Image via Complex Original
If you've ever sat down and watched one, then you know that Pro-Am basketball games look absolutely nothing like actual basketball games. With final scores like 141-138, Pro-Am games feature minimal ball movement, very little teamwork, and just about no defense. But there is one thing that Pro-Am games feature pretty prominently: Facial dunks. With every pro and amateur basketball player on the floor attempting to make a name—and, more importantly, a YouTube highlight reel—for himself, you'll see more facial dunks than bounce passes during the typical Pro-Am game. And over the course of the last few years, that's led to quite a few impressive facials. So as we continue to look ahead to the upcoming 2013-14 NBA season (only 93 days left!), we decided to take a quick look back at some of the greatest Pro-Am facials ever. These are The Best Facial Dunks in Recent Pro-Am Basketball League History…
Alphonso McKinnie Makes a Name for Himself
When: July 2013
The victim: Shawn Marion
Event: Nike-Jordan Chicago League Pro-Am
The smile on Marion's face after he gets dunked on by the UW-Green Bay forward here says, "I bet you wouldn't have been able to do that to me back when I was 25, young'n." And he's right. But he still took an L here.
John Wall Flexes All Over Jerry Stackhouse
When: August 2009
The victim: Jerry Stackhouse
Event: Greater North Carolina Pro-Am
Today, Stackhouse serves as a mentor for Wall. We wonder how many times Wall had to apologize to him for doing this before Stackhouse finally agreed to that arrangement.
P.J. Hairston Puts Jerry Stackhouse on Another Poster
When: August 2012
The victim: Jerry Stackhouse
Event: Greater North Carolina Pro-Am
Hey, uh, Jerry, no offense but you might want to STOP PLAYING IN PRO-AM LEAGUES! Or don't and keep getting dunked on in them. Whatever works for you.
Dominique Lacy Earns a Spot on SportsCenter
When: July 2012
The victim: Tracey McFadden
Event: South Carolina Pro-Am
Forget categorizing this as one of the best facial dunks that we've ever seen in a Pro-Am game. This is one of the best facial dunks we've ever seen, well, ever. No wonder the UNC-Wilmington forward ended up on ESPN last summer.
Geoff McDermott Gives Kevin Durant a Taste of His Own Medicine
When: August 2011
The victim: Kevin Durant
Event: Dyckman Summer League
The smile on McDermott's face at the end of this clip says it all. We hope his teammates got him some ice cream or something after the game.
Drew Gordon Deads "Linsanity" Once and For All
When: July 2013
The victim: Jeremy Lin
Event: San Francisco Bay Area Pro-Am
Lin managed to put up 45 points—yes, 45 points!—during this game. And yet, the only thing that anyone is going to remember about it is that the Rockets point guard was in the wrong place at the wrong time on a rebound and got dunked on by Gordon, a former UCLA/University of New Mexico star.
Drew Gordon Does It Again
When: August 2012
The victim: Unknown defender
Event: San Francisco Bay Area Pro-Am
Here's why Jeremy Lin shouldn't be ashamed about getting dunked on by Gordon. On this play, Gordon dunks all over a dude who is way taller than Lin and gets the and-one call, too. That's just nasty.
Steven Mallory Steals Agent Zero's Soul
When: June 2013
The victim: Gilbert Arenas
Event: Drew League
Arenas has made one headline for playing basketball in the last year. And unfortunately, it was for trying to stop the Norfolk State University forward here. Ouch.
Derrick Favors Makes Louis Williams Look Silly
When: August 2011
The victim: Louis Williams
Event: Wallace Prather Jr. Pro-Am
Wait, was that Louis Williams or Kevin Hart trying to stop Favors from dunking? Either way, little man did absolutely nothing to stop it from happening.
Will Sheehey Proves White Men CAN Jump
When: June 2011
The victim: Unknown defender
Event: Indy Pro-Am
That awkward moment when you forget that the white guy dribbling down the court once did this for the Indiana Hoosiers...
Austin Rivers Does Duke Proud Against a Tar Heel
When: July 2011
The victim: Rasheed Wallace
Event: Greater North Carolina Pro-Am
Sheed tried to do the right thing here and got the hell out of the way when it was clear that Rivers was going to dunk the ball. But he did it a split-second late so it still looks like Rivers got him. The crowd's reaction pretty much sealed the deal.
Justin Graham Will Not Be Denied
When: August 2011
The victim: Unknown defenders
Event: San Francisco Bay Area Pro-Am
On the low, this dunk by the former San Jose State University star might be the best facial on this list. Who saw this coming?! Certainly not the two defenders who tried to block Graham. Damn.
Landry Fields Flies Over Adonal Foyle
When: June 2009
The victim: Adonal Foyle
Event: San Francisco Bay Area Pro-Am
This is how you know most Pro-Am games are a joke. Even guys like Landry Fields are out here dunking on cats!
Jamal Crawford Shows Spencer Hawes Who's Boss
When: August 2012
The victim: Spencer Hawes
Event: Jamal Crawford Summer Pro-Am
If you're going to name a Pro-Am after yourself, then delivering at least one facial is mandatory. Too bad Hawes didn't get the memo about that.
Jordan Crawford Outleaps LeBron James
When: July 2009
The victim: LeBron James
Event: LeBron James Skills Academy
Even though Crawford's NBA career has been pretty uneventful thus far, he'll always be able to tell his grandkids about the time he dunked on LeBron so hard that King James tried to have Nike destroy all evidence of it ever happening. What a moment.