Sunday, June 2, 2013

Grant Hill finally calls it quits, 22 years after throwing down one of the greatest dunks ever

Grant Hill retired today.  I've always disliked Duke, and because of that I never became much of a Hill fan.  But if it weren't for constant nagging injuries, he'd likely be a surefire first ballot hall of famer.  In only his second NBA season (1995-96) Hill put up 20 points, 10 rebounds, and 7 assists per game.  But from '98 through 2006 he just couldn't stay healthy, missing an average of 37 games a year (including all but 4 contests in '00-'01, and the entire '03-'04 season).  Hill kept fighting back time after time though, and amazingly suited up for 243 out of 246 games from 2008-2011, even logging nearly 30 minutes a night at the age of 39.

 My lasting memory of Hill will always be his one-handed alley oop from the 1991 NCAA title game against Kansas.  I'd rank it among the 5 greatest dunks in basketball history, and he did it as a college freshman while winning a National Championship (it's at the 25 second mark of this clip):



Another of my all-time favorite dunks also happened in 1991; Dee Brown's no-look jam to win that year's NBA slam dunk contest.

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