Donovan Mitchell came out in a throwback Darrell Griffith uniform for one of his dunks during the NBA Dunk Contest Saturday night.
Who was Darrell Griffith, also known as Dr. Dunkenstein?
Donovan Mitchell paid tribute to a Jazz and Louisville Cardinal legend on Saturday night.
Photo by Mike Powell/Getty Images
Mitchell had the purple throwback Jazz uniform and even included the appropriate short shorts:
He proceeded to dunk over a crouched Kevin Hart and two kids. But a lot of young fans, or nonbasketball fans in general didn’t know of Griffith, better known as Dr. Dunkenstein.
So who was Darrell Griffith?
Griffith was selected by the Utah Jazz in the 1980 NBA draft after winning a national championship with Louisville (also Mitchell’s alma mater). He played 11 seasons with the Jazz. He won the NBA’s Rookie of the Year in 1981 and has his No. 35 retired by the Jazz.
His career slowed down after not playing in the 1985-86 season because of a foot injury, and a couple of guys by the name of Karl Malone and John Stockton came around in 1984 and 1985.
Where did “Dr. Dunkenstein” come from?
The nickname came thanks to George Clinton’s Parliament-Funkadelic collective. Griffith’s brother, Michael, came up with it because he was a big fan of Parliament.
They had a song called “Dr. Funkenstein”:
So Dr. Funkenstein became Dr. Dunkenstein for Griffith.
He participated in the first NBA Dunk Contest.
Griffith, along with Larry Nance Sr., Michael Cooper, Clyde Drexler, Julius Erving, Edgar Jones, Ralph Sampson, Dominique Wilkins, and Orlando Woolridge competed in the first NBA Dunk Contest in 1984.
Nance came away with the title, but it included Dr. Dunkenstein.
In 2018, tributes were paid to both Griffith and Nance. Larry Nance Jr. put on his father’s uniform and dunked, as Mitchell did with Griffith.
Before the NBA, he became one of the best college dunkers of all time.
From 1976-1980, Griffith was a leader for the Louisville Cardinals, averaging 18.5 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 3.0 assists during his career.
But he was known for his dunks:
This was where Dr. Dunkenstein was born. His Jazz and Louisville connection, combined with Mitchell’s dunk contest appearance and similar credentials, made a tribute only appropriate.
He carried it out well, as it was one of his dunks that collectively won him the 2018 NBA Dunk Contest.
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