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One expert, Mitch Kupchak, the Lakers assistant general manager, was asked to name the games bona fide super leapers. Contending that the Cougars had reneged on paying the remaining $80,000 of a $125,000 signing bonus due on May 15, 1970, he reversed himself and signed a fouryear, $950,000 contract extension to stay with the 76ers through 197475 on July 15, 1970. Jones, a noted defensive terror. Bobby Jones could swoop and soar. He would get up in the air and spread those wings, hed be swoopin. And there was a dog. You get it. I saw him come down the floor once, in the Eastern League, on a fast break. There are celebrity dunk-offs. These guys will never forget the blur of that mullet-ed head flying past them. For three days, Rabbit put on a show like theyve never seen before. Professional basketball player We have tools and resources that can help you use sports data. The white guys listed below are heroes of the basketball world. In the 197374 season, Cunningham and the Cougars finished third in the Eastern Division and lost again to the Kentucky Colonels in the Eastern Division semifinals. In 1976-77, the season before Cunningham took the helm, the Sixers reached The Finals, only to fall to the Portland Trail Blazers. Encyclopedia.com. People think, mistakenly in most cases, that they could hit a baseball, Costas says. He was an incredible shot blocker. I asked Kareem if he ever did, and he could jump a little bit. These are not necessarily great basketball players, understand, but their ability to jump has made them objects of something much deeper than profound respect. Thats the outer space were dealing with today, the sky above the hoop, the rare air inhabited by only a select group of humans, the legendary leapers. Copyright 2000-2023 Sports Reference LLC. Even back in his Florida State days, where he was ACC Rookie of the year for the 1991-92 season, it was obvious that he loved to run, jump, and make friends with the rim. All logos are the trademark & property of their owners and not Sports Reference LLC. Professional basketball player The Doc won it with a long run, a leap from two inches inside the free throw line and a dramatic, powerful windmill slam. Youd be hard pressed to find a list of Best Dunks that didnt include his legendary knee-to-the-throat jump on Mark Jackson, where he rose like a Phoenix (how clever!) But with a leaper, everybody instantly knows they couldnt do it, that only the tiniest fraction of humans can jump that high.. He had tested thousands of Navy pilots during the war, and he said Griffiths was the highest he ever measured.. We Have Fusion Energy! Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. //]]>. [2] At the conclusion of the season he was named to the NBA All-Rookie Team. Then we ask him to jump and we mark the highest point he touched. In the 2005 NBA pre-draft camp he gained 34.5 inches of air. The most frequent flyers? window.__mirage2 = {petok:"ZbxZ3AJWWjyZL0HXDpABwVdW.7p3rtLrWMEsK2FPL0A-86400-0"}; One boy did dunks of a monster nature, so they named him after the only monster they knew that could fly--Rodan. Weary of the NBA lifestyle, Cunningham retired. After playing for Philadelphia from 1965 to 1972, he signed a free agent contract with the ABA's . The two teams waged a court battle, each claiming the rights to Cunningham, but the new league won. Wilt Chamberlain claims that his sergeant, during his prime, was 46 to 48 inches, easy. Of course, Wilt also claims he once averaged 50 points for an entire NBA season, so his credibility is suspect. The World's Most Entertaining Car Website. Send us your videotape. He and Hal Greer were the only key players from the 1967 championship team still playing vital roles. He averaged 24.1 ppg (fourth best in the league) and 6.3 apg (fifth best), leading the Cougars to a 57-27 record, tops in the ABAs Eastern Division. [5] The reversal of that judgment in the United States Court of Appeals .mw-parser-output .frac{white-space:nowrap}.mw-parser-output .frac .num,.mw-parser-output .frac .den{font-size:80%;line-height:0;vertical-align:super}.mw-parser-output .frac .den{vertical-align:sub}.mw-parser-output .sr-only{border:0;clip:rect(0,0,0,0);height:1px;margin:-1px;overflow:hidden;padding:0;position:absolute;width:1px}6+12 months later on April 5, 1972, meant that Cunningham was obligated to honor his Cougars contract until its expiration in October 1974. https://www.encyclopedia.com/humanities/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/cunningham-william-john-billy, "Cunningham, William John ("Billy") In the Division Finals, the Cougars lost a tight seven-game series to the Kentucky Colonels, 4 games to 3. Soon Greer would be alone. Mike Conley, who is 6-2 and a triple jumper, won the Foot Locker Slam Dunk Contest last weekend, with 6-2 Raider receiver Tim Brown finishing third and swimmer Matt Biondi in the top five. Here's a number: 44 inches. . The following season, the Sixers finished behind Boston in the standings and were upset by the New Jersey Nets in the first round. Youre entering another world up there. Billy Cunningham. Latrell Sprewell, a rising NBA star, would be known more for his off-court antics than his bas, Erving, Julius 1950 Pretty darn safe. After acquiring the talented Moses Malone for the 19821983 season, Philadelphia won sixty-five regular season games and then the league championship, losing one of thirteen play-off games. On a good day, he said. He had wide shoulders--he was built like Orlando (Woolridge), 6-7 or 6-8. Then, copy and paste the text into your bibliography or works cited list. In the far-up Land of Leap, the unit of currency is the dunk. Now thats something to brag about at Sunday family dinners. Billy Cunningham was born on June 3, 1943. Its like walking on air. He was six or eight inches away. The Cougars' attempt to file an injunction against him was denied in United States District Court on September 24, 1971. Sure, Casper and friends tend to dominate less vertically challenging sports like golf, hockey, and tennis, but they have also held their own on the floorboards. We have tools and resources that can help you use sports data. But he was over by a good six to eight inches. Joe Vanilla Sky Alexander has restless, jumpy feet that propel him way up to block shots and confound his opponents. Its almost like burlesque dancing. Wilt meets me at mid-court and says, Na, na, na, not this time.. In 1965, Cunningham joined the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association. Cunningham achieved a career trifecta in law, business, and government. Cunningham led the league in steals with 216 and was fourth in scoring with a 24.1 points-per-game average. The breakthrough occurred when Harvey Pollack, the venerable stat whiz of the Philadelphia 76ers, collected dunk data from every team for the entire 1987-88 NBA season, accounting for every last slammeroo. I dont want anyone ripping rib-cage muscles or wrenching spinal disks. CREATIVE. Uh oh! The single-game high was eight, by Drexler, against the Lakers. Trenkle had heard of the Gus Johnson nail, so when the Southern Idaho team was passing through Moscow on a trip, he ordered the bus driver to stop outside the Corner Club, and he took Joey inside. In the Museum of Leap, Wilt (the Big Dipper) Chamberlain has his own wing. His jersey number "32" was later retired by Philadelphia. In the 19691970 season he averaged a career high of 26.1 points, the fourth highest in the league, and was again selected as an All-Star. 44 is only four inches less than the NBAs all-time record by His Airness, Michael Jordan, and also by Darrell Griffith. Herb was not drafted, but was invited to Hawks camp after his senior year and made the 1970-71 team as a point-guard backup and road roommate of another rookie, Pete Maravich. And Dirk Nowitzki who no doubt has walls plastered top to bottom with awards and achievements. Clutch West, with his awe-inspiring 60-foot shot in the 1970 NBA Final. Cunningham scored 18.9 points per game. However, you can take all the sergeant numbers of all the jumping jacks, put the numbers in a manure spreader and sprinkle them on your lawn or garden. Then theres Jerry Mr. Therefore, be sure to refer to those guidelines when editing your bibliography or works cited list. He once grabbed a record 27 rebounds in a game vs. Clemson on February 16, 1963. He was with the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers for 17 years . He ran out of his house and to the hoop at St. Rose of Lima grammar school, three blocks away. At Southern Idaho, the legend grew. Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. Now, as radio's "Voice of the Common Man," Bill merges all his knowledge, along with his distinguished guests to enrich the minds of his loyal and participative audience. Its not just his personality that gets attention, though; hes been an NBA Champion in 2013, participated in the Slam Dunk Contest twice, and his vertical leap measures in at a not-too-shabby 37 inches. The man waits and waits for Jackie to start coming down, but waits too long. Billy Cunningham was inducted to the Hall of Fame as a Player in 1986 (Full List) About a year ago, I was in a playground game with some black guys. In 1987, Cunningham replaced Tom Heinsohn as the lead color commentator (alongside play-by-play man Dick Stockton) for CBS' NBA telecasts. Billy Cunningham was born in Brooklyn, New York. It was so much air that it tied young Pat for the spot of second-highest vertical leap recorded up to that point. Boston kept Philadelphia out of The 1981 Finals, but the Sixers roared back to the 1982 before falling to the Lakers again. Imagine yourself lifting off the blacktop, up and up, until you can reach into the air far above the rim. Browse 1,052 billy cunningham stock photos and images available, or start a new search to explore more stock photos and images. The next season, the consistent Cunningham scored 23.3 points per game and was selected as an All-Star for the fourth time. If you are having difficulty accessing any content on this website, please visit our Accessibility page. The Smooth Criminal, as he was called when he played for Spain, didnt stick with the NBA for too long, but sure made an impact. Cunningham became a playground regular, a gym rat, and a high school star, leading Erasmus Hall to the New York City Championship in 1961. Can you do that? Dont try a big leap. Most of these leapers are black, and in the late 50s and early 60s, the NBA still had unofficial quotas, and only eight or nine teams. What time is Billy Cunningham's Sunday night show on? He said he was afraid he would cut himself. Retrieved February 22, 2023 from Encyclopedia.com: https://www.encyclopedia.com/humanities/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/cunningham-william-john-billy. If youre looking for scale, thats taller than most baby elephants. These are professional men: Dr. J, Dr. Dunkenstein, Dr. Jam. the official stats partner of the NBA, NHL and MLB. In the exhibition season he was assigned to bring the ball up the court against Bostons K.C. However, the poet laureate of leap is Darryl Dawkins. It looked like the half-court line was around a mile and a half away, Cunningham said. Really, though, hed have to in order to make it look like he belonged there among all the African American bball greats. Watch our How-To Videos to Become a Stathead, Subscribe to Stathead and get access to more data than you can imagine. Someone would put a quarter up and Id snatch it down. 1936-1999 After the 19711972 season, Cunningham left Philadelphia and the NBA for the rival American Basketball Association (ABA), signing on with the (North) Carolina Cougars. They were like jazz musicians in sneakers. He was a competitor, said Lewis Schaffel, one of Cunninghams partners in the Miami Heat who grew up with him in Brooklyn. Unlike Thompson, a huge star at North Carolina State, Dr. J kind of sneaked up on the basketball world. Right now Johnson is red-shirting at ASU. Nobody ever played the game could rise any better than Jackie. Its a rush, a thrill, said the Elevator from Decatur. Granted, the majority of the NBAs highest flying players have been African Americans, but some of the white guys get their share of air time. Has Joey Johnson simply outleaped the game of basketball? //