Did we just see an early contender for Dunk of the Year? Orlando Magic guard Anthony Black gave Berlin basketball fans an incredible highlight against the Memphis Grizzlies. During a breakaway sequence, Black slammed the ball against four Grizzlies defenders. It definitely made for a cool highlight, especially when watching the replay.
Even Black himself was astounded by the dunk. After the game, the Magic guard was shown his highlight. It almost looked like Black couldn't believe that he had that highlight.
https://x.com/MrBuckBuckNBA/status/2012046209024745631
In his postgame interview, Black admitted that he didn't realize how many defenders were on him during the play. Instead, the Magic guard was simply focused on getting to the rim as aggressively as possible.
“I didn’t even know it was on four people (defenders),” he said, via NBA.com. “I just saw the rim, saw the help defender. My teammates told me about it back in the huddle. Just being aggressive.”
Black's dunk came at a critical moment in the game. The Magic were in the midst of an 11-4 run during their comeback bid against the Grizzlies. Black's poster-worthy dunk tied the game at 107-all. Orlando would not trail after that sequence, finishing the game with a 118-111 score in forward Franz Wagner's first NBA game in Germany.
Black finished the game with 21 points on 7-of-13 shooting from the field, along with six rebounds and seven assits. Paolo Banchero led the Magic with 26 points and 13 boards. Wagner, in his first game back from injury, had 16 points. The Magic improved to 23-18 on the season.
The Magic will now travel to London as part of the league's international efforts. They will once again face the Grizzlies, who are dealing with the ongoing saga with Ja Morant.
