Terrence Ross’ Top 10 Dunks

All-Star Weekend is quickly approaching and with it one of the most anticipated spectacles: the Slam Dunk Contest. James White, Kenneth Faried, Gerald Green, Jeremy Evans, Eric Bledsoe and Terrence Ross are the six competitors looking to steal the show come Saturday night.

Today we take a look at the 10 best dunks from Terrence Ross’ career (or at least the ones uploaded to YouTube). Unlike White and Green, who are dunk contest regulars, Ross made a name for himself this year thanks a vicious array of in-game dunks. I’m sure the Toronto Raptors team shop at the Air Canada Centre is stock full of Ross posters not even halfway through his rookie campaign.

Ross is the youngest competitor in the competition and I’m sure there will be plenty of tricks to go along with the youthful spring in his legs.

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10. DUNK VS. HORNETS
First off, the referee that called an offensive foul should have been fined right then and there. Yes, this dunk didn’t technically count, but that didn’t stop Ross from showing Jason Smith just why the #LetRossDunk campaign got started in the first place. There’s no disagreeing that both players were still going full force even though the whistled had already blown. Sorry Jason, Ross-1 Smith-0.

9. DUNK VS. ROCKETS
There’s not just one dunk in this video. There are three, and each one is better than the one before it. Technically this brings the list to 12 dunks, but whoever complained about seeing more dunks? Ross would score a then career-high 19 points in this game. With the All-Star Game being in Houston this year, I don’t think it is a mere coincidence that Ross had one of his best games and dunks in this game.

8. SLEDGEHAMMER DUNK VS. BOBCATS
This dunk is just mean. If Kevin Durant is not nice, than Terrence Ross is a straight bully. He brings up the rear during a break with point guard Kyle Lowry, cocks the ball back behind his head and just unleashes fury upon the rim. I don’t know what Ross did to celebrate New Year’s Eve, but on the court he brought in 2013 with a definite bang.

7. STEAL & DUNK VS. HEAT
A number of Ross’ dunks this season came on the fast break and this one is no different. Thanks to an errant Joel Anthony pass, Ross was off to the races, being closely tracked by Dwyane Wade. But I’m pretty sure Wade had seen the past three entries on this list, which is why he — smartly — stopped short of trying to jump with Ross. Ross, for his part, glided easily to the rim without so much of a second thought of Wade’s effort.

6. PUTBACK VS. MAGIC
The Orlando Magic was highlight reel material for Ross during their December meeting in Toronto. Fans were treated to an early Christmas gift as Ross was stuffing dunk after dunk into the hoop like it was a stocking. Though the fans were delighted, Magic guard J.J. Redick must have felt like he was given a lump of coal after Ross threw down the Ed Davis miss on top of his head.

5. SUMMER LEAGUE VS. KINGS
This dunk was Terrence Ross’ announcement to the NBA that he deserved to be in the dunk contest. A simple backdoor cut against a defender not facing the ball leads to another poster slam for Ross. The defender obviously wasn’t embarrassed enough by getting beat backdoor so he decided to try and jump with Ross, which was most likely his biggest mistake while in Las Vegas.

4. 360 ALLEY-OOP VS. MARQUETTE
A nominee for “Dunk of the Year” in 2012, Ross put his leaping ability on display at the world’s most famous arena, Madison Square Garden. Thanks to a great lob from now Memphis Grizzlies point guard Tony Wroten, Ross twirled effortlessly in the air to slam it home and bring the crowd to their feet.

3. WINDMILL VS. MAGIC
This was the second dunk from his aerial attack on the Orlando Magic. After getting the steal, you can see Ross immediately takes notice of the open court and is preparing for something spectacular. Spectacular it is. Taking off from outside of the key and crossing the ball across his body, J.J. Redick can only look on with the same awestruck expression as the fans in the crowd. At least this time Redick was able to keep himself out of the poster.

2. PUTBACK VS. NETS
This play just screams athleticism in every language. People knew that Ross was a great athlete when he entered the NBA, but actions — or should I say putbacks — speak louder than words. Ross put the whole Barclays Center on notice after contorting his body around and under the hoop for this ferocious finish.

1. PREGAME DUNK AT WASHINGTON
Oftentimes, some of the best dunks you witness are done during the pregame. This is the case with Ross’ No. 1 dunk. This dunk is good enough to win Ross a dunk contest right now. The baseline off-the-backboard dunk has been seen in previous contest, but Ross adds his own touch by having the passer hit the ball off of a support beam behind the backboard.

What does Ross have to do to beat Green and White?

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