Welcome, basketball fans, to the 2011/12 Stro Show Awards! As you may or may not know, the Stro Show Awards are all about honoring the league’s premier poster dunkers and the spectacular slams they’ve thrown down over the past season. The feature award, dubbed the Stro Show Award in honor of the high-flying Stromile Swift, is given out annually to the player who racked up the most daily posters during the regular season. Other awards to be given out include the Team Poster Award (to the team that collected the most POTDs), the Shawn Bradley Award (to the player who was dunked on most frequently), and the Poster of the Year award (to the finest single posterization of the year). Also, the All Stro Show Team will be named. The team consists of six dunkers who consistently devastated, demoralized, and destroyed their opposition.
Before we begin with all the festivities, let’s take a moment to honor the man who serves as the inspiration behind all of this. Stromile Swift wrecked rims in the NBA for nine years before moving on to wreck them in China. The Stro Show threw down with an incredible combination of style, power, finesse, and showmanship, making him one of the most unique dunkers we’ve ever seen.
And now, ladies and gentlemen, we may begin. This year’s Stro Show Award goes to none other than Blake Griffin, who amassed an impressive six daily posters in a 66-game season. With the win Griffin becomes the first ever player to repeat as Stro Show Award winner in its now four-year history, so congratulations to Blake Griffin on once again establishing himself as the world’s premier in-game dunker.
Griffin truly had an incredible 2011/12 campaign. He became just the second player ever to record two perfect 10s on the Starbury Nastiness Scale in a single season, averaging an amazing rating of 8.7. He also led his Clippers to their second consecutive Team Poster Award, throwing down 6 of LA’s league-leading 10 POTDs. DeAndre Jordan, who was responsible for two of the others, will be accepting the award on his team’s behalf.
Next up is the Shawn Bradley Award, which will be going to swaggerless Serge Ibaka. To Ibaka’s credit he probably prevented many, many more dunks than he allowed. Six appearances on the posterized list is a lot considering the relatively-short length of this season (the 82-game record is seven; Chris Kaman), but he finished with a league-leading average of 3.7 denials per game. Other notable shot blockers who have taken the Shawn Bradley Award include Chris “Birdman” Andersen and JaVale “McNugget” McGee.
Finally, the Poster of the Year Award. If I could do this over again I’d probably put it to a vote, because between LeBron James on John Lucas and Blake Griffin on Pau Gasol/Kendrick Perkins… I’m not sure there’s a wrong choice. Blake Griffin twice threw down the ultimate facial—full-contact posters that caused permanent damage to the egos of their victims. However, LeBron James did something completely unprecedented when he lifted his knees over the head of John Lucas and alley-ooped the basketball. While I’ve seen dunks like Griffin’s multiple times this year alone, I’ve never seen a player get hurdled. To me, the uniquity of LeBron’s alley-oop makes it superior. It’s hard to go against the ferocity of those jams by Griffin, but I’ve got to give this one to James.
Lastly, the All Stro Show Team. It’s a G/G/F/F/C squad (plus a sixth man) composed of this season’s top aerial destroyers. No player threw down as many POTDs as these six.
G: Vince Carter
POTDs: 3
Nasty Faces: 21.5 (7.2)
G: Nick Young
POTDs: 3
Nasty Faces: 24.5 (8.2)
F: Kevin Durant
POTDs: 4
Nasty Faces: 32.5 (8.1)
F: Blake Griffin
POTDs: 6
Nasty Faces: 52 (8.7)
C: Derrick Favors
POTDs: 4
Nasty Faces: 30 (7.5)
6th Man: Rudy Gay
POTDs: 4
Nasty Faces: 29 (7.3)
Blake Griffin has just become the first player ever to appear on two All Stro Show Teams. Also, Vince Carter has become by far the oldest player ever to make the squad. Never before had a 30-year-old made it, let alone a 35-year-old. That just goes to show you how unique VC’s athleticism really is.
That’s a wrap for the fourth annual Stro Show Awards. Thanks for coming, everyone!
