How many people remember Julius Erving dunking from the free-throw line? Not many right? But we all remember Michael Jordan dunking from the free-throw line. What is the difference? Erving lost the dunk contest in 1984. He was the original dunk contest champion, but lost in 1984.
Or how many remember Shawn Kemp one hand double clutch dunk, also from the free-throw line in 1991? The point is that winners are immortalized, while losers don’t have much to show off.
But sometimes, the dunks that didn’t win, are even better than the dunks that won the contest. Take Andre Iguodala for example. In 2006, he was the “people’s and fan’s winner”, as many believed he was snubbed when Nate Robinson won the title.
Even in the last dunk contest between Zach Lavine and Aaron Gordon, there were people that thought Gordon should have won.
The “Lost Dunks” documentary takes a look at some of the dunks that were great, but yet they didn’t bring a trophy. Featuring NBA players expressing their impression of the dunk, the documentary takes a look at dunks from the early years in the 80s, all up to the 2000s.
