throw line dunk … it was Thompsons acrobatic 360 dunk that forced Erving into something magical.
Thompson would continue his high flying ways in the NBA where he became a huge star with the biggest contract of anyone in team sports history. Check out the highlight reel below (Remember he was listed at 6'4" but in reality he was closer to 6'2")
Robert Pack “Packman”
The 1980’s Nuggets didn’t dunk. One of the reasons those great Nuggets teams are so overlooked (including their own star Alex English) is that they weren’t flashy. English was the leading scorer of the 80’s and did it all with dunking maybe a handful of times. It wasn’t until the arrival of Robert Pack that the Nuggets really regained their dunking footing that they had under Thompson.
Packman was small (listed at 6'2 … but lets not kid ourselves, he was closer to 6' even) and he would explode to the rim. His dunks were violent and spectacular. Who can forget his mega dunk over Shawn Kemp in the 1994 playoffs? Packman was fantastic and thrilled Nuggets fans with his high flying dunks
LaPhonso Ellis "The Phonz"
Along with Pack, LaPhonso Ellis was part of the high flying mid-1990’s Nuggets. Phonz was one of my favorite Nuggets dunkers because he would do this thing where he curled his legs up and hang on the rim. It was great. Of course I’m a bit biased when it comes to Phonz because he was one of my favorite Nuggets of all time (right behind Alex English). Phonz, Pack, Mahmoud Abdul Rauf and Dikembe Mutombo were all part of an exciting Nuggets core that for a brief moment thrilled the state of Colorado
Antonio McDyess “Dice”
Antonio McDyess was a freakishly athletic power forward with a virtually unstoppable turn around baseline jumper. By 2001 his star was on the rise along with an arsenal of rim-rocking thunder dunks that was on NBA highlight reels all over the country. It's a shame that the Nuggets weren't able to take better advantage of Dice's rising star. In his two stints in Denver he improved every year and became such a force. His Dunks were amazing
(at 1:10 of this video here McDyess had the greatest defense to offense sequence of his career with a big time block on Dennis Scott and a face annihilating dunk on the other end)
J.R. Smith “Smitty”, “Yung Money”, “Earl”
J.R. Smith had a handfull of amazing dunks interspersed with head-scratching brain farts. One such dunk came against the San Antonio Spurs in Carmelo Anthony’s final year with the Nuggets. The “We just saw a man fly!!” (thanks Kevin Harlan) dunk
Who is your favorite dunker in Nuggets history?
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