Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo pulled off a stunning dunk Tuesday night against the New York Knicks.
Antetokounmpo, who has quickly become one of the best players in the NBA, caught an ally-oop from teammate Khris Middleton on a two-on-one against defender Tim Hardaway Jr.
He jumped clear over Hardaway and smashed it home.
How do you let this happen if you’re Hardaway? One of the first rules of basketball is don’t get put on a poster. Coaches teach at an early age that if somebody comes barreling towards you for a dunk, either tackle them or get out of the way. Do not allow this to happen.
I have seen plenty of people make the same mistake Hardaway did, and it always ends poorly. It might not end by getting jumped over, but it will almost always end in getting smashed on.
You simply can’t allow it to happen. Back in the day when I was an elite player averaging a balmy two points per game on a state title team, I would hammer anybody who got near the rim. I’m not getting dunked on. You want to splash threes in my face all day? Fine by me, but I’d rather die on the court than get dunked on. You have to make Antetokounmpo and anybody like him pay the price for even trying to dunk.
Otherwise, you end up on the news for getting obliterated.