Harrison Barnes' Dunk And The Best NBA Slams This Season

While Harrison Barnes' dunk handedly won “dunk of the night” Saturday, it probably belongs more in the category of “dunk of the year.” The NBA season is young -- less than a quarter of the way finished -- but Barnes' slam sticks out. The 6'8" swingman jumps from outside the circle and wallops a massive flush over 6'11", nearly 300-pound Nikola Pekovic. It's not exactly what we expected from Barnes either. The ex-UNC star has been a solid rebounder this year but mostly a mid-range scorer. Powering over Pekovic added a new wrinkle to his game.

Jeff Green Over Al Jefferson

Big Al didn't really stand a chance with this flush. He and Jeff Green have maximum impact, and Al Jefferson clearly gets the worse of it, keeling over after Green posterizes him. This is the Green -- explosive and athletic -- that Celtics fans were hearing about when they landed him in the Kendrick Perkins swap. Heart surgery last season derailed some of those hopes, but the Celtics will need more of this from the Georgetown product if they seek to return to the Eastern Conference Finals.

Kevin Durant Over Jonas Valanciunas

This is the kind of lethal slash we expect from Kevin Durant, who has no mercy for rookie Lithuanian Jonas Valanciunas. Any time you dunk over a seven-footer, it's cause for celebration. What's more impressive is Duran't flight on this slam. He releases from well beyond the circle and angelically glides over Valanciunas.

Terrence Jones Over Jodie Meeks

Terrence Jones' dunk over Jodie Meeks was not graceful, nor was it wholly legal (it appears to be an offensive foul), but Jones distance on this dunk is jaw-dropping. He leaps from two to three feet in back of the circle, and Meeks topples over like a falling domino.