Posterizing a school bully? Pro dunkers share the story of their first dunk
The best dunkers in the world remember their first dunk.
HIGHLAND, Utah — It’s easy to look at NBA players and professional dunkers and think that dunking came easily for them. After all, when these guys are throwing their entire arms through the rim or jumping over people, it makes the simplest dunks look insignificant.
But even for the best dunkers in the world, there was a time when dunking was a struggle. They all spent countless hours in the gym, jumping, practicing and, yes, missing a ton of dunks.
Yet, little tops the feeling of pure jubilation that comes with a first dunk. We caught up with the top competitive dunkers at The Dunk Camp in Utah — founded by 47-year-old dunker Andy Nicholson — and had them tell us about their first dunk.
Jordan Kilganon , professional dunker
“I do remember my first dunk, and I wasn’t happy with it. So, it wasn’t a good first dunk. But yeah, basically I lobbed it up on an outdoor court. I got it with two hands and just finger-tipped it in. I didn’t even tell anybody about it because I wasn’t happy with it. And I didn’t get another one until like six months later, and I would try pretty much every day.
“That was my problem because I never took rests at that age. I was like 16. I just dunked every single day for like three, four hours a day.”
This is what Kilganon does now:
Isaiah Rivera, professional dunker
“Definitely, definitely. It was here in Utah. I was outside. I remember my neighbors were always outside playing basketball with me and stuff. I had just woke up in the morning – I hadn’t even brushed my teeth or anything like that. I just felt like jumping, so I went straight outside to the basketball court. I remember my neighbors were in their driveway – just like talking and stuff.
“Then, I went – set my camera up. Tried a couple times and then the perfect jump happened. Hit it. I just like screamed. I asked my neighbors if they saw it. They didn’t see it. Ran inside, told my dad that I dunked. He didn’t believe it. He was like, ‘Where’s the video?’
“What’s funny is right after I hit my first dunk, I tried a 360 right after that. It goes along with that thing – I’m never satisfied by where I’m at. Literally, after the first dunk, I was like, ‘Alright. What’s next?’
“Really cool moment, and it just jumpstarted this crazy, crazy passion of mine.”
Rivera has been up to this since:
He dunked over BLAKE GRIFFIN
@blakegriffin23 @quai54wsc #Quai54 pic.twitter.com/Jjo8mOm6RG
— Overtime (@overtime) June 22, 2019
Mik Hrabczuk, performance trainer and 5-foot-5 dunker
“The first dunk, man. I have to give my friend, Chandler, big props for recording all day. We were at the ASU (Arizona State) rec center for what had to be three or four hours and hundreds of attempts. I just kept back-rimming, back-rimming, back-rimming with one hand. Took a little second, figured if I get up there, might as well just try and go with two. It might be a little easier to actually make the dunk.
“And sure enough, hit it with two hands. I kind of just blacked out. That was something that I’ve worked so hard for that I didn’t really believe it happened. I think I watched the replay on the camera for the rest of the day, the rest of the night.”
He’s jumping over people now.
Steven Celi, YouTube dunker
“It was on a low rim at the time. I didn’t know, but sometimes in gyms they’re bent from people hanging on them and stuff. But I didn’t know that at the time, so it was a couple inches low. But I had been training on that rim. It was the first rim I touched. The first rim I hung on. The first rim I hung on with two hands. All my milestones were on that rim. It was a gym that I was always at playing, and I never really thought to dunk on.
“I just went up off one foot, which I don’t jump off one foot anymore – I jump off two feet. But I went up off one foot. That day, I tried like 10 to 15 tries – miss, miss, miss. I felt so close, and then I put one down and it just felt like an amazing moment. It felt like surreal, but at the same time, it felt like it had already happened because I knew it was possible. It was about time. I knew I was jumping higher, and I really believed that I could do it.
“So, when I hit it, it felt like the start of everything. I was like, ‘OK, I had this dream. And now it just became a reality.’ So now it was a start of how far could I take this.”
Celi has since launched a “Dunk Life” YouTube channel and merchandise line.
Dallon Findlay, professional dunker
“My first dunk was my senior year in high school. I was 18 years old. I was on the high-jump team in track & field, which I couldn’t jump high, but that’s why I joined the team to try to jump higher.
“I was not the biggest, strongest, fastest kid in high school. I was pretty small. I was only about 5-9, 120, 125. I was a pretty small kid, and in high school, I had a few bullies. Just like a lot of people do. And there was one guy in particular who always gave me a hard time.
“I remember that we were in gym class, and we were just playing pickup basketball. And he was guarding me, and I was like, ‘Ok, I’m going to score so many points on this guy.’ I had one possession where I got the ball on the top of the key, and I was able to fake, I got him to step, I ran down. I went up to dunk, and he jumped – my very first dunk was a poster on one of my high school bullies.
“It was one of the greatest moments of my life.”
Yeah, that story can’t be topped. This is what Dallon is up to now:
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