John Starks was the epitome of New York basketball—hardnosed, gritty, and unafraid of any moment. Starks carved out a stellar 13-year career, eight of which he spent in New York, after going undrafted in the 1988 NBA Draft. One of Starks’ most unforgettable moments was his signature dunk on Horace Grant of the Chicago Bulls in Game 2 of the 1993 Eastern Conference Finals. It was a defining moment for Starks during that season, as he averaged 17.5 points and 5.5 assists, while also being named to the All-Defensive team.
Read the play
Starks explained that the explosive play happened because he read what the Bulls’ defense was doing.
“That particular play, ‘The Dunk’ came about because I saw BJ Armstrong cheating on the play during the game. And that particular play, when I came down, the Chicago Bulls like to trap you on the baseline. What I mean by that is like they used to send Bill Cartwright or whoever the big down on the baseline and the guard would get on my top side and pushed me to the pit,” Starks explained.
In that instance, though, Starks saw that Cartwright went high while his defender, BJ Armstrong was unaware that there was no help defense. It set the stage for one of the most iconic dunks in Knicks’ history.
Go strong
With the lane suddenly left open, Starks accelerated to the basket and saw Horace Grant, who was a terrific defender, manning the paint. In a split second, Starks elevated and threw down a thunderous left-handed slam. It was a moment in time made even better with Bulls legend Michael Jordan even trying to provide some help D, but to no avail.
“I knew I had to go on strong because Horace Grant [is] 6’8”, 260 and I just jumped as hard as I could and dunked it with my left hand and spun out and ran hustling back on defense because Chicago like to catch you sleeping,” he added.
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