Vince Carter is one of the greatest dunkers in NBA history, if not the greatest. His dunks would not end well for the defender who contested, as Alonzo Mourning found out during a game against Carter and the Nets. Vince revealed that Mourning didn't speak to him for five years because of the dunk.
"I see the basket and I see Zo. He's sitting there like, 'Yeah, I'm about to block him.' When I'm in the air, he jumps at me, so I'm up. I already had the momentum because I got up first, so when he hit me, he bumped me up higher. So when I hit him, I'm leaning to the side, I'm like, 'Oh sh*t, the rim is right there! Don't miss this. This is an opportunity.'"
Carter also shared how Dwyane Wade reacted to watching the dunk unfold.
"I remember I was so high and I just threw it through. D-Wade was beside me and he was like, 'That ain't right, bro.' I remember him saying that. I laughed but I was trying to play it like I'm tough. I'm mean mugging when he said that. It might be the funniest thing ever. His teammate got bumped and he was like, 'That ain't right.'"
Carter's dunk on Mourning is still remembered as one of the greatest in-game dunks in NBA history. It occurred during a 2005 matchup between the Nets and the Heat. The Heat won the game 90-89, but Carter led all scores in the game with a 32-point outburst highlighted by that dunk.
Mourning was one of the NBA's best centers at the time, so being humiliated like that had to rub the 7-footer the wrong way. It seems the pair reconciled in 2012 from what Carter is saying, so at least we know it's all water under the bridge now. Although, the situation between the players wasn't the best after the dunk transpired.
Vince Carter's Dunks Upset Centers Like Shaquille O'Neal
Vince Carter was such a ferocious dunker that it wasn't possible to be put on a poster by him and the highlight be hidden away. Many centers were aware of Carter's incredible dunking ability, with Vince also looking for ways to punish the big men who contested his shots.
Shaquille O'Neal and Vince are often seen together on TNT nowadays, but the pair did have a rivalry on the court. Shaq was on the court when Carter dunked on Mourning, and he was likely glad it wasn't him. O'Neal was known for his distaste of ending up on poster dunks, often just committing flagrant fouls on players who tried to dunk on him as a warning.
Carter was the same, with Shaq committing a rough foul on Carter for trying to dunk on him during a 1999 matchup between the Raptors and Lakers.
Carter's list of posters includes some of the best players of that era, but Shaq is not on the list. O'Neal made sure Carter wouldn't try to put him on a poster after their meeting in 1999, with Vince also not trying that again.
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