There’s no doubt that JaVale McGee is one of the best dunkers in the NBA. In fact, he should be the reigning NBA Dunk Contest champ after last February’s performance in L.A. The only problem is, “Pierre” doesn’t always seem to realize the proper time and place to throw down. So after his alley-oop to himself in Monday’s loss to Houston drew criticism from Flip Saunders to John Wall, I decided now was as good a time as any to compile McGee’s top 5 dunk fails from his NBA career. Enjoy!
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5. McGee Goes Off The Backboard On The Break… To Himself (Jan. 16, 2011)
“Apparently, if you get a fast break and throw it off the backboard in the third quarter, and you’re 1-11, you’re not supposed to do stuff like that,” said McGee after the game. Yeah, that’s probably right. And although JaVale made this dunk, its fallout lands it on this list.
4. McGee Gets Stuffed By The Rim (March 16, 2010)
I can understand being afraid of Nene blocking your shot, but it was J.R. Smith guarding McGee in the post. If you watch closely, Smith gave him a shove in the back as the post entry was being made, so when he rose for the slam, he was too far under the basket.
3. McGee Goes For The Poster But Comes Up A Little Short (Feb. 12, 2011)
After the great pass from Andray Blatche, the lane opened up for McGee to make some noise. I mean, Antonio McDyess even stepped out of the way as to not get put on a poster.
2. McGee Misses A Free Throw Line Dunk (Dec. 8, 2010)
I bet a lot of you thought this was going to be No. 1, right? That night in Sacramento, Flip Saunders benched McGee and started rookies Trevor Booker and Kevin Seraphin over him. So how did he respond when Washington was down 116-91 in the waning seconds of the game? Try a dunk attempt from just inside the free throw line. Not smart.
1. McGee Tries To Murder James Jones (Dec. 18, 2010)
Just 10 days after his uncontested free throw line attempt, McGee tried to take off from just inside the stripe again. Only this time, James Jones was in his way. He had just made a nice block on the defensive end, so maybe he thought he’d earned a little freedom. Instead, he earned an offensive foul and a seat on the bench.
What do you think? What’s your favorite McGee dunk fail?
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