Boston Celtic’s forward Kelly Olynyk breaks away and drives to the hole against the Washington Wizards. The result is absolutely nasty.
We have all thought about it. Even tried it once or twice. It may have been on a 10-foot rim, a 7-foot rim or Nerf goal. We have all driven to the hole and dunked. Hard. Usually it ends with a Lebron James-esque shout and flex or Kevin Garnett chest thump. Or we let out tongues hang like Air Jordan. Regardless, we dreamed.
Visions of grandeur must have entered the mind of Kelly Olynyk. A fast break, an open path to the goal, and years of dreams. This would be his moment.
It is the playoffs, Game 2 against the Wizards. Here it comes.
That is embarrassing. The jump. Two hands on the ball. The energy and force. The dreams of young ball players everywhere crunched in one massively missed opportunity. Maybe it was the shoes. It has got to be the shoes.
And, it that is not embarrassing enough, the ball barely made it above the backboard and three feet from the rim on the rebound. It looks like a massive two-handed throw down, but the rebound shows otherwise.
Woody Harrelson would be proud, and so would most middle-aged men that gather for pickup games all across America. At least he tried, right? I mean, I know I will never do that on a rim of legal NBA height and standards. Still, a professional player on the top team in the Eastern Conference just “doinked” a two-handed jam.
Next: Blake Griffin and the 10 biggest player option decisions
It was the stuff that dreams were made of. Full of sound and fury. Alas, it signified nothing in the end, except for replays on non-top 10 lists all year.