Both sides can use the perception of workouts to their advantage. And the media to a certain extent as well, I suppose. If you feed the monster pixels, we all whore for hits. Kemba Walker cancels his workout against Jimmer Ferdette for the Sacramento Kings … speculate amongst yourselves, Internets. Other players, less secure in their draft status, are just jumping into another window of opportunity, perhaps building a resume toward overseas interest. These workouts, just as anything, are all part of the process. Whatever that means.

Last Thursday, June 2, the Wizards worked out six players: Talor Battle (Penn State), Mike Davis (Illinois), Papa Dia (SMU), Austin Freeman (Georgetown), Justin Hurtt (Tulsa), and Ravern Johnson (Mississippi State).

Toward the latter third of the hour and a half session, the media is let in to watch, joining the already studying eyes of team executives overlooking the Verizon Center practice court while Flip Saunders and the coaching staff put the players through drills.

The players are already tired, Saunders is known to put them through the ringer during these workouts (even though they don’t mean much). Two are bent over, hands resting on their knees (you think coaches don’t notice?), and a third is clearly trying to leverage the conservation of energy with hands on hips.

“This drill is called ‘show me what you got’,” says Saunders. It’s pretty simple. In fact, it’s just a dunk-layup line. Each of the six players line up on the right side of the court, and they have to show Flip their best dunk. Then they have to go to the left side, do it again. And then one more cycle. In total, each draft hopeful gets four dunk attempts to do as the NBA head coach says, show him what they’ve got. Except, of course, after they’ve already been working out for over 75 minutes straight.

The YouTube below shows each player’s four attempts in sequential order, preceded by name and their Chicago Pre-Draft Camp height measurement without shoes (via Draft Express); you can vote on who does best after the video. Tired legs don’t always tell the whole story, but they help paint the picture. Lo and behold, when the workout was all said and done, Saunders told the players that the one thing they need to keep in mind as they go through the pre-draft workout process is conditioning.

Other reads from Truth About It:

• June 15, 2011 -- Wizards Pre-Draft Workouts: Ravern Johnson, Free To Tweet
• June 23, 2011 -- Jeremy Tyler: A Grainy Picture of Youth
• June 23, 2010 -- Ernie Grunfeld on the eve of the 2010 NBA Draft

Sure, the best thing about the missed Von Wafer dunk on Monday night was him unknowingly flexing/basking in his own non-accomplishment afterward on the baseline, and then turning around to run back on defense only to find a teammate who’d recovered the live ball directly in his path. That teammate, Jermaine O’Neal, ended up being called for a violation because Wafer ran into him after he’d picked up his dribble, causing him to take another dribble. Boston turnover.

Actually, the “best thing” was that Wafer’s dunk would have put the Celtics up four points with three minutes left in overtime; Washington ended up winning by one point. But another “thing” about the failed dunk attempt was the warm towel and icy-hot rubdown that JaVale McGee and Andray Blatche offered Wafer as he easily glided toward the basket, unimpeded and observed from a comfy distance by the defense. Maybe the courteous treatment actually helped Wafer blow his easy dunk off the rim. We’ll never know.

What we do know is what the whole event looked like from the sideline, in picture form, and partially obscured by referee Dick Bavetta:

The Dunk Attempt.

The Rebound.

The Gaffe.

The Reaction.

The Smirk.

Other reads from Truth About It:

• July 29, 2011 -- Summer of Wiz Kids: New Relaxing With Social Media
• April 12, 2011 -- Wizards and Celtics Get Physical With Blatche and A Big Baby
• April 10, 2011 -- Wizards Fly Free Against Sleeping Hawks

Sure, new media darling Othyus Jeffers got dunked on by LeBron James on Wednesday, but…

…Othyus took it like a good sport, getting a good smile out of it before LeBron even landed on the ground. Ask Jeffers about it (I didn’t), and I bet he’d honestly say, “It’s just basketball.”

And in that, he is right. Getting dunked on is bound to happen, no biggie (if you’re comfortable with being immortalized on the Internets). Life needs good sports, and Jeffers is just that. Can’t say the same about the perpetually crying and bitching LeBron. Can’t believe Ted Leonsis let him endorse his book with a quote.

And watching the video, the dunk obviously came after LeBron fouled Jordan Crawford. Good one, refs.

LINKS.

The Wizards are like Ewoks?  Check out Rashad Mobley’s column.
[DCist]

Unbeknownst to me until it was posted, my Twitter account, @Truth_About_It is up for best “Washington journalist on Twitter” at TBD.com (shakes fist at Steinberg).
[TBD.com]

Peter Vecsey is back to popping Viagra and boners over Gilbert Arenas, saying he feels sorry for Arenas like he does for stray animals. Vecsey also says that Ted Leonsis “thought about changing leadership [Ernie Grunfeld] but couldn’t find an appealing replacement.”
[New York Post]

Rashad Mobley also took part in a “Who has the most to prove?” panel about the NBA playoffs on the ESPN website.
[ESPN.com]

Sean Fegan on Othyus Jeffers:

“During our time on BF, there have been many lunch pail heroes who have come and gone and briefly won the hearts of the community. Dominic McGuire, Alonzo Gee and James Singleton are some of the more recent examples, and while I have liked all of these players, none has perhaps captivated me as much as Othyus Jeffers. Some people just know how to go and get the basketball and Jeffers is one of those players. It would be a shame that if the Wizards didn’t at least explore giving Jeffers the minimum next year, because he is that glue guy that I think the Wizards have searching for all year. Plus, Jeffers is a really funny dude.”

[Bullets Forever]

John Wall threw a punch thing, Sam Cassell and Eddie House mock started a fight, and Verizon Center fans won free a Chik-Fil-A sandwich … a lot happened in the Wizards-Heat game on Wednesday.
[NBC Washington]

Gilbert Arenas:

“I feel like it’s like I’m scared to go in and jump off my left leg but I know I can. I can see whenever I go for a rebound, I’m at the rim but if I try to make a layup, I don’t even try to explode up for some reason.”

[SLAM Online]

A picture of Antawn Jamison and other NBAers as kids.
[NBA Hoot]

If anyone can tell a good story about Seattle SuperSonics history, it’s Beckley Mason.
[HoopSpeak]

Dan Snyder hates trees.
[Washington City Paper]

Juwan Howard needs to retroactively chill out for pretty much his whole career.
[The Basketball Jones]

Wale is sending some Foamposites back home to Nigeria.
[Nice Kicks]

Cool stuff done to Van Gogh paintings.
[Web Urbanist]

Other reads from Truth About It:

• August 12, 2010 -- How The Wizards’ Future Has Changed: Power Rankings With Foresight From Hollinger and Ford
• August 5, 2010 -- ShareBullets: Antawn Jamison on the Cavs without LeBron: ‘It’s going to be interesting.’
• July 2, 2010 -- CHECK MY STATS: Kirk Hinrich, Sioux City Shooter

Injuries, inefficiencies, youth, lack of heart and effort … the Verizon Center has become a dollar store for losing excuses. Or rather, reasons. But hey, the kids are in the pool. This is a good thing. Adult time and a dolt time is over with the forced hiatus of several injured veterans. There are still problem children, but without notables who enjoy night club potent potables, losing couldn’t be more comfortable. Not necessarily more comfortable for the fans and certainly not for the players and coaches, but for those who will endure.

The air about the team is all about getting this over with as fast as possible, which could be dangerous in the complacency of an apathetic mis-education and development. Seventeen games equating over a fifth of a season are left … gosh that’s a long time. If it continues to end horribly, upon whom will that reflect poorly?

In other news.

JaVale McGee did some very JaVale McGee things against the Thunder, just as he did versus the Clippers. A positive event came when he caught a down field pass from John Wall and forced the rock in the hole while brushing his head on the underside of the backboard. Let’s view.

Not to be outdone, Russell Westbook made an aero-connection with Kevin Durant, one of Durant’s nine made field-goals on 16 attempts en route to a business-like 32 points. What does this cliché “business-like” expression mean? It means that late in the game, when it was time for mercy to be shown (and after the yell you’ll soon see), Durant clearly got fouled hard by Trevor Booker on his way to the hoop. No call. Durant didn’t smirk, bitch, complain or even look in the referee’s direction. He simply went about his business … soundly securing an easy road win in the midst of a playoff chase. Here goes…

[photos: Kyle Weidie, Truth About It.net]

Other reads from Truth About It:

• January 20, 2012 -- DC Council Game 14: Wizards 105 vs Thunder 102: From Subway To Chicken Wings
• August 29, 2011 -- ShareBullets: John Wall Should Look Out Below
• January 18, 2012 -- Kevin Durant on Rebuilding and Whether He’d Play in D.C.

The take away by most is that it was one of the most entertaining NBA All-Star weekends in a while, and JaVale McGee helped anchor it with his performance in the dunk contest on Saturday night. But just as some people are entertained by reality television that’s actually scripted, the show put forth by the NBA can follow the same narrative. Was Blake Griffin really ever going to lose the contest in Los Angeles? Maybe … if Griffin had failed to complete a dunk within the allotted time when it counted. But that wasn’t going to happen. The city of LA, the fan vote on the final and the made-for-SportsCenter player all but predetermined the deal, according to McGee’s teammate Rashard Lewis. There was no topping Griffin jumping over a car, an “officially sponsored by the NBA car,” with a choir in the background, the hype-man efforts of Kenny Smith bringing it all together, and the icing on the cake if you ask Nick Young, LA Clipper teammate Baron Davis popping out the sun roof to throw Griffin the oop.

What about Serge Ibaka’s role? His dunk where he grabbed a stuffed animal hanging from the rim with his teeth before dunking was very similar to a dunk McGee had in mind. McGee originally displayed a maneuver where he grabbed a piece of paper from the net before dunking; the video of him doing so after practice went viral back on January 6, perhaps an unfortunate consequence. Still, there’s no way to know the inception of Ibaka’s creation. McGee said that his version for the dunk contest involved grabbing a judge’s scorecard and showing it to everyone afterward. After Ibaka’s similar attempt (or, “exact same dunk” as JaVale says it), McGee was forced to move the three-ball dunk he was saving for the final higher in the program. Using that dunk as a last attempt might have kept him in the conversation, but again, with Griffin winning 65-percent of the fan vote in the end, it’s highly unlikely.

According to Flip Saunders, McGee would’ve had to pull of a 720-degree dunk from the free-throw line to top the pomp and circumstance surrounding Griffin. However, the Wizards coach also admitted that McGee probably should have won the contest because likely no one else could replicate two of his dunks — the two-ball, side-by-side basket dunk and the three-ball dunk (with help from John Wall). Also to note, as I’ve readily reminded people, some dude named Marko Milic has dunked over a car before … Griffin’s version was special, but not that special.

Whatever the case, it was a positive experience for JaVale … to succeed under big stage expose and through pressure that even had Nick Young nervous. Another take-away is watch out for McGee next year when the festivities will take place at the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida. The contest could be his to lose.

Below, McGee, Saunders, Young and Rashard Lewis react to the contest:

[music via Kev Brown]

Super Slow Motion JaVale.

Other reads from Truth About It:

• February 6, 2012 -- DC Council Game 24: Wizards 81 vs Clippers 107: ‘Holy Smoke’ Wizards Puff Puff, But Don’t Pass
• January 15, 2012 -- The Wizards Said WHAT? Nick Young: ‘Ain’t nobody going to take it easy on us if we’re pouting’
• January 14, 2012 -- DC Council Game 11: Wizards 89 at Sixers 120: Rebuilding Apathy

When John Wall set the NBA Rookie-Sophomore game record with 22 assists on Friday night, he gave NBA viewers all over the world a glimpse of his limitless potential. JaVale McGee had that same opportunity on Saturday night and he showed NBA fans some creative dunks that had not been seen in quite some time, and in a couple cases, ever.

First up was Wall and his brief Skills competition appearance.  Earlier in the weekend, Wall informed Washington Post writer Michael Lee that he expected the passes to be a problem for him, and that turned out to be a prophetic statement.  His initial chest pass rattled in and then back out, and Wall had to run back and try again.  After hitting the jumper on his second attempt (where I fully expected him to struggle), Wall then took two attempts to complete the outlet pass.  His time of 39.3 seconds in the first round was not good enough to advance — however, it was good enough to beat last place Chris Paul, who finger-rolled and missed a point blank layup. Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors ended up defeating Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder in the final with a time of 28.2 seconds.

Next it was JaVale’s turn to shine, and he seized his moment and then some.  For his first round dunk, he aligned two baskets right next to each other, and dunked on them both in with two separate balls.  It took him several tries to get it right, but once he did, he was awarded with a perfect score of 50.

In the second round, JaVale enlisted the help of Wall and his mother Pamela McGee.  First, Pam brought an extra ball through the crowd, wearing a modified version of her old LA Sparks WNBA warm-up, and surrounded by “security” guards dwarfed by her and her son (Pam also made sure to greet each dunk contest judge with a kiss on the cheek). Wall’s task was simply to toss up a basic alley-oop pass for McGee to dunk, which was easy enough to convert. But then there was the fact that McGee also dunked the other two balls he was carrying in his hands for an unprecedented three-ball dunk, which propelled him into the finals against Blake Griffin.

In the finals, McGee did a modified Rock-The-Cradle dunk with a high degree of difficulty. Unfortunately for him, it could really only be appreciated in slow-motion on a large HD screen.  He started in one corner, cradled the ball as he ran to jump, cocked his head way to the side so he wouldn’t hit his neck on the backboard, contorted his body and swung his arm in a manner that seemed impossible, and finally dunked on the other side of the rim.

With the scene set by TNT’s Kenny Smith (the showman selected to work with Blake Griffin; McGee had Chris Webber on his side), Griffin one-upped McGee and then some by bringing out a choir and then dunking over a car he brought out as a prop (although he did not jump over the tallest part of the car, only the hood). Afterward, McGee had a look of defeat on his face, and ended the competition with a lengthy one-hand toss and dunk, clearly his weakest of the night.

The final vote was left up to the fans, and McGee only won 32-percent to Griffin’s 68-percent.  Still, based on the discussion on Twitter and the conversations being had in the media area, McGee gained a tremendous amount of respect for his creativity.

On a humorous note, as I left the media portion of the Staples Center, I saw John Wall and Dwight Howard hugging and discussing what they were going to do this evening.  As they broke the hug off, Charles Barkley, who was lagging a bit behind them, tried to extend his hand to greet Wall, but Wall did not see him and kept on walking.  I looked at Barkley left handing and offered my hand instead, but he laughed and said, “Nah I’m good.”  The lesson here?  Even off the court in plain clothes, Wall is a hard man to catch.

After the event, I was lucky enough to catchup with Wall, JaVale and even Pam McGee, to discuss the night’s events:

Other reads from Truth About It:

• February 22, 2011 -- Reactions To JaVale McGee’s LA Dunk Story
• January 13, 2011 -- Momma McGee On JaVale’s Dunking
• February 6, 2012 -- DC Council Game 24: Wizards 81 vs Clippers 107: ‘Holy Smoke’ Wizards Puff Puff, But Don’t Pass

Other reads from Truth About It:

• April 13, 2011 -- Von Wafer’s Missed Dunk: A Sideline Exposé
• March 15, 2011 -- PHOTOS: Kevin Durant vs. JaVale McGee Alley-Oops
• January 24, 2011 -- MIP or Dunk Contest? Nick Young Answers

Believable? Well, Young did learn from the master, Gilbert Arenas … so there’s that.

LINKS.

Valentine’s birthday wishes go to former Washington Bullet Gheorghe Muresan (4o years) and former Wizards Darius Songaila (33) and Richard Hamilton (33).

Evidently Ted Leonsis is backing out on his promise to dance the “Dougie” because:

“The Dougie has jumped the shark. Regis is doing it. Justin Bieber is doing it. I need to find a new “act.” I want to have fun but don’t want to be passé.”

Oh well … probably for the best anyway.
[Ted's Take]

Has anyone gone from worst to first to worst like Antawn Jamison? Mike Wise profiles.
[Washington Post]

John Wall’s missed dunk places second in Sunday’s ‘Missed Dunk Contest’
[The Basketball Jones]

Meanwhile, Chris Webber talks trash to Kenny Smith about his own support for JaVale McGee in the dunk contest while Smith gets to consult Blake Griffin.
[Turner Sports Vimeo]

A courtside Cleveland Cavaliers fan gets his beer spilled on his leather jacket … #OMGMYFUGGINLEATHAJACKET!!!
[The Internet]

Brandon Banks of the Washington Redskins got stabbed at a D.C. night club (The Park at 14th) because he made fun of someone for wearing white after Labor Day.
[TBD.com]

Seems like the last play of the Heat-Celtics game was drawn up for Mike Miller … So clearly, those bitching that the ball should have been in LeBron’s hands (hello Michael Wilbon) might want to learn a little more about basketball first.
[NBA Playbook]

The rap of former Washington National Elijah Dukes makes Gucci Mane look like Nas.
[Mr. Irrelevant]

Other reads from Truth About It:

• December 5, 2011 -- ShareBullets: John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins Think About The Future
• July 2, 2011 -- ShareBullets: Wizards Weekender of Lockout Links
• June 12, 2011 -- ShareBullets: NBA At Dusk

One of the first things that comes to mind when looking at a picture like this is that there’s no way he’s making it to the rim.

He did.

You’d think some big time NBA advertising partner would want to sponsor a secondary dunk contest. Wouldn’t that haul in some bank on television? TNT, are you there? I understand the desire to make the official dunk contest on NBA all-Star Saturday night an elite and exclusive event, but there are too many good dunkers in the NBA not to have more than four participants.

Apologies to you, Nick Young, but also, here’s to you.

Young started Wednesday night’s game versus the Milwaukee Bucks with a traveling turnover and a couple missed shots that looked completely forced. He didn’t score his first field goal until the 10:59 mark of the second quarter, but then caught fire over the remainder of the period with 11 points on 5-8 shooting, including this dunk, as the Wizards out-scored the Bucks 25-18 to take a 47-37 lead at half. But just two of Young’s second quarter field goals were assisted by a teammate.

In the third, he came out more within the offense and paced the Wizards with 13 points on 5-7 shooting. This time, all of his buckets were created by a teammate. Washington took a 77-60 lead into the fourth.

Down the stretch, the Wizards made some unforced turnovers, and some forced, the quick hands of Brandon Jennings coming into play against Kirk Hinrich. Washington coughed the ball up eight times in fourth, and Young didn’t make a basket, but the Wizards had built up a big enough lead behind Young fighting his way through a rough start with a strong middle 24 minutes of the game. And the Bucks only out-scored Washington 25-23 in the final period anyway, ultimately falling 85-100 and breaking Washington’s eight game losing streak.

It was another Nick Young “specialist” game. He scored 26 points on 10-19 shooting  (3-5 from beyond the arc), thanks to three assists from John Wall and a couple from Andray Blatche. He got to the free-throw line just three times, making all of them, snagged four rebounds, all defensive, and shared just one assist to three turnovers. Young did have two blocked shots and a steal. Early in the third, he jumped in the passing lane, pushed the ball up the court, gave it up to Wall on the two-man break, and finally got it back for the oop-dunk.

Young has found a niche scoring role within Flip Saunders’ offense, draining corner threes thanks to John Wall, throwing down a dunk every now and then, and with the final ingredient being a bad shot here and there. He plays adequate defense, but any other contribution is purely coincidental. Will he further improve? Because one thing people also miss when debating Young’s merits is how much his confidence has improved and how much further it could go.

That being said, it’d be no surprise if we’ve arrived at Nick Young’s ceiling. As his audition for a contract spans the rest of this season, the debate over whether he’s worth re-signing for whatever his value may be rages.

But on this occasion, let’s just thank him for the dunk.

Other reads from Truth About It:

• March 16, 2011 -- Under The Hoop: Washington Wizards vs. Milwaukee Bucks
• December 31, 2011 -- DC Council Game 3: Wizards 81 at Bucks 102: A Game of Ineligible Points
• January 24, 2011 -- MIP or Dunk Contest? Nick Young Answers

Enjoy, and more to come.

Now, in live action.

Other reads from Truth About It:

• April 13, 2010 -- Wizards and Hawks, A Pictorial of Just Another Game
• February 11, 2011 -- Under The Hoop: Atlanta Hawks vs Washington Wizards
• January 25, 2011 -- Losing on the Road: A Self-Fulfilling Prophecy For The Wizards

This was one of those weird times when some huge official arena flash went off while I was taking a picture … came out kind of cool though.

Before getting weirdly entertained by a white man from Iowa wearing Oakleys, in a January 20 chat on ESPN.com, John Hollinger wrote about Nick Young, when not even specifically asked about Young:

“But Nick Young is making a real case for MIP votes. And I find it weirdly entertaining to watch Kirk Hinrich constantly fiddle with his glasses.”

Upon finding out that teammate JaVale McGee was going to participate in the 2011 NBA dunk contest, which, as I understand, was accomplished by McGee getting many different people on several fronts, team included, to campaign for his participation, Nick Young jokingly expressed that he was, “”a little hurt, little jealous” — relayed via Twitter by the Washington Examiner’s Craig Stouffer on January 7. Nick, forever amorous toward dunking himself, has always fancied himself a contest participant. And now that this year’s NBA All-Star Weekend is in his hometown of Los Angeles … extra ouch.

MIP or Dunk Contest? If Nick could only choose one to have on the resume over his entire career, which one would it be? And speaking of this year’s contest in LA, will Nick at least find a way to be on the floor helping McGee out? Young discusses all in the video below.

For good measure, Nick doing work against the Celtics.

And in the category of most improved SUV backer-upper of the year? Young can only go up from here.

Other reads from Truth About It:

• February 22, 2011 -- Reactions To JaVale McGee’s LA Dunk Story
• October 20, 2009 -- Nick Young Off The Glass To A Dunking JaVale McGee
• January 15, 2012 -- The Wizards Said WHAT? Nick Young: ‘Ain’t nobody going to take it easy on us if we’re pouting’

“Hey dude, we’re on TV … We’re on TV dude!”

There’s no video of the funny exchange, only audio while highlights of JaVale are shown, so the identity of the interview interrupter is unknown, but Gheorghe Muresan is sitting in the background. Miller later tries to prod Pam, a former WNBA player and Olympic champion, into revealing if she would be involved in any of McGee’s dunks. She coyly indicated that she would be on-hand for the festivities, but stopped short from officially announcing her participation.

Other reads from Truth About It:

• February 20, 2011 -- Quick Exit for John Wall, Coming Out Party for JaVale McGee
• June 18, 2009 -- A Night With Flip Saunders Part 2: Top Quotes
• January 20, 2012 -- The Wizards Said WHAT? The JaVale McGee’s Mommy Edition

On Wednesday night’s television broadcast of the Wizards-Sixers game, the trivia question of the night for the hometown D.C. crew, Comcast’s Phil Chenier and Steve Buckhantz, was to name the former dunk champions who have played for the Washington franchise (but for other teams when they won) — Michael Jordan and Kenny Walker was the answer. Other dunk contest participants who have played for the franchise (but again, who played for other teams during their participation) include: Rex Chapman, Robert Pack, Jerry Stackhouse, Larry Hughes, DeShawn Stevenson, and of course, Darvin Ham.

Peruse this all-time list from NBA.com, nary a participant from the franchise for the “official” NBA dunk contest that started in 1984. But there was something about Chenier’s contemplative words as he can Buckhantz bantered about their trivia question before the answer was revealed.

“I know Elvin Hayes participated …,” Chenier trailed off.

Huh? Elvin Hayes? He played for the Washington franchise, starting in Baltimore in 1972-73, and stayed with the team in the District before moving on to the Houston Rockets for the 1981-82 season. Hayes played with the Rockets for three seasons before retiring after 1983-84, before the first official dunk contest and at age 38.

Was Chenier just rambling or was there something to this? A Google/YouTube investigation seemed to be the right move.

We know that the idea of the dunk contest originated in the ABA. About that league’s experience, Bethlehem Shoals writes in Free Darko’s ‘The Undisputed Guide To Pro Basketball History’:

Its weapons were far from conventional. In addition to its raw, frenetic play and ceaseless efforts to poach high-profile players from the NBA, the ABA came up with seemingly random publicity stunts; invented the three-point shot and the dunk contest; and staged surreal halftime performances (which included everything from Playboy bunnies to live bears, though never, unfortunately, at the same time). The league used an iconic red-white-and-blue ball that was a master stroke of branding and especially popular on inner-city courts. In theory, each of these PR microvictories brought the league that much closer to the marcoparadise promised by the would-be merger.

And the new NBA wasn’t afraid to adopt the ABA’s marketing pizazz, holding an actual dunk contest in the first season after the merger, 1976-77. A 2005 article/interview on Pacers.com by Conrad Brunner regarding Darnell “Dr. Dunk” Hillman, the ultimate winner of this lost and forgotten dunk contest, states:

Hoping to capitalize on the popularity of the dunk contest in the final ABA All-Star Game, the NBA launched an aggressive slam-dunk event of its own for the 1976-77 season, the first after the merger. Each team had one representative and players would be paired for dunk-offs when their teams met during the regular season. The big names of the era were involved, including Julius Erving, George Gervin and David Thompson – who was given the opportunity to be eliminated three times by a network (CBS) anxious for star-power. After the third elimination, Thompson finally was dropped from the bracket.

One Internet sleuth has made the below post on several message boards, comment sections and groups from ’round the web (posted in full below for retention’s sake) [UPDATE: Robert Bradley on the ABPR forum made the below post under an excellent reprinted article on that '76-77 dunk contest by Brett Ballantini that appeared in an old Courtside magazine.]

Does anyone else have any information about the NBA’s 1976-77 Slum Duk
Contest which was televised during the halftime of the CBS broadcasts
throughout the season?

I have a partial list of participants, and I know that Darnell Hillman
defeated Larry McNeill for the championship.

Here’s who I’m managed to come up with so far -

SLAM DUNK PARTICIPANTS [32?]
Atlanta Hawks – Joe C. Meriweather
Chicago Bulls – Mickey Johnson
Denver Nuggets – David Thompson
Detroit Pistons – M.L. Carr
Golden State Warriors – Larry McNeill
Indiana Pacers – Darnell Hillman
Kansas City Kings – Richard Washington
Los Angeles Lakers – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Milwaukee Bucks – Alex English
Philadelphia 76ers – Darryl Dawkins
Phoenix Suns – Ronnie Lee
Portland Trail Blazers – Moses Malone
San Antonio Spurs – George Gervin
Washington Bullets – Elvin Hayes

First round – ???, Denver, CO (McNichols Sports Arena)
Quarter-Finals & Semi-Finals – 12Feb77, Milwaukee, WI (Milwaukee
Arena)
Finals – 5Jun77, Portland, OR (Portland Memorial Coliseum)

So, this unconfirmed research, combined with Brunner’s report of one man per team and Chenier’s memory of Hayes’ participation (Chenier himself played for the Bullets from ’71-72 through part of ’79-80), is probably not enough evidence for a full-on report, but certainly enough for a blog post suggesting that JaVale McGee isn’t the first player in Wizards/Bullets franchise history to participate in an NBA-sanctioned dunk contest.

Furthermore, Brunner writes in his Pacers.com article:

Hillman beat Moses Malone and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on his way to the title round. He faced Golden State forward Larry “the Hawk” McNeill in a dunk-off during the NBA Finals, with Hillman winning thanks in large part to his signature slam, rock-the-cradle. The contest met with lukewarm response and was shelved. The NBA didn’t revisit the dunk contest until 1984, and it’s been an All-Star Weekend staple ever since.

And Steve Kroner, in a 2005 article titled ‘Enjoying ‘Mile High’ should be a slam dunk’ from the San Francisco Chronicle, writes:

The competition had an undeniably schlocky feel, all the way to the final between the Warriors’ Larry McNeill and Indiana’s Darnell “Dr. Dunk” Hillman that took place during the 1977 NBA Finals. Hillman, who attended San Jose State, wore a “Bottle Shoppe” jersey at the request of a friend.

Now would be an appropriate time to turn to the offerings of YouTube … starting with presenting the best first: the final battle between the 6’9″ McNeill and the 6’9″ Hillman.

Classic items of note: ‘rowdy’ Portland fans shower a couple of the contest judges with boos — Mendy Rudolph, a then CBS basketball analyst and former NBA referee, and Denver basketball writer Larry Bortstein — but the Blazers fans give Boston Celtics great Sam Jones plenty of love as a judge. Also, Darnell Hillman’s afro … which has been anointed with the ‘Best Afro’ award by Free Darko’s ”The Undisputed Guide…’ in their pro basketball hair index that spans from 1969 to 1979. The flow of the ‘fro adds to the gliding movement of Hillman’s dunk attempts (oh, and along with his random, non-NBA tank top and shorts … and the “Bottle Shoppe” shirt at the end). Hillman’s dunks are by far better than other dunk contestants from those ’76-77 days (at least amongst the footage available, which we’ll get to). Let’s check the film of the final courtesy of YouTube user patvilhauer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyrN4uzbVVc

YouTube user WiltatKansas has three uploads of the ’76-77 dunk-offs from the preliminary rounds, unfortunately none involve Elvin Hayes. But they all do have a nice aura of unintentional comedy in the sense of how much the game of basketball has advanced … highlighted by the irrelevant-to-winning microcosm of the dunk. Then again, as I once alluded to in a post when I hosted TrueHoop, dunks can be kind of important.

This first video pits Alex English of the Milwauke Bucks versus Mickey Johnson of the Chicago Bulls. It seems to take place on the Indiana Pacers’ home court for some reason … so, the crowd is pretty tame (at least compared to Portland during the NBA Finals … go figure). And the dunks? Well, completely lame in comparison to today’s standards… what you might see in a college pre-game layup line, or even high school.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSau9UDF2xo

This next one between Joe C. Meriweather of the Atlanta Hawks and Mel Davis of the New York Knicks seems to take place in a completely random gym. Things get a bit fancy when Davis goes off the backboard, which is lauded as a “timing attempt” by the CBS announcer. But here’s the fun/relevant part to Washington Redskins fans. As you probably know, famed former Redskins owner, the late Jack Kent Cooke, used to own the Los Angeles Lakers (from 1965 to 1979). At the end of the clip below, another CBS announcer interviews Jimmy “The Greek” — apparently these dunk contests were shown at halftime or at some juncture during the 1977 playoffs. The Lakers and Portland Trailblazers faced off in the Western Conference Finals that year and Jimmy “The Greek” seems to be at the Great Western Forum, ready to deliver some gossip on a potential sale of the Lakers’ former home court. “The Greek” says:

“$25-million was offered by Jerry Buss to Mr. Kent Cooke for this affair. But Mr. Kent Cooke is in Las Vegas at the moment, he’s been there since June, of course. He’s had a little problem with his wife of 42 years. So consequently, this had to be sort of curtailed or put away until a deal is be made between Mr. Cooke and Mrs. Cooke.”

The divorce between Cooke and his first wife didn’t happen until 1979 (thus, when the Lakers were sold and Cooke decided to move east to tend to the Redskins), and she received $42 million in the settlement, which at the time was a U.S. record. So, a “little problem” indeed. Not sure if Vegas helped or not.

The Greek was also asked about Tony Dorsett and the general NFL reaction about him going to the Dallas Cowboys (who made a trade with the Seattle Seahawks to jump up in the ’77 draft and take Dorsett with the second pick).

“If I know George Allen, he’s called Ben Bradley of the Washington Post and the sports editor George over there 20 times already complaining about it. He is accusing Seattle of being a farm club to Dallas.” {laughs are exchanged}

Sorry to digress, it’s a D.C. sports thing … on to the clip of olde tymey dunking:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BrKhamvWhmA

This last one pits Joe C. Meriweather in a subsequent round against George Gervin of the San Antonio Spurs and is probably the most mundane of all the clips … a couple missed dunks really hurt Gervin.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBaHtIboM7o

The story of the lost and forgotten 1976-77 NBA dunk contest is far from complete, especially as far as Elvin Hayes’ participation is concerned. In discussing the phenomenon of this event with Bethlehem Shoals himself over G-chat, he exclaimed that Hillman reminded him of McGee. From Brunner’s article, the ‘Rock-the-Cradle’ dunk was a signature of Hillman … and from this past summer league, we know McGee is an admirer of that very same move.

Other reads from Truth About It:

• February 22, 2011 -- Reactions To JaVale McGee’s LA Dunk Story
• February 20, 2011 -- Quick Exit for John Wall, Coming Out Party for JaVale McGee
• January 24, 2011 -- MIP or Dunk Contest? Nick Young Answers

JaVale McGee ON Josh Smith – Oct. 30, 2010

JaVale McGee ON Spencer Hawes – Nov. 2, 2010

The Poll.

Some Pictures.

[JaVale in warm-ups. No, he didn't dunk this one, laid it in.]

[JaVale about to reject Jrue Holiday at the rim early in the third quarter. He ended up recovering his own block and started offense for his team in the other direction. Kirk Hinrich nailed a jumper, putting the Wiz up 56-53 -- a four point swing. Well played JaVale.]

[photos copyright Kyle Weidie, Truth About It.net]

Other reads from Truth About It:

• January 16, 2012 -- What You Think: JaVale McGee’s Backboard Dunk, Kahunas & Cojones, and Chandler Parsons’s Balls
• January 13, 2012 -- 3-on-3: Wizards at Sixers: She Keeps On Passin’ Me By
• December 29, 2011 -- DC Council Game 2: Wizards 83 – Hawks 101: At Least Nick Young Looks Good

[Card game, no guns - Meridian Hill Park, Washington, D.C. - K. Weidie]

[UPDATE] Here’s more video of Wall and others from the Elite 24 runs. Looks like Johnny gets crossed up at the 0:59 mark. [via Ball is Life; h/t SLAM]

Kelly Dwyer ranks Andray Blatche at the 21st best power forward in the NBA, calling it a “a glass-half-full ranking.” Considering some of those ranked ahead of Blatche at 11-20, I’d say Dwyer is more pessimistic about Blatche than I am, but not without good reason.
[Ball Don't Lie]

“Yes Yi Can” … a Yi Jianlian photo shoot — this time in Slam, not Vogue, but still in a basketball jersey.
[SLAM]

The Wizards come in third in ‘Best Management Change’ on ESPN.com’s 2010-11 forecast. Washington’s nine votes, representing 9.7% of the voting panel, puts them behind the Golden State Warriors (36 votes) and the New Jersey Nets (35 votes).
[ESPN.com]

There’s some more red in the Verizon Center now.
[Washington Examiner, Ted's Take]

JaVale McGee just might be kinda/sorta important.
[SB Nation DC]

Dan Grunfeld, son of Ernie, is heading to Israel to play basketball for Bnei Hasharon. According to EuroBasket.com, the team currently features former NBAer Lee Nailon and Ronald Steele (University of Alabama). Former Wizards second round draft pick (38th overall in 2002), Rod Grizzard is a past Bnei Hasharon player.
[Washington Jewish Week]

NBA Player Movement Flow Charts.
[Wyn Douglas, ShareBro]

Columbia Heights Day is this Saturday in D.C. … I think I’ll check it out.
[The 42]

Congrats to the Sports-Reference family of sites for being named one of TIME’s 50 best for 2010.
[Basketball-Reference Blog]

Rob Dibble vs. Kenny Powers, in quotes … great stuff from Jake Whitacre.
[SB Nation DC]

Lindsay Czarniak’s No Longer Wearing Dan Snyder’s Shirts?
[Washington City Paper]

You must check out the dunk contest below (you probably have already), but especially the 1:35 mark.
[Talk Hoops]

Other reads from Truth About It:

• October 2, 2011 -- ShareBullets: Do We Even Know John Wall?
• November 4, 2010 -- Wizards Rewind: A Home Opening Win
• September 29, 2010 -- Enjoying The Fun of The Washington Wizards

Anyway … part of all this is why watching these guys have fun is so much, well, fun. So let’s take a look at some fun the rooks had while on their photo shoot Tuesday in New York.

First, we have John Wall messing around with his bro DeMarcus Cousins, playing some one-on-one:

Then there’s Wall v. Cousins, dancin’ style:

And finally, I’d be remiss if I didn’t show you some rookies dunking. The highlight is Terrico White, but there are some John Wall jams in there too.

Other reads from Truth About It:

• January 15, 2012 -- The Wizards Said WHAT? Nick Young: ‘Ain’t nobody going to take it easy on us if we’re pouting’
• January 8, 2012 -- The Wizards Said WHAT? And Other Post-Knicks Game Stuff
• January 2, 2012 -- 3-on-3: Wizards-Celtics Part Deux, Wall, Cousins & Flip

[The yell after the dunk.]

I’m pretty sure you’ve seen it by now, JaVale McGee’s monster dunk over New Orleans’ Kyle Hines in the fourth quarter of Friday’s game. It was pretty damn insane … and definitely would have been nice to see. I was right there, mere feet away taking pictures from the baseline. And right there in my way was the referee. Thankfully in this day and age there is a YouTube, so let’s take another watch.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LcBPv3xEqDw

[video courtesy of @jose3030]

After the game McGee spoke about his dunk, saying, “I surprised myself to tell you the truth. I thought I was going to dunk it, but I ain’t think … I felt like the rim was at my waist.”

In the video below, McGee also credits the Hornets’ Sean Sonderlieter, depicted as “that white guy with the hair down to here,” as being the spark that ignited the Wizards’ third quarter where they outscored New Orleans 30-16. Evidently Sonderlieter said something to John Wall after he expressed his excitement over a Trevor Booker blocked shot. “Everybody just jumped on that guy’s back. We just all came as one and everybody just started going crazy. We all just started feeding off each other,” said McGee.

And this was after Washington headed into the locker room (or rather, the make-shift locker room sectioned off by a curtain on the side of the stands at the Cox Pavilion) down 49-36 at the half, having been out-scored 26-7 by the Hornets in the second quarter.

Oh yea, the Wizards won 90-89 thanks to a buzzer-beater by Lester Hudson that answered a Craig Brackins three with 2.2 second left. Might as well watch that too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75XaZXJ2uR4

Other reads from Truth About It:

• January 16, 2012 -- What You Think: JaVale McGee’s Backboard Dunk, Kahunas & Cojones, and Chandler Parsons’s Balls
• April 13, 2011 -- Von Wafer’s Missed Dunk: A Sideline Exposé
• March 15, 2011 -- PHOTOS: Kevin Durant vs. JaVale McGee Alley-Oops

I’d say things are looking up for the kid. Now if he can further prove his worth in Flip Saunders’ zone defense, he just might get more burn on the court.

Relevant Stat: Wizards team blocks per 48 minutes goes up 5% when McGee is on the floor. [82games.com]

Video: JaVale McGee on achieving his 100th career block:

Other reads from Truth About It:

• January 16, 2012 -- What You Think: JaVale McGee’s Backboard Dunk, Kahunas & Cojones, and Chandler Parsons’s Balls
• April 13, 2011 -- Von Wafer’s Missed Dunk: A Sideline Exposé
• March 15, 2011 -- PHOTOS: Kevin Durant vs. JaVale McGee Alley-Oops

Just watch …

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ifea3x0Geuc

Also, Comcast SportsNet has been doing a ‘My Life 365‘ series on Caron Butler.

Here’s a preview …

Other reads from Truth About It:

• January 24, 2011 -- MIP or Dunk Contest? Nick Young Answers
• October 22, 2009 -- Observations & Screen Shot Lessons In Defensive Fundamentals From Philly
• February 6, 2012 -- DC Council Game 24: Wizards 81 vs Clippers 107: ‘Holy Smoke’ Wizards Puff Puff, But Don’t Pass

But did you know that last year, in only 75 games and 1,143 minutes, McGee dunked more than an entire NBA Team?

JaVale McGee … 80

San Antonio Spurs … 73

• 42% of McGee’s FGs were dunks.
• His 80 dunks were good enough for 29th in the NBA and 5th among rookies, after: Brook Lopez, Greg Oden, Jason Thompson, and Marreese Speights.
• He finished 8th in the league in ‘Minutes Per Dunk’ – 14.65 – after: Shaquille O’Neal, Ryan Hollins, DeAndre Jordan, Pops Mensah-Bonsu, Greg Oden, Dwight Howard, and Andrew Bynum.
• Source: Roto Evil via 82games.com

But that’s not all…

JaVale, amongst playing a Transformer and Wolverine, has a staring role in his own movie short. What exactly it’s about is left for the viewer to interpret.

Summer of Epic Vale?

I feel like this is the summer of JaVale McGee, which only goes towards building his expectations for next year.  Among his aforementioned videos, he’s wowed in the Vegas summer league and put his name further on the map with a decent showing at the USA Basketball mini camp. He’s even embraced the attention he’s getting from social networking, recently changing his Twitter account from protected to open for all to see.

In the meantime …

He’s also the first Wizard to ever twitter and twitpic a pedicure.

And he’s enjoyed a Duff Beer (probably non-alcoholic) while on his U.S. tour.

What’s Next for Epic Vale?

It probably won’t be long for time to tell.

Other reads from Truth About It:

• July 29, 2009 -- The Miseducation of Brendan Haywood
• July 20, 2009 -- Wizards Vegas Summer League Media Dump
• February 6, 2012 -- DC Council Game 24: Wizards 81 vs Clippers 107: ‘Holy Smoke’ Wizards Puff Puff, But Don’t Pass