Yet during his jersey retirement Thursday, highlights of his career shown at halftime were virtually one dunk after another, even though he was never known for razzle-dazzle throwdowns.

Why were those clips chosen over some of his many great defensive moves or rolls to the basket? Because there is still something special about the dunk, basketball's exclamation mark.

The ability to jam it is why Candace Parker and others like her are going to be so important to the women's game. Parker, Tennessee's 6-foot-4 forward, earned herself a spot on sports shows everywhere when she dunked twice in Tennessee's first-round win over Army in the NCAA Tournament.

Other women have dunked in games, from West Virginia's Georgeann Wells in 1984, to Tennessee's Michelle Snow in 2000, but Parker's was different because it came on the college game's biggest stage. The women's tournament is still played in front of thousands of empty seats, but people pay more attention to the tournament than they do the regular season, if only to keep up with their brackets in the office pool.

It's why Cheryl Ford, Malone's daughter who plays for Detroit in the WNBA, heard about Parker's feat shortly after it happened even though she was playing in Israel at the time.

"No one in their right mind would think that a 6-4 woman can dunk," she said. "It's going to help the women's game in a big way."

Down in her Draper home, former WNBA player Natalie Williams jumped off the couch when Parker dunked, and she wasn't alone in the excitement.

"Sydney and Turasi [her twins] got so excited," she said. "They knew it was an incredible thing that a woman can dunk. They're just 5 years old and they get it."

There is a tired old argument that the women's game is a more true version of the sport because it's played below the rim with set plays. Yes, sometimes the men's game seems to have gone in the opposite direction, nothing but guys looking for opportunities to get a slam. But what is wrong with having a little bit of both?

"A dunk is a hell of a statement," said former Starzz guard Jennifer Azzi. "It's a God-given talent, but it's not a skill like ball-handling or shooting, it's more about athleticism, and women are getting stronger and more athletic."

Often what is exciting about a dunk isn't the finish itself, but the anticipation of what a player is going to do. Kobe Bryant and LeBron James are both great scorers, but given the choice, I'd much rather watch James because you never know what the guy is going to do with the ball. Indiana's Erroll Knight suddenly became one of my favorite players in the NCAA Tournament after several high-flying stuffs during the Hoosiers' loss to Gonzaga.

The same goes for Parker, I don't know if she'll dunk again, but I'm going to watch to see.