Anthony Edwards may not be the rookie of the Rookie of the Year race after being beaten by the Minnesota Timberwolves for the first time overall, but he just took over in the competition for dunk of the year.
The T-Wolves rookie unleashed one of the most absurd dives you ever saw at the end of the third quarter against the Toronto Raptors on Friday, violent enough to ignite social media and a Zapruder-like outline of each frame and possible angle.
It started with Edwards getting the ball near the corner and ending with him and Yuta Watanabe, the Raptors forward, both in the paint. In between, DeAndre ‘Bembry struggled to catch up with Edwards, poor Watanabe turned around to meet Edwards in the paint and Edwards brought the house down:
Somehow the scene is even more ridiculous than a still life:
And then there is the slower frame-by-frame:
And here’s just about every possible angle:
We can go on. Edwards’ head is at one point clearly flush with the edge, and his hanging time does not seem physically possible. It is becoming a habit for a player who is widely regarded as one of the most athletic players in the 2020 NBA draft.
The best you can tell Watanabe is that he actually tried to stop the dunk rather than make a business decision, but that did not stop him from being a mid-dunk face. one of the best parts of the table.
Yup, just a humdinger from a play. Except …
Oh, well, little footnote.
Unfortunately for the Timberwolves and Edwards, the sheer power of the dunk translated no extra points. Minnesota eventually lost 86-81, and Edwards’ goal shooting line was actually pretty unimpressive with seven points on 3-of-14 shooting (0-out-7 from deep) with four assists and three rebounds. Not that anyone really cares.
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