The NBA is known for all of its classic moments. When we think of these iconic plays, we remember everything from the athlete who made the spectacular highlight to the poor guy who was on the other end suffering. We will always remember Tyronn Lue for being stepped over by Allen Iverson as well as Horace Grant for being posterized by John Starks. It seems to be a rite of passage, as many players embarrassed on the list have been very successful in the NBA from an individual perspective. From Craig Ehlo to Isiah Thomas, here are The Goats of the NBA's 25 Most Iconic Moments.
25. Bay Poster
24. The Dream Shake
23. Rock the Baby
Date: 1/5/1983
Matchup: Lakers @ 76ers
Goat: Michael Cooper
Career Years: 1978-90
Career Stats: 873 G, 8.9 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 4.2 APG, 1.2 SPG, 0.6 BPG
You know this is an iconic dunk when this is simply a 1983 regular season game against the Lakers. Dr. J was a revolutionary player and plays like this are how he grew his legend. Michael Cooper seemed to realize as soon as he jumped that he made the wrong decision, and decided right away to duck for cover. According to Cooper, he does get a check based off of this piece on ESPN.
But Cooper repeated his claim later in the evening while emceeing the event. He joked with the crowd, saying I tried to clown him. He recounted our exchange, saying that he receives $1,500 every time it airs.
Michael Cooper played his entire career with the Lakers before becoming an assistant coach in the NBA for the Lakers and Denver Nuggets, and a head coach in the WNBA for the Los Angeles Sparks.
22. A.I.'s Step-Over
21. K.J. Lives the Dream
20. A Portland Poster
19. The Posterization
18. Squawking Chicken
17. The Dunk
16. Memorial Day Miracle
15. The Game-Saver
14. The Baseline Move
13. Eight Points, Nine Seconds
12. The Steal & the Finish
11. The Shrug
10. Ralph Sampson's Shocker
9. LJ's Four-Point Play
8. Gar Heard's Big Shot in the Greates Game Ever Played
7. A Steal by Bird
6. Big Shot Rob Does It Again
5. Henderson Steals the Ball
4. The Junior Sky Hook
3. "Havlicek Stole the Ball"
2. The Shot
Date: 5/17/1993
Matchup: Game 4 EC Semifinals, Bulls @ Cavs
Goat: Craig Ehlo
Career years: 1983-97
Career stats: 873 G, 8.6 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 2.6 APG, 1.1 SPG, 0.3 BPG
"The Shot" played a big part in establishing Michael Jordan as a clutch playoff performer during his career. Jordan's game winner over Ehlo helped propel Chicago to an Eastern Conference Finals birth in 1989. His jumper is usually ranked very high on everyone's list as one of the most clutch shots in NBA history. Craig Ehlo went on to continue a long and relatively successful career in the NBA. He retired in '97 and went on to be a television analyst for Gonzaga's basketball team and then would become an assistant coach for Eastern Washington University. Now if only he would stop burning clothes in his driveway.
In an interview with Deadspin, Ehlo explained how his players would still bring up Jordan's game-winner to him when he was coaching at Eastern Washington.
"[At Eastern Washington], we'll go to practice, and the guys will have been watching ESPN Classic the night before, or that Gatorade commercial will come on, and when that happens practice always starts with those guys saying, 'Hey coach, you were on TV last night, I saw your play.' Then it goes into a big whole, you know-I have to tell the story about how the game went. It's a good thing; it's not a bad thing. I think the kids get a real kick out of it."