It can easily be asserted that a large percentage of kids dream of becoming professional basketball players. It can also easily be asserted that these kids, once they are professional basketball players, envision themselves plastered for all eternity on an official NBA poster. But, not one of them ever wishes to be captured on film as the defender who was dunked on, or over, by a more ambitious offensive player. No kid ever wishes to be "posterized."
Although there is no official definition for the word "posterize" - at least one relevant to basketball - it is commonly used to refer to an instance where a defensive player is on the receiving end of a picturesque slam dunk by an opponent. Any attempt to block the shot is fruitless and, after the dunk, the defender either looks away shamefully or attempts to pick himself - and his dignity - up off the floor while the offensive player celebrates. Many times, the defender is taller than the dunker and the resulting posterization is much more dramatic and meaningful. Here are the top ten posterizations, in my opinion, involving shorter offensive players.
#10. Scottie Pippen (6'7"; Chicago Bulls) over Patrick Ewing (7'0"; New York Knicks): during the 1994 NBA playoffs Pippen received a pass from Pete Myers during a 3-on-2 fast break and proceeded to throw down a massive one-handed dunk over a defending Ewing. After the dunk, Ewing fell to the floor as Pippen stood over him and talked a little trash, drawing a crowd from both sides. Pippen made sure to also say something to Knick-faithful Spike Lee, who watched helplessly from the sidelines.
#9. Kobe Bryant (6'6"; Los Angeles Lakers) over Yao Ming (7'6": Houston Rockets): during a recent NBA regular season game, Bryant lost his perimeter defender, drove baseline, and threw down a wicked one-handed dunk over the foot-taller Ming, who made a futile attempt to block the shot. The Staples Centre crowd erupted and Ming worried his "Great Wall" moniker would be forever tarnished.
#8. Tracy McGrady (6'8"; Houston Rockets) over Shawn Bradley (7'6": Dallas Mavericks): during the 2005 NBA playoffs, after McGrady cleared a lane to the net and began his elevation, Bradley was seconds away from being posterized. He also elevated in an attempt to block McGrady, but halfway through his jump he backed off and appeared to cower, possibly to avoid having his face on the poster. Sorry Bradley, it was too late.
#7. Kevin Johnson (6'1"; Phoenix Suns) over Hakeem Olajuwon (7'0"; Houston Rockets): during the 1994 NBA playoffs Johnson drove baseline around his defender, rose high in the air, and dunked one-handed over two-time Defensive Player of the Year Olajuwon, who proceeded to fly backwards from the impact and directly into one of Johnson's teammates. Later in the playoff series Olajuwon made an impressive block on Johnson as he tried to throw down another dunk. But redemption was too late as Olajuwon's other poster had already been printed.
#6. Stromile Swift (6'10"; Memphis Grizzlies) over Yao Ming (7'6": Houston Rockets): Ming finds himself on the wrong end of this list again, this time a victim of a vicious two-handed dunk by Swift. Ming attempted to guard Swift as he moved from the top of the key to the side of the net and then appeared to elevate from a stand-still position and dunk over Ming's outstretched arms. As Swift hung from the rim, Ming looked confusingly around to figure out that he had just been posterized.
Click here to see the top 5 NBA poster dunks
