Every NBA game features amazing athletic feats, from quick shakes to agile mid-air twists and speedy breaks to soaring rejections. But there’s something particularly visceral about the power dunk. An expression of quickness, explosiveness and strength, when a player flies through an opponent to deliver a jam, it demands your attention.
Dwyane Wade, Gerald Wallace ‘Fly Through’ Opponents
Choose the best example of how Jordan Brand athletes fly through opponents to make plays.
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We’ve selected five examples of Jordan Brand players exhibiting how they “Fly Through” opponents to make plays. Check out our picks, then vote for your favorite in the poll at the end of the post. Next week, we’ll present our picks for the “Fly Around” and “Fly Over” categories. After that, we’ll line up the top picks from each category to determine the quintessential Flight Meter highlight from the Jordan Brand stable.
OPTION 1: DWYANE WADE CRUSHES ANDERSON VAREJAO
This might be Dwyane Wade's greatest dunk ever, and it's a perfect example of what makes Flash special: he's not only has the skill and agility to navigate down the floor quickly, but he's so incredibly strong that he can body up to one of the league's better defensive big men in mid-air ... and win that battle in a landslide. This dunk has everything, but it's Wade's powerful finish that makes it so incredible. (The post-dunk peacock moment doesn't hurt either.)
OPTION 2: CHRIS PAUL ABSORBS CONTACT, FINISHES REVERSE
Chris Paul has amazing body control, and that allows him to fly through contact and still get impressive shots off at the rim. In this play, he's fouled twice -- once by Tony Parker on the way to the rim, and then he's bodied up by Tim Duncan in mid-air. Nonetheless, CP3 finishes with a spectacular reverse toss off the background while airborne.
OPTION 3: GERALD WALLACE FLIES THROUGH GREG ODEN
I hope it's not considered bad taste to present a reminder of Greg Oden so soon after his third microfracture surgery, but Gerald Wallace's poster dunk from 2009 is too good to pass up. Wallace, like Wade, combines athleticism with strength. In this dunk, he gets up for the Raymond Felton deliver, but has the power necessarily to finish through the Oden foul.
OPTION 4: JOE JOHNSON’S SOARING REJECTION
The league's best fly through on defense, too. On this play, Joe Johnson flies through the Bucks' fast break to get at Brandon Jennings' lay-up attempt. Once he's on the scene, J.J. flies through the air to send Jennings' shot out of bounds, cutting off the break before Milwaukee can score.
OPTION 5: KEVIN MARTIN GOES BASELINE
This highlight legitimately qualifies as flying over and flying around defenders, too. But I'll claim it for our "Fly Through" set as Kevin Martin, set up in isolation in the left corner, gets free off the bounce and flys through the Wolves' defense for the soaring jam. Martin is known more for his shooting, but he can get busy above the rim as well.
Which highlights best exemplifies the “Fly Through” attribute? Make your choice below, and stay tuned for the next round of highlights.
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