Watch: Looking back at Vince Carter's 'Dunk of Death' on Frederic Weis and how it impacted latter's NBA career
To this day, Vince Carter is widely regarded as one of the best dunkers in NBA history. However, arguably his top in-game slam didn't take place in a professional basketball game.
During the summer of 2000, Vince Carter was part of the USA men's team competing in the Summer Olympics. During a preliminary round game against France, the former Toronto Raptors icon did the unthinkable.
After recovering a USA miss, France attempted to quickly push the ball upcourt. Vince Carter picked up a steal just before halfcourt and had a clear runway to the rim.
For Carter, the only thing standing in his way was France's 7-foot-2 center Frederic Weis. The All-Star forward proceeded to head at him full-steam and laid down a vicious dunk when they met at the rim. Carter got so high in the air that he almost jumped over the 7-footer. More than 20 years later, it is still the best poster dunk in basketball.
Following this incredible feat of athelticism, Vince Carter and Team USA went on to win the gold medal at the 2000 Summer Games.
Did Frederic Weis ever play in the NBA after Vince Carter dunked on him in the Olympics?
Frederic Weis had a shot to get revenge on Vince Carter. Unfortunately, his NBA aspirations were over before they even started.
During the 1999 NBA Draft, the New York Knicks selected Weis with the 15th overall pick. The Frenchman came over to the States to play in the Summer League, but never ended up signing his rookie deal. He never made the jump, mainly because his agent talked him out of signing with the Knicks. It's worth noting that Weis' agent also owned the club team he was playing for in France.
After not signing his rookie contract, Weis never ended up coming over to the United States to play in the NBA. He later admitted that he wanted to play professionally in America, but the Knicks never reached out to him about returning. In 2008, New York ended up trading his draft rights to the Houston Rockets in exchange for Patrick Ewing Jr.
At the time, Weis' selection was not met with applause from Knicks fans. They wanted the team to draft Ron Artest, a native of Queens. The New York Native went on to become an All-Star, Defensive Player of the Year and NBA champion.
After things didn't work out for the Knicks, Weis continued to play professionally in France. He played for various clubs before finally announcing his retirement from basketball in 2011.