Justin Anderson has had an underwhelming NBA career in his young four seasons. But if there are two things the Atlanta Hawk is known for its insane put-back dunks and a propensity to block shots. On Friday night, the backup forward demonstrated the latter yet again with an impeccably-timed rejection of Al-Farouq Aminu's alley-oop conversion from a Seth Curry pass, breaking the play and sending the State Farm Arena crowd into a frenzy.
Justin Anderson elevates to deny the alley-oop!
Half on NBALP:#TrueToAtlanta 51#RipCity 60
📱💻: https://t.co/pZ0DhQTM5F pic.twitter.com/2b9QjRkpxB
— NBA (@NBA) March 30, 2019
Drafted by the Dallas Mavericks in 2015 with the 21st overall pick, Anderson was touted as a 3&D wing player coming out of the University of Virginia. He was well adept at guarding quick perimeter players due to his athleticism and length while also having the versatility to body up at the post due to his muscular build. But it was his outside shooting that truly rounded up the defensive ability as he splashed three-pointers with incredible efficiency (a scintillating 45.2 percent in his final year), making him the perfect roleplayer for the modern NBA predicated by shooting and switches.
Despite putting up highlight reel plays every once in a while (his career high 25 blocks is more than enough to create a five minute YouTube video), Anderson's rookie year was largely spent on the bench. Even with incumbent starting small forward Chandler Parsons being sidelined with numerous injuries, head coach Rick Carlisle opted to trot around lineups comprised with three point guards, preventing the 6-foot-6 guard from ever seeing the floor.
Anderson eventually found himself traded a couple of times before settling in his present team that is the young surging Hawks squad. It's not yet known if he's on the team's immediate future but wherever he will be, expect to see more of the same block parties.
Follow Us
Subscribe