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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
Sport
Rich Tenorio

Magic in the air: how the slam dunk evolved alongside basketball

Basketball Mac McClung Michael Jordan NCAA Julius Erving ABA Lew Alcindor NBA NC State UCLA
Robert Parish of the Boston Celtics goes up for a slam dunk against the New York Knicks in 1991.
Robert Parish of the Boston Celtics goes up for a slam dunk against the New York Knicks in 1991. Photograph: Nathaniel S Butler/NBAE/Getty Images

You can still see the moment online, 42 years later: The Philadelphia 76ers’ Julius Erving pulling off his January 1983 “rock the cradle” dunk against the Los Angeles Lakers. Yes, Dr. J cradles the ball in his arm as he goes airborne and slams it home over the Lakers’ Michael Cooper.

“It’s the greatest dunk of all time,” says Philadelphia Inquirer sports columnist Mike Sielski.

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