Screenshot from YouTube

Vince Carter’s “Dunk of Death” Over a 7-Footer Became Olympic Glory

Vince Carter's prime was a special sight to behold.

The former Toronto Raptors' star was one of the most exciting players in the NBA. He threw down some monstrous dunks and was never afraid to take some contact at the rim.

The legend of Vinsanity grew throughout his career, but the peak of his hype certainly came at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia.

That's where he threw down the most vicious dunk of his career — and perhaps the biggest in-game dunk in basketball history — in a preliminary-round game against France.

Vince Carter's Dunk at Sydney Olympics

RELATED: The 2000 Slam Dunk Contest Gave Birth of "Vinsanity"

While playing for Team USA's men's basketball team at the 2000 Summer Olympic Games, Vince Carter shocked the world.

Carter forced a turnover early in the second half and took the ball to the basket. What stood between him and a fast-break dunk was an individual named Frederic Weis, who played for the French national team.

Despite the Frenchman standing 7-feet tall, Carter opted to go over Weis, instead of around him for a layup. The result was the single-greatest in-game dunk of all time.

The dunk would go on to earn the title "The Dunk of Death" or "Le Dunk De La Mort," and based on the reaction from Carter and his teammates, including fellow NBA players Kevin Garnett, Jason Kidd, Gary Payton and Ray Allen, the future gold medal winners knew VC had just thrown down the greatest dunk ever.

If this had happened during the age of social media, it would have racked up millions of views around the world in an instant.

Of all the facets of the game Carter dominated in, dunking was his specialty. He was a dunker. Better yet, he was the dunker.

Earlier that year, the former first-round NBA Draft pick won the Slam Dunk Contest and featured in his first of eight NBA All-Star Games.

If any basketball player can relate to Weis, it is fellow Team USA member Alonzo Mourning, who fell victim to a nasty Carter poster dunk himself in 2005.

MORE: Relive Tracy McGrady's Improbable 13 Points in 33 Seconds