In 2016 Zach Lavine and Aaron Gordon went head to head in what is now regarded as potentially the greatest dunk contest in NBA history. Featuring a free throw line windmill dunk, a free throw line 'tween the legs dunk, and a miraculous "sitting in the air" dunk. Here to discuss is poet, essayist, and cultural critic Hanif Abdurraqib (@NifMuhammad). On this episode we talk getting lost in vowel sounds, the underappreciated aesthetics in a Zach Lavine dunk, and the surprising beauty and force of an Aaron Gordon dunk.
Timecodes:
(06:44) Anticipating the Greatness of Caitlin Clark
(10:28) Living Long Enough To Have A Favorite “Tyrese” In The NBA
(12:11) The Way That Whitney Houston Lands The “T” Sound in “Heat with somebody”
(18:17) Deep Dive Into NBA Mascot Salaries
(23:26) Aaron Gordon is 6’9” 240lbs
(28:20) The Controversy of This Contest
(30:09) Is This The Best Dunk We've Ever Seen?
(33:40) The High Art and Effortlessness of a Zach Lavine Dunk
(42:40) “Lets go home! It’s Over!”
(47:23) Appreciating Aaron Gordon’s Evolution
(58:18) Greatest NBA Game Winners with 0 Seconds Left
(01:01:23) Lebron Lying About Reading a Book
(01:08:15) Facundo Campazzo’s Absurd Mixtape
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