very classy answer by cooper

The fact that Cooper is laughing while he recalls the moment really shows the respect he has for Dr. J. That was an awesome dunk.

This will NEVER be duplicated because this move came straight from his heart and soul. Talk about POETRY in MOTION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The last slo-mo is priceless. Crowd starts to get off their feet... the approach, Dr. J's massive hands first bringing the ball down below his waste, before take-off and a cradle-windmill perfect dunk. You couldn't stage a better dunk in 50 takes. And this was live and in-game... Goose bumps.

Not only was this an amazing dunk, but let's not forget that Chick Hearn in an impromptu moment eloquently described it as “Aaand rock the baby to sleep”. Pure synergy happening there.

Probably the greatest dunk of all time.

After all these years …. Still the best dunk ever

michael cooper was a great defensive player......that makes this dunk even sicker

This is my all time favorite dunk. It's literally the perfect basketball play. Good defense on one end leads to a transition score opportunity. Perfect give and go, improvisation with the cradle fake and the finish. No wasted movement... just awesome.

Dr J was the man, and he was past his prime here and still dominated

Great combination of creativity , power and grace . The best dunk ever in real game.

Picked the ball, dribbled it, cradled it dunked it. All with one hand. Iconic !!

Perhaps the best part of the dunk was Doc just jogging back on defense after, no showboating.

He was 33 years old during that play. Nearing the end. Amazing athlete. My favorite dunk by any player. Yeah, a lot of people have come up with more physically impressive dunks (including Erving), but this one....in game dunk, big game, end of game, contested by an All-time great NBA defender. And with all of that, instead of just powering to the rim and dunking, like any normal great player would do, he puts the flourish on it with the cradle. And he combines power with sublime grace.

Dude w the beard at 0:35 in the red jacket is having the time of his life lmfaooo Probably the most aesthetically pleasing dunk ever

Cooper was always a class act. He was a great part of those awesome '80s Lakers.

That dunk was so fluid, so perfectly executed, so poetic you take anything from it, mere muscle twitch in difference, and there is diminishment.

The most beautiful dunk I have ever seen. Just so smooth.

What also made that dunk spectacular was the call from the late legendary voice of the Lakers Chick Hearn. "Rock the baby to sleep and SLAM dunk!"

STILL the best dunk I've seen in an NBA game. ESPN was showing this for days.

Very classic act by M.Cooper, he was one of the best 6th man and one of the best defender, love them both.

This dunk is like poetry in motion. It's so beautiful bro.

That dunk wasn't just the greatest ever. It was the most beautiful too.

That game was on TV LIVE in LA. And The Doctor had me and my college room mates screaming with joy and delight, even tho it was against OUR Lakers. Fun stuff.

I think Dr J made the biggest mark on basketball... he was the first of his kind.

I loved watching him play! Changed the game forever! Made the game beautiful! MJ. Lebron, Kobe got their style from the great Dr. J! Cooper is a classy man!

That dunk is better than most dunks today.

easly the greatest in game dink of all time. pure class

As great as Doc is considered, he is underrated!! Definitely top 3 players of all time!!! His ABA highlights are off the freaking charts!! Great memories!

Is this the most famous, most epic dunk in NBA history? After watching the NBA for almost 40 years, I say yes.

Most iconic dunk of all time 🙌🏽🏆

The absolute greatest dunk of all time. Mj greatest of all time but you can't top this. Ever.

I LOVE the way he calls Julius "Dr. J"...total respect to you both.

Crowd lost its mind. So awesome. My favourite all time player.

I could replay this dunk all day and never get tired of it

The slow motion camera angle showing the crowd rising in unison adds to this iconic moment.

Michael Cooper is such a class act

This gives me chills

The whole sequence is legendary. A great defensive play, then pushing the ball out so he could squeeze by Coop, catching up to the ball, cupping it on the run with only the right hand, the powerful thrust into the air, the windmill, then the tomahawk. All so smooth... the greatest dunk of all time, and don’t EVEN try to change my mind

Best dunk of all time :)

I watched this live on KHJ-TV channel 9 and even as a kid I knew what I had just witnessed was legendary. Everyone was talking about it at school the next day.

Dr. J was the original Magic Man. I remember watching this dunk and listening to Chick Hearn when it happened when I was a teenager. Jaw dropping play from our den. But Dr. J frequently made awesome jaw dropping plays. Arguably the best NBA player in history. Thanks for the memories Julius. :)

Greatest dunk of all time. The ball never touched his left hand. Pure talent.

Best bball play ever. He never broke stride. Never looked at the ball. Power. Grace. Precision.

After all these years, still The Greatest in -game dunk I've ever seen. No one could have pulled off this type of creativity in a live game during that time except "the Doctor". 100% absolute pure grace & beauty & still amazed every time I watch it. Never get tired of coming back to this dunk by the Doctor. Incredible!

One of the most godlike dunks ever done. In no order, that is always going to be one of the top 10 greatest dunks ever made period in basketball PERIOD. Maybe Top 5 or Top 3 even.

Im serious this is my first time seeing Dr. J and all i can say is *goosebump* is real

Michael Cooper was an eight -time All NBA Defensive player who was also the Lakers best shot blocker. He gave the Sixers fits. What was remarkable about this entire sequence was Dr J forced the turnover but then had to beat Michael Cooper to the basketball (which he did) and then find a way to not get his shot blocked and score on him. That's what makes this the best dunk of all time.

What’s really special about this dunk is that when he ‘rocked the baby’ it was functional. It was done less to be flashy and more to fool the opposition. As opposed to the unnecessary and random double pumps and so on you see today purely for show. They’re fun to watch and all, but Dr J combined form with function. And that’s special. Props to Chic for coming up with the phrase on the spot. Chick was the wordsmith of basketball announcers. No one like the late great Chick Hearn.

Best dunk I've seen in my 57 year's of watching basketball!!!

When the ABA finally folded and The Doctor came to Philly...the entire basketball universe just went wild. Myself included. He changed the game...the city...the sports world forever.

One of my best memories of Dr J

It’s just INCREDIBLE .. the fact that the TWO MOST BEAUTIFUL and MOST MEMORABLE MOVEMENTS in the history of the NBA were made by the DOCTOR .. THE ONE AND ONLY 🔴🔵6️⃣💪🏻❤️ GRACE BECOMING ART …

Cooper loved that dunk just as much as the crowd, up most respect to him.

This dunk was pure beauty! Doesn't matter who you root for. There's a frame if you stop it where Dr. J has the ball at his hip & he and Coop are looking at each other on the ground just before take off. Stunning visual. The degree of difficulty to cuff the ball pass your body, bring it back to a windmill...still cuffed dunking? C'mon man. The moment? The opponent? Definitely my fav!

Chick Hearn helped make this moment awesome. I was a Laker fan but always appreciated his enthusiasm for great plays, no matter which team or player did it.

this dunk for some reason is emotional for me as a longtime Sixers fan

Its THEE BEST DUNK EVER in NBA history! period!

My hero as a kid. I grew up in Philly and Dr. J was INCREDIBLE to watch day in and day out. This is the greatest dunk I've ever seen. So poetic and magical yet also dominant and fierce. A legend.

A great era in the NBA. A lot of really good colorful players. I miss those days.

best dunk of all time.

Can we get a historic Dr. J dunk package in the next nba 2k game?! This is just nasty!

Dr. J! Doctor Dunkinstein! He could soar above the rim and Dunk better than anyone ever! Jordan came later and is great as well but Dr. J came first. He practically invent the Slam Dunk. He definitely perfected it. I used to watch him play as a kid as was amazed at his incredible moves and hang time. He also was great at the reverse layup. I think he invented that move as well. He would drive around the basket and turn around and lay the ball up on the other side of the basket and not go out of bounds. It was amazing and I haven’t seen anyone do that move, the reverse layup, since him doing it back then. Incredible and legendary player! He only managed to win one Championship with the Sixers. I remember because I was rooting for him to win the whole time I watched it until they finally won it all!

That last reply (with Dr. J coming towars the camera) is simply poetic. The perfectly stepped approach with the crowd rising in the background... and the thunderous dunk finish (over one of the best defenders in the history of basketball). You could not recreate that for a movie in 50 takes. Just awesome.

I love Michael Cooper. I was a huge Sixers fan but loved that Michael always hustled and D’d people up big time. What a great role model he was for me. All those years in high school when I matched up against the other team’s all star, he was always in the back of my mind. Thanks, Coop!

he jogged back like "what yall lookin at"

This dunk should be remembered has "The Moment" it's that particular instant when everything is right, the timing, the style, the motion, the grace, and the end result in perfect synchronization. It's like dancing to your favorite song and your're a superb dancer... And last from a oldschooler in my opinion this dunk reigns as the best in a game. The Doc. still rules in the dunk operation.

The heart and soul summed up in one elegant display of the most acrobatic plays in N.B.A. history. Homage 100% emoji! 😎

An ordinary player would have gone for a simple layup. But the Doctor operated this play. He comes off the steal with a fast break down the slideline. Takes 2 maybe 3 dribbles and a giant 1 and a half step to leap in the air with one hand and after the last dribble while palming the ball cuffing it with windmill flair and effectively dunking it all in a matter of seconds! He's cool, calm, and collected about it and might I add....unintimidated!!!That's extraordinary!

Dr. J is the reason I became a Sixers fan. He was just too amazing.

One of the almost nonexistent instances in NBA history where some players actually wish they were the one who could have been on the receiving end of a dunk. Legendary.

1983 NBA Finals and they swept the Lakers. I remember that play vividly. Back then, you just didn't see dunks like that. It was jaw dropping.

I've seen Doctor J dunk, live (1976) and he was a world class athlete. I was in awe because I'd seen him in the ABA on TV. At 6'7", on a break, he could take one dribble from almost half-court and score. Legend

Doc was way before his time he just did some of the most sickest and illest moves that most players dream of making.

The man who got postered is even in awe. Wears it like a badge of honor. Greatness personified

Thus has to be one of the most perfect and beautiful dunks of all time

Very happy that the cameras caught the fan reaction on the sidelines! The reaction of the guy with the beard makes this even more memorable!

A tremendous call by Chick Hearn, a true pro who didn't let his working for the Lakers color his commentary on this moment.

I love Michael Cooper's reaction in the end. So humble, smart, grateful. Gentleman

I was at home in LA watching with my parents,a 12yr old boy. Fascinating! I’ve never seen anything like it. I love hoops to this day. I’ve had a few of my own memorable playground dunks.

I always overlooked the grandeur of this dunk until I took a closer look and realized it really is amazing. The fact of taking the ball with one hand in this way is very elegant, but it is above all, I think, the level of coordination of the whole body and the fact that he has done all this so naturally, without preparation that makes it a true basketball masterpiece.

Michael Cooper was a great player as well.

Dr. J has the best dunk ever and the best layup ever, both against the Lakers.

That dunk was a work of art.

Never gets old🔥🔥The Doctor Is always on time 🦁🕯️👨🏿‍⚕️

Dr. J's dunks are so unique but hard at the same time, that they won't be duplicated by anyone!

Best play by play call ever!! It was on the spot! Great call on the one of the best dunks!! R.I.P Chick Hearns!!

Almost brings a tear to my eye

I remember seeing that live in our family living room, we all went crazy!! Best dunk of all time to me.

Greatest in game dunk EVER!!

Coop added to that fantastic dunk floating under the Doctor and ducking his head under the glass. Fantastic play!

At its highest level, basketball is an art form. As great as Mj and LBJ, Wilt and all those others are, Julius is still the most aestetically beautiful player in the history of the NBA.

When I think of memorable moments of basketball that rock the cradle dunk by the Doc comes to mind.

This dunk is the single GOAT. It's one thing to dunk in a contest, but IN GAME against a dynasty? Look, I'm a Laker fan going back to Baylor & West. Even when watching this in real time, I let out a whooop for what was an immortal gem. Thanks Doc, and a hat tip to Laker Legend Chicky Baby on the call with Bruin Keith Erickson on color!

Dr J is my all time favorite player. I used to love watching him play.

This is the Greatest Dunk Ever because nobody had even thought of doing anything like that before! To do that on the fly in a real game at full speed is crazy.

The greatest player of all time DR J!!!

I remember seeing this game and dunk. Incredible.

i'm 58. Dr J was my childhood hero, and the reason I fell in love with basketball.

MJ is a hero because l grew up watching his career but this one is unparalelled the goat of all dunks