If you play the game of basketball long enough, you’ll inevitably be put into a conundrum while playing defense under the rim. You could get dunked on at any moment. While folks will generally stress over what could be worse, getting crossed up or getting dunked on, one could happen any time you play defense on the perimeter, while the other is more circumstantial based on your defensive location.
Sure, Brandon Knight proved that a person’s ambition (and bad luck) could net a baptism at the rim. Yes, I remember Aaron Gordon dunking over that NBA mascot in the dunk contest. However, when NBA players come out and say you got to get out the way, I began to think if some of the all-time greats ever got dunked on. …
I remember that one time at LeBron James’ skills academy when LeBron might have found trouble from Jordan Crawford ...
I remember the only time Shaquille O’Neal remembers getting dunked, courtesy of Derrick Coleman …
I remember the behind-the-back dunk greatness Chris Webber gave Charles Barkley that one time …
This is just to name a few superstars who caught it. But ... what about Michael Jordan? Did he ever catch a dunk in the face?
* * * * *
Derek Smith’s story is one that many an overlooked second-round pick will easily recognize. Smith, one of Louisville’s top players from their 1980 NCAA Championship squad, was probably the fourth-most recognizable player on the roster.
There was Dr. Dunkenstein, a.k.a. Darrell Griffith and that 48-inch vertical of his, and there were the McCray brothers (Scooter and Rodney), who stand out. Yet, there was Smith, a solid 6-foot-6, 220-pound forward who was taken in the second round by the Golden State Warriors. A position change to power forward and 154 minutes later, he was cut.
The Los Angeles Clippers offered Smith an olive branch, and Smith delivered on a second opportunity with the chance to play guard. A 22.1 scoring average during the 1984-85 season drew the admiration of a certain rookie playing in Chicago, that being Michael Jordan. Many remember M.J.’s first encounter with Smith, when he made one of the most ridiculous layups of all time, but Jordan was cognizant of the battle between Smith and himself, and when M.J. returned to face the Clippers on the road, Air Jordan decided to make a personal point:
“Derek Smith is the most underrated player in the NBA," Jordon said. "I predict he’ll make the All-Star team this year. He’s got all the tools to be a great player, except for one.”
“Which one?” someone asked.
“He doesn’t have any media attention,” Jordan said.
High praise for Smith, as the media attention would come a bit more, courtesy of the emerging prince of the NBA. However, Jordan’s praise for Smith wouldn’t save Jordan from that awkward moment we spoke about earlier, being caught under the rim at an inopportune time, with the prospect of being dunked on staring you dead in the face.
Derek Smith had his moment, and he finished that in epic fashion.
Most NBA fans know of Derek Smith because he’s the father of former Duke All-American and current Portland Trail Blazers guard Nolan Smith. Others remember Smith because he died of a heart attack at age 34 while the Smith family was on a cruise ship near Bermuda.
Yet few remember this moment, which seemed to be the potential springboard for Derek Smith, who the following year would average 23.5 points per game in the 1985-86 season before suffering a devastating knee injury that he’d never fully recover from.
On Nov. 30, 1984, Derek Smith briefly stood as the king of the hill — in the same way DeAndre Jordan or Harrison Barnes did previously this season — as one’s physical supremacy can and must be cheered out loud fashion.
On Nov. 30, 1984, Michael Jordan briefly stood at the bottom of the hill, part innocent bystander and part ambition went bad, as the world got the chance to gasp, cuss, laugh and call a friend to talk about that time M.J. got put on a poster.
More must-reads: