- The Play: Blake Griffin caught a Chris Paul pass early in the third quarter and hammered home a right-handed slam that many still call the greatest dunk in league history.
- The Victim: Kendrick Perkins, one of the league’s most feared interior defenders at the time, was caught in the “no-fly zone.”
- The Result: The LA Clippers rode the momentum to a 112-100 victory, snapping the Oklahoma City Thunder’s four-game winning streak.
LOS ANGELES — History isn’t just written; sometimes, it’s hammered through a rim with enough force to shake the foundations of a franchise. Fourteen years ago, the Staples Center didn’t just cheer—it gasped. When Chris Paul slipped a pass to a charging Blake Griffin, the world expected a layup or a standard flush. Instead, they witnessed a career-altering collision.
The Physics of a Posterization
Griffin didn’t just jump; he launched. Early in the third quarter of the Clippers’ 112-100 win over the Thunder, Griffin gathered at the dotted line. Kendrick Perkins, standing 6-foot-10 and weighing 270 pounds, stepped up to protect the cup. It was a mistake. Griffin rose so high that his waist was level with Perkins’ shoulders, cocking the ball back with a right hand that seemed to defy gravity.
The ball didn’t just go in; it was thrown through the cylinder with such violence that Griffin’s fingers barely grazed the iron. The impact sent Perkins stumbling and ignited a roar in Los Angeles that hasn’t quite faded since. Griffin finished the night with 22 points and 7 rebounds, but the stat sheet was the last thing anyone cared about.
What They Said
“That was unbelievable, man. We’re going to be seeing that one for years. I can’t wait to see that on TV myself.” — Chauncey Billups, Clippers Guard
“I just tried to go up as hard as I could. This time my fingers hit the rim. It was kind of similar to the Mozgov one, but this felt a little more powerful.” — Blake Griffin
The Legacy of “Lob City”
This single play did more than add two points to the scoreboard. it solidified the “Lob City” era as a cultural phenomenon. It wasn’t just about winning games—though the Clippers did plenty of that, beating a Thunder team led by Kevin Durant’s 36 points and Russell Westbrook’s 31. It was about intimidation.
For Perkins, the dunk became an inescapable shadow. For Griffin, it was the peak of his physical powers, a moment where the “Slam Dunk Champion” label felt like an understatement. Even today, as the clip circulates on social media, the reaction remains the same: you don’t just watch this dunk; you feel it.
