13. Dwyane Wade Works His Magic
LeBron James is the most powerful athlete of his era, but no one moved quite like Miami Heat star and three-time NBA champion Dwyane Wade. Whether it was a paralyzing spin move, an ankle-breaking crossover, or a ferocious finish in traffic, D-Wade was sensational.
It may not be his most popular dunk of all-time, but Wade’s spin move and two-hand finish over Kendrick Perkins makes the cut due to an unfathomable degree of difficulty.
Wade has other dunks with more playback value, I suppose, but this is easily one of the greatest poster dunks of all-time. The generously 6’4″ shooting guard transitioned from a spin move in traffic into a leap over and through a 6’10” defender.
Not only did Wade still manage to throw a dunk down, but he did so while using two hands on the way up, and only transitioning to one at the final moment—a crazy way to complete such a complex process.
The fact that Wade had to transition to one hand is a testament to just how brilliant a dunk this was. Perkins jumped in an area that forced Wade to readjust his entire trajectory—a challenge he powered through.
The fact that Wade had to spin around All-Defensive Team mainstay Serge Ibaka in order to even reach Perkins only adds to the greatness of this dunk.
Next: The Mozgov, Part II