Better dunker: Vince Carter or Michael Jordan? | Dime Magazine (www.dimemag.com) : Daily NBA News, NBA Trades, NBA Rumors, Basketball Videos, Sneakers

NBA, Video / Sep 8, 2008 / 12:07 pm

Better dunker: Vince Carter or Michael Jordan?

By Austin Burton

Exhibit A: “Vinsanity”

Exhibit B: “Air”

Posted in NBA, Video |

95 Responses to “Better dunker: Vince Carter or Michael Jordan?”

September 8th, 2008 at 12:08 pm

chrisGO says:

vince was a dunker

michael was a complete player
September 8th, 2008 at 12:09 pm

big sia says:

Vince Carter all day everyday
September 8th, 2008 at 12:10 pm

Zach says:

VINCE NO QUESTION
September 8th, 2008 at 12:15 pm

S-SiN says:

Vince was an insane dunker, the best one I’ve ever seen in game or/and in the contest, but him trying to avoid being labeled as just dunker and seemingly shying away from this aspect of the game all the time costs him a bunch of points in my book. the man has what it takes to make the whole planet pull their hair out yet never fully utilizes it!
September 8th, 2008 at 12:16 pm

jimmhumm says:

Vince got this one. He is probably th ebest dunker of all time. MJ was a killer but VC dunked so hard its close but VC tops mj, kemp, and wilkens.
September 8th, 2008 at 12:17 pm

ERIC says:

This is the only contest Vince would win versus MJ. Enjoy it!
September 8th, 2008 at 12:19 pm

loc says:

VC,
as a raptors fan its so tough and so easy to say. He;s a whiny punk bitch who fucked our time, but he can dunk.

MJ was 100Xs the player, but not dunker.
September 8th, 2008 at 12:19 pm

flegman says:

Shawn Kemp all the way
September 8th, 2008 at 12:19 pm

OGN says:

Forget about it….MJ all day….I seen them both in their prime MJ abused a lot of cats
September 8th, 2008 at 12:19 pm

oscarisalakerfan says:

Vince by like half a mile
September 8th, 2008 at 12:20 pm

loganlight says:

I hate to say it… But Vince Carter is one of the meanest dunkers the game has seen. When it comes to JUST throwing it down, Air Canada/Jersey/Brooklyn takes this one.

Dime, this is a good idea you have going here… especially with the video feeds linked in. This is how you should do a tournament. You can pit great dunkers against each other and as long as everyone can see the players in action, you’ll get some good comments.

Think about it. Then send me a check for my trouble! Haha!

LL
September 8th, 2008 at 12:22 pm

sosa says:

vince carted no doubt…though it appearedthat mike dunked on more cats
September 8th, 2008 at 12:23 pm

DA says:

By far it was Vince
September 8th, 2008 at 12:25 pm

smity far away says:

i say jordan, shorter than vince, glided to the basket, rose up on cats…

vince seems to have more hops than mj had though and more visibile swagger after throwin down

i am enjoying these (video supported debates) though. i want to see some handles and passing comparisons…

but…i say jordan, does anybody know if vince has dunked on shaq before?

actually, has anybody dunked on shaq before? mutumbo, mourning, ewing, hakeem, robinson,- they’ve all been dunked on but has shaq? has he never been crowned before? i can’t remember…
September 8th, 2008 at 12:26 pm

karizmatic says:

Well see this is a very interesting discussion. VC could jump higher than Michael so in a dunk contest setting VC probably wins, although that is not a lock either. But in the game setting as shown here I’d take Jordan because although he didn’t jump as high, he dunked with way more power. Hence, you can see him here simply overpowering guys on the way to the basket and dunking on them. He was probably the strongest guy in the air ever. Jordan dunked on all the same guys VC did except when they were younger. In the video you can see Vince dunked on Mourning and Mutombo. We all know Jordan dunked on Mutombo and we can see Jordan also dunking on a younger Mourning. Anyway Jordan in a game setting because he had so much more power with it.
September 8th, 2008 at 12:27 pm

dapro says:

contest and creativity -Vince

In game or game changing dunks I gotta go with MJ

Vince is the best dunker of all time I got out my seat everytime I saw him throw it down but

MJ’s dunks took the soul out of his opponents. Just when you thought he would go easy, he goes AIR
September 8th, 2008 at 12:29 pm

it aint easy being green says:

vc… ………but it dont change the fact that hes a d-bag!!!!!!!!!!
September 8th, 2008 at 12:29 pm

karizmatic says:

Oh and @ Smity far away Shaq got dunked on less because he is also half the shot blocker of any of those guys you mentioned.
September 8th, 2008 at 12:35 pm

Dennis Castro says:

I say Vince, but not by much. He had the total package when it came to dunking: finesse, power, hangtime, body control.

Vince had some ridiculous dunks, while I view MJ as more of a finesse dunker. But that one MJ had on Ewing still gives me chills when I watch it.
September 8th, 2008 at 12:36 pm

Michorizo says:

Eddy Curry - Nobody can dunk doughnuts like him
September 8th, 2008 at 12:37 pm

DJ Go Go Gomez says:

You know, I was going to say Vince cuz of that teabagging he gave Weiss. But Michael did that on the regular against guys like Ewing, Mutumbo, Olajuwon, and Zo all when those guys were in ther prime or close to it. Maybe not jump over them, but he dunked on those guys nasty. So I got to give it to MJ. And I always felt like Vinces’ dunks were more for show where MJ tried to take your soul. MJ dunked on you to crush your confidence. And to me, Vince did it to make highlight reels.
September 8th, 2008 at 12:39 pm

A-Slam says:

Definately Jordan, Vince was more acrobatic, but im more of a guy who likes a poster dunk. And nearly every dunk on Jordan’s top ten were posters, what he did to Kelly Tripucka on #2 was just filthy
September 8th, 2008 at 12:42 pm

DMAC718 says:

yOU GUYS ARE STUPID AIR GOT IT ALL THE WAY…HE PUT DUDES IN THE CLOSET MY MAN…HE DUNKED ON ALONZO WHENHE WAS IN CHARLOTTE DIKEMBE ALL THE BIG NAME GUYS WERE ON MIKE’S HIT LIST ARE YOU CRAZY…NOT HATING ON VINCE BUT BESIDES THE DUNK IN THE OLYMPICS HE AIN’T GOT SHIT ON MIKE
September 8th, 2008 at 12:49 pm

Celts Fan says:

I love Mike and hate Vince, but it’s Vince no question.
September 8th, 2008 at 12:55 pm

Jeffrey says:

I wouldn’t argue with either player
September 8th, 2008 at 12:55 pm

Jeffrey says:

I wouldn’t argue with either player
September 8th, 2008 at 1:00 pm

shake&bake says:

Just dunking, it’s Vince. Shouldn’t we have Zo judge this one since MJ put it on him in Charlotte and Vince had the nasty one on him Miami. He’s one of the ones who got close-ups from both.
September 8th, 2008 at 1:03 pm

smity far away says:

@karizmatic-

the only player i remember dunking on shaq has been jordan…and maybe steve francis dunked on shaq one time? but has anyone else? has anybody even caught him by surprise one time…
September 8th, 2008 at 1:04 pm

slicrick says:

Lipton Special aside, Vince still brought down the house with his dunks … he aint done yet … MJ was good too, dunking over shot blocking beasts like Zo and em. I think if u had Vince on a one on one fast break against ANYONE,whoever it was would shit themselves. Vince terrified cats, man… MJ just embarassed em.
September 8th, 2008 at 1:05 pm

JA says:

Has to be VC. He also had a sick in game dunk on Timmy D a couple years back that I loved.
September 8th, 2008 at 1:05 pm

slicrick says:

so, VINCE hands down! Even though he is a bitch!
September 8th, 2008 at 1:16 pm

HUH!!!! says:

VINCE by far. someone above said that Vince jumps higher than Mike? I don’t know if that’s true or not but if I had to put my money on it I would say Mike had more hops, but Vince’s dunk game is just unfuckwitable. So he we wins.
September 8th, 2008 at 1:24 pm

fallinup says:

On jordan’s reel, #10…the best part of the dunk was the CHI player next to Rollins sticking his finger in his face after MJ broke his ankles…hilarious.

But yeah, Vince all the way…no classic 2000 olympic dunk though??? Don’t make me bust out the copy pasta.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xp6qJ7LZNlg&feature=related
September 8th, 2008 at 1:32 pm

fallinup says:

Damn, I will say though…all of Jordan’s dunks on that reel are spectacular. Just watching MJ break down defenses and smash one is something unmatched. All those dunks were during games…GOAT.
September 8th, 2008 at 1:41 pm

GarethChantler says:

Jordan’s #3 was sick, maybe his best. Vince’s #3 is the best non-poster dunk of all time imo. MJ was obviously the better player. Vince was the better dunker.
September 8th, 2008 at 1:53 pm

Brandon Hoffman says:

VC
September 8th, 2008 at 2:00 pm

kermit the washington says:

I think people saying it’s Mike are letting his legacy cloud their vision…

Best dunker goes to VINCE. He does “dunk contest” worthy joints IN TRAFFIC, ON PEOPLE’S HEADS. That alone gives him the crown.
September 8th, 2008 at 2:23 pm

Junior says:

Vince is the best dunker of all time
September 8th, 2008 at 2:27 pm

Ian says:

smity
jordan was shorter ??? lol they are both the sime height and the same weight and u base your choice cuz dunking on shaq
my friend shaq is by far the worst defensive player of that list u posted

and comon anyone here sayin jordan is like kermit is right vince does everything he can do in a dunk contest in game
and wilkins is also better than jordan
people why cant many of you just pick the best at something without sayin anything about whos the best overall
all that guys that voted for vince ended their post with jordan was a better player i mean comon
the question is whos the best dunker period and its vince easy

tomorrow the question would be whos the best shot blocker ever and some of u will say jordan
September 8th, 2008 at 2:28 pm

RENO says:

It’s Vince people. When you look at them two dunking, you gotta judge the dunk…. Not the dunker. We all know Jordan is basketballs god but Vince was the better dunker. The elevation, power, swag, creativity… Vince wins….. And this is the only way Vince can beat out MJ. Now that I think about it… I’ve never seen Mike do a 360 dunk. Some body check me if i’m wrong about the 360 please.
September 8th, 2008 at 2:32 pm

Nancy K B says:

Hi… call me plz (316) 321-0101
September 8th, 2008 at 2:45 pm

smity far away says:

@Ian

so i just looked at how tall vince is listed to be and i stand corrected. i had always thought he was supposed to be 6′7″-6′8″.

i don’t remember saying jordan was a better dunker cause he dunked on shaq…do you? nah, you don’t either. i was just wondering if anybody besides francis and jordan have dunked on shaq…

i know shaq is the worst defender on that list of big men. that list was of big men, centers, that i have seen dunked on before. just curious about shaq though.

i think i will say that vince is the better dunker…he still seems taller to me though, lol.

@Ian
September 8th, 2008 at 2:46 pm

marcus the great says:

vince. as said before its the only way he beats jordan and its still soooooooooooo close. MJ did dunk on ALL the great centers in their prime, repeatedly.

but VC is jus vicious. his rookie highlight reel where he caught EVERYbody goin baseline (deke, ratliff, poor smits lol) and i bet no one remembers the oop he caught at the rucker!!!….

and the dunk contest….. on and on and on…
September 8th, 2008 at 2:47 pm

Diego says:

Not even close: VC. (Dunks 9, 4, 3, 2, and 1–Ridiculous!)
September 8th, 2008 at 2:50 pm

James says:

Jordan was nasty and he could dunk on people- it looked like he wasn’t even trying that hard
But Vince when he would dunk on you he got so high- he would never come down
Vince over Jordan but barely.
September 8th, 2008 at 2:59 pm

Ian says:

carters 3 2 1 dunks are all better than jordans 1
September 8th, 2008 at 3:05 pm

Ian says:

smity
hehehe u know why i remembered the height and wweight is cuz u always hear about the next jordan and when vince came out he could dunk like jordan was built like jordan and came from the same school to many similarities
but i guess that he couldnt play like jordan he decided to stop going to the basket and start taking jump shots

i know u didnt exactly say that but comon shaq sucks he doesnt get posterized as much cuz since the players on the list have skills they actually challenged the shots but shaq would just hit u
September 8th, 2008 at 3:06 pm

Ian says:

smity maybe he seems taller cuz he gets up higher?
September 8th, 2008 at 3:13 pm

derrick says:

looking objectively at the two clips above, anybody that goes w/ MJ is clearly biased. half of MJ’s dunks in that top 10 are the same dunk! he just elevates and puts it in. hell, two of the dunks bounced in off the back of the rim! based on the two clips above, i don’t see how anybody can argue against vince as the better dunker.
September 8th, 2008 at 3:36 pm

Souss says:

You guys should do a X vs. Y tournament for who’s the flashiest/most spectacular player with embedded videos… That would be nice… Or better x-over if you need to narrow it down
Vince takes this one by the way…
September 8th, 2008 at 3:42 pm

GEE... runnin a train! says:

Vince’s dunk on Weis alone makes him the greatest dunker ever. I don’t see how anyone will ever top that, unless they going on a 12 ft rim, over an 8 footer actually in a game lol. Yea so Vince should hold it down till the next evolution of ballers takes place.

I would love to see a Mark Jackson vs. Stockton on passing. Stock was pure but Mark did it with flavor.

Or Stock vs. Magic.
September 8th, 2008 at 3:49 pm

loc says:

MJ might have 6 titles.
But VCs got the best dunk EVER, over Weiss.
September 8th, 2008 at 3:54 pm

Al says:

Vince Carter all the way when it comes to dunking
September 8th, 2008 at 4:00 pm

Chaos says:

Vince had waaaaay more creativity and power than MJ did, but he didnt have that soul crushing dunk. everybody in the league knew Vince was gonna dunk on you…he knew he was gonna dunk on you…MJ had more grace and i think he had more hang time. for some odd reason he couldhang in the air and a lot of guys looked confused as hell when he did, like he tricked them in mid air. but….i gotta go with vince by a slight margin becasuse of creativity
September 8th, 2008 at 4:07 pm

johnny says:

DIME, if you do a video tournament, put Maxiell in there he could probably get to the Elite 8.
September 8th, 2008 at 4:12 pm

ERIC says:

@ smitty far away..

There is a clip (which, of course, I cant find) of a game Rapters @ Lakers. Vince took a 3, bounced off the rim, Oakley dove into the stands and saved the ball to Vince who proceeded to attack the basket, rose up high and Shaq was getting the hell out of the way by the time Vince came down to the rim for the jam.
September 8th, 2008 at 4:20 pm

W says:

Can’t stand the guy but it’s Wince…

MJ is obviously the better play but comparing MJ’s dunk contests to Wince’s it isn’t even close.

Oh and dime good stuff with the bad behavior thing, havnt seen any of those dumb dating spam posts anymore.
September 8th, 2008 at 4:20 pm

Market Creator says:

Lots of Vince’s finest work was ommited here. 1) Alley oop windmill at Rucker (indoor) 2) Reverse 1 to 2 hand 360 against Dallas 3) Freddy W 4) Alley oop windmill preseason.

Can anyone unearth these gems?
September 8th, 2008 at 4:37 pm

Jim says:

I was about to say…these top 10 lists don’t show a lot the dunks you are expecting.

It’s Vince, clearly. But the rock the cradle in a game in the 80s, sick.
September 8th, 2008 at 4:50 pm

MC3 says:

MJ is the GOAT.

Vince is the better dunker though.

This didn’t even include dunk contest treats for either.
September 8th, 2008 at 5:04 pm

Akif says:

Vince was nasty back in the day
September 8th, 2008 at 5:58 pm

Dagomar says:

First of all, those highlight packages scratch the surface of what both guys can do.

The contest itself is hard to judge. Vince had better hops. Jordan had much better knowledge of the game and he knew all the angles for dunking over people even when it seemed impossible. Both were tremendously creative in the air, but I feel like Jordan was the more creative of the two. Still, in this at least I give Carter a slight edge. He could go almost as high as Lebron (if not higher) but he had Jordan’s dexterity. A shame he coasted through his career.
September 8th, 2008 at 6:31 pm

rangerjohn (mccain in '08) says:

gonna ask this in the smack tomorrow too but

who has better athletes? NBA OR NFL?
name 10 nba players who could walk on an nfl team today and vise versa
September 8th, 2008 at 7:10 pm

bigt says:

Vince could have been the next Michael…just missing 2 things (Heart & a Competitive Nature)
September 8th, 2008 at 7:24 pm

Jah says:

I’m voting for His Airness.
September 8th, 2008 at 8:15 pm

Mark says:

VC. MJ dunked on people. VC dunked OVER people.
September 8th, 2008 at 9:08 pm

QuesT?? says:

vince carter was a way better dunker than MJ. He dunks so effortlesly
September 8th, 2008 at 9:11 pm

DT says:

Man its gotta be MJ people…just look at all his dunks in the highlight reel, half of them he was actually playing defense and got steals that LED to his dunks and he had to manuever his way to da basket and then still dunked on 7 footers..nowadays people jus get out of the way….if VC played when MJ did, u wouldnt see half of VC’s dunks cuz he would be scared to go up against dudes that would try and knock his ass to da floor…MJ dunked on those fools that tried…all that creativity shit VC tries to do wouldnt happen in the late 80s
September 8th, 2008 at 9:26 pm

Promoman says:

Vince is the best dunker ever. A lot of his dunks have become standard now (the chicken wing, for instance). Vince’s dunk contest resume also doesn’t have the * that Jordan received in the 1988 Dunk Contest in Chicago. And let’s not forget the Lipton. That dunk was done in one of the biggest stages there is (The Olympics) and in a game, uncut & unscripted.
September 8th, 2008 at 9:43 pm

Amos Leak says:

This ain’t even close…Vince was known as pure dunker…Michael was just known as great…so I can’t give Mike Jordan none of this..and like the bull said earlier on this page..Mike dunked on people…Vince dunked over people!
September 8th, 2008 at 11:23 pm

eyeused2b says:

No need to watch the clips. Vince can die knowing that he was better than Jordan doing at least one thing.
September 8th, 2008 at 11:45 pm

hadoken says:

take that top 10 mild sauce and go home…
gimme that fire sauce
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0jAPQb_dNw
September 8th, 2008 at 11:47 pm

hadoken says:

take that top 10 mild sauce and go home…

gimme that fire sauce

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0jAPQb_dNw
September 9th, 2008 at 12:00 am

BrickLayer says:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6LTMPSZw-8

just after the 2 min mark.
September 9th, 2008 at 12:13 am

Jon says:

Well, it depends on what you want:

Do you want the spectacle, the flash, the made-for-the-dunk contest dunks? Then you have to go with VC.

Do you want a dunk that sucks the soul out of the opposition, a dunk that lets everybody on the other team know that they don’t even have a prayer at beating him? Then it was MJ.

MJ’s #1 was perhaps the greatest dunk I’ve ever seen. But its greatness was completely contextual: the Knicks were so close to being able to know out the Bulls those years, and they did it by trying to knock the Bulls’ collective heads off. And then MJ pulled off that dunk, telling the Ewing and his goons that not only was MJ better, but he was tougher too. I still remember it.
September 9th, 2008 at 3:29 am

king ralf says:

the grace of dunking is its hangtime, so i just haveto go with mj. he seems to hang in the air forever, dunno how he does. it says he had slightly less hops than vince, but their hangtime is totally different to me.
September 9th, 2008 at 4:37 am

heartbreaker85 says:

the question raised was, ‘who’s the better dunker.’ stop with the scenarios already.

as much as i think that vc’s wasted talent, he’s the best dunker of all time.

have you ever seen one dunk OVER a 7 something guy during a live game?

mj could dunk, just like kobe can. but not as high like vc. vc could go finesse if he wanted, he could also dunk it ala kemp/amare if he was interested.

you see vc’s dunk on zo?
September 9th, 2008 at 5:02 am

w says:

chrisGO says:

vince was a dunker

michael was a complete player

And that is a perfect way to answer who is the best dunker.
Stupid children are probably the biggest problem of this great website.
September 9th, 2008 at 5:41 am

karan says:

vince was better
the top-10 should’ve had the frieddie weis dunk
after watching the vince dunks, i was (almost) uninterested in the lesser jordan ones - thats not saying that jordan wasnt as amazing dunker, its saying that vince is from another planet of dunks.
i love how the commentator says “alonzo has just changed another shot” seconds before zo gets posterized by VC
September 9th, 2008 at 9:03 am

thomasmmm says:

VC is the better dunker style-wise but he never had consistent attention from the opposing team’s defense nor the pressure to carry his team. Plus, MJ started posterizing the big time defensive players before anyone else.
September 9th, 2008 at 10:22 am

heartbreaker85 says:

yo dime i got a better one for ya, since you went with the ‘best 3 point shooter’, why not start a ‘best dunker of the past 20 years’ contest (so they’ll at least be on you tube)

vc, kemp, wilkins, mj and maybe kobe are in!
September 9th, 2008 at 11:20 am

Kevin Couliau says:

No comparison possible !
Vince is an incredible dunker but that’s all ! He did some crazy tricks thanks to his hops.He’s a showman…
But MJ brought style to the NBA, even a one handed dunk from MJ was more beautiful than VC’s one handed…moreover if you look to the difficulty of each dunks of MJ you can see that MJ was a dunker ! dunking after quick dribbles, small steps, changing rhythm and dunking with grace on a guy’s head…stuff that VC is not able to do !
September 9th, 2008 at 11:51 am

T Dubbs says:

Just for that throw down over a young Alonzo, I’m going with Jordan.
September 9th, 2008 at 12:31 pm

Kudabeen says:

No Jordan = No Vince

Meaning Jordan’s creativity, grace and power lead to the evolution that Vince Carter embodied as a dunker. Vince should be better than Jordan as dunker, because he was both blessed with the athleticism as well as the opportunity to watch one of the transcendent talents of all-time do it…

Either way Vince has the crown, but not the NBA glory of doing it at MJ’s level. That dunk in the playoffs off the base line juke he put on starks and oakley to smash it on Ewing was just impossible and he made it look so easy…All time in game (not NBA specific)) Vince is all alone with that…Weis anyone?
September 9th, 2008 at 12:57 pm

marcus the great says:

goin strictly off of those two clips, i’ll take MJ
September 10th, 2008 at 5:28 am

AB40 says:

VC
September 10th, 2008 at 9:06 am

Drill Phil says:

WOW…………..good job puting vid together
September 11th, 2008 at 10:10 pm

Kevo15 says:

Vinsanity by 2 BILLIE!
September 11th, 2008 at 11:04 pm

P_Dizzle says:

Carter has it in the bag.

That 360 and off the backboard are just sick!
September 15th, 2008 at 9:02 am

Dan says:

VC foreva!!!!
Michael was a good all around player.
VC was pure talent in dunking. He dunked since the age of twelve while little mikey was too small to even get on his high school basketball team
December 22nd, 2008 at 9:59 pm

big matt says:

MJ ALL THE WAY!! Mike dunked when and where it counted.
December 22nd, 2008 at 9:59 pm

big matt says:

MJ ALL THE WAY!! Mike dunked when and where it counted.
December 22nd, 2008 at 10:01 pm

big matt says:

MJ ALL THE WAY!!! Mike dunked when and where it count. IN the GAME.. In traffic and over people… BIG PEOPLE…
February 3rd, 2009 at 11:13 pm

Behind_You says:

MJ was the better player, there’s no contest on that. They’re not even close. But as a dunker? I have to say it goes to Vincanity. Even if he cant compete in numbers with MJ, I think Carter will go down as one of, if not the, greatest dunker(s) in history. You ask me, he’s right up their with Dr. J, Dominique, and Clyde the Glide in dunking.
July 9th, 2009 at 1:10 pm

Anthony says:

OK for all of you people saying Michael was a better dunker, here you go. Vince is the better DUNKER. Not as good of a player as Michael was. And all of you people saying that he dunked on Shaq. Remember back in 2001 when Vince dunked on that above 7′3″ guy in the Olympics. Plus, Vince Carter’s dunks are more visually stunning.

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