Slam dunk
Introduction
During the 1940s and 1950s, 7-foot center and Olympic gold medalist Bob Kurland was dunking regularly during games. Yet defenders viewed the execution of a slam dunk as a personal affront that deserved retribution; thus defenders often intimidated offensive players and thwarted the move. Satch Sanders, a career Boston Celtic from 1960 to 1973, said: "...in the old days, [defenders] would run under you when you were in the air... ...trying to take people out of games so they couldn't play. It was an unwritten rule..." Still, by the late 1950s and early 1960s players such as Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain had incorporated the move into their offensive arsenal. At this time, dunking was a practice most commonly used by the tallest and biggest men (usually standing close to the hoop) to show their reach and strength. Then through the 1970s, players like David Thompson, Julius Erving and Darryl Dawkins popularized the move with more athletically executed dunks (with high-flying jumps and turns). This transformed dunking into the standard fare it is today.
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