Dunks and STATs: Amar’e Stoudemire’s best highlights and some telling numbers

After ending the lives of Michael Olowokandi and Anthony Tolliver, melting Stephon Marbury’s face and bathing in red wine on the side, Amar’e Stoudemire has closed the door on his NBA career.

Maybe one day, sports scientists can use force diagrams to explain why the violence he inflicted on NBA rims also betrayed his knees. No matter what could’ve been and setting aside Stoudemire’s flaws, the former Suns power forward leaves a legacy that goes beyond the dunks.

We have to talk about those dunks, too.

So for every big moment as a Sun, here’s a stat for STAT.

The dunk

Brent Musburger’s call was not so impressive, but Stoudemire’s first signature dunk was ferocious enough it made point guard Stephon Marbury weep.

The play was the first bit of evidence of the terror Stoudemire caused in pick-and-roll situations, even when he wasn’t heading to the rim full-speed and even when a 7-footer was ready to meet him at the rim.

A stat on STAT …

ESPN Stats & Info: Stoudemire is one of 18 players in NBA history have three or more seasons of 25 points per game and 8 rebounds per game. Sixteen are Hall-of-Famers. Dirk Nowitzki and Stoudemire could join them.

Playoff magic

How fitting is it Stoudemire retires the same year as Tim Duncan?

Duncan had the longevity, the defensive instincts and the rings. Stoudemire had Duncan’s number in the 2005 playoffs especially. The Suns’ star made his second NBA playoff run a fun one. He averaged 29.9 points and 10.7 boards, closing with a five-game series against Duncan and the Spurs in which he scored over 30 points every game and eclipsed 40 twice.

Stoudemire did much of that damage with Duncan, arguably the best defensive big man in the last two decades, trying to do something about it.

A stat on STAT …

Basketball-Reference: Stoudemire was one of three players since 2000 who had multiple seasons of 10 or more win shares.

The dunk No. 2

Goodnight, Anthony Tolliver.

The knee injuries didn’t take all of Stoudemire’s juice. This dunk on the Warriors in 2010 might have topped the Olowokandi dunk. Anthony shouldn’t have jumped.

A stat on STAT …

Synergy Sports: Stephen Curry’s missed shot ignited this break. Did you know that in Stoudemire’s most efficient season of 2007-08, the Suns’ star scored 1.19 points per possession in 21.1 possessions per game? Last season, in Curry’s best to this point, the Golden State point guard scored 1.18 points per possession in 25.5 possessions per game.

Amare Stoudemire FG%s during the 07-08 season: Rolls to the Rim 78%; Cuts 71%; Transition 71%; Spot Up Jumpers 49%; Post Ups 49%; Isos 46%.

— Synergy Sports Tech (@SynergySST) July 26, 2016

Going for 50

Another “he’s arrived” moment came in 2005, when Stoudemire went for 50 points against the Portland Trail Blazers. Though the dunks were there, his jumper was coming around. That would later help him continue producing despite his lack of lift later on in his career.

A stat on STAT …

ESPN’s Tom Haberstroh: Stoudemire apparently was the third-best volume mid-range shooter in the entire NBA in 2007-08. Steve Nash led by hitting 52.3 percent of shots from 10 to 23 feet. Mo Williams was second at 50.8 percent and STAT came in third at 50.4 percent.

Big Apple legacy

Suns fans may have been glad Stoudemire’s balky knees and sub-standard defense made his post-Phoenix tenure easier to bare, but Stoudemire’s first season with the New York Knicks wasn’t too shabby.

Injuries derailed Stoudemire’s Knicks run after he averaged 25.3 points, 8.2 rebounds and a career-high 2.6 assists that 2010-11 season.

A stat on STAT …

ESPN: We can’t leave out that Stoudemire and Steve Nash’s legacy will be intertwined. It’s important to point out that, while neither needed one another, 1,155 of Nash’s 10,335 career dimes were to Stoudemire. That’s 8.9 percent of his career assists to one man.

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