Shawn Kemp's epic finger point after monstrous dunk among the best celebrations in NBA history
Seattle Supersonics fans can still picture it today. In their minds, they can clearly see Shawn Kemp catch the lob pass in his left hand at the top of the key. Kemp then takes two gargantuan steps toward the rim, pulls the ball into his body and delivers one of the most monstrous, posterizing dunks the world has ever seen.
What came next, however, is what every NBA fan still remembers. After sending Alton Lister to the floor, Kemp squats down and points at Lister with both hands. If the dunk wasn’t enough, the finger point drove the point home: Lister had just gotten completely embarrassed.
That entire sequence is the reason Kemp’s finger point is among the best celebrations in NBA history. But don’t just take our word for it. A number of NBA players — including Wendell Carter Jr. and Mike Conley — agree with that assessment.
Carter and Conley are among the handful of players to talk about Kemp’s epic finger point in Yahoo Sports’ new The G.O.A.T.S. video, which focuses on the best NBA celebrations of all time. Kemp has some company for that title, of course. NBA players also mentioned Kobe Bryant, Steph Curry and Dikembe Mutombo as candidates for the greatest celebration in NBA history. And, of course, you know Michael Jordan was involved.
While all those celebrations are worthy of consideration, there’s one thing about Kemp’s that stands out above the rest. Golden State Warriors big man Draymond Green summed it up the best.
“You could never do that today,” Green said. “You would get thrown out the game so fast. That’s my favorite one.”
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Chris Cwik is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at christophercwik@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik
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