Boston Celtics starting small forward Gordon Hayward threw down an alley-oop dunk Saturday night against the Boston Celtics, a huge step for him both mentally and physically.

To recall, Gordon Hayward suffered his gruesome left foot injury last season on opening night against the Cleveland Cavaliers on an alley-oop play. Many were wondering if the swingman was ever going to have the confidence to jump for an alley-oop again.

Hayward, now 28 years old, answered that question Saturday night in his home state of Indiana, catching and finishing an alley-oop dunk off of a great pass from point guard Terry Rozier versus the Indiana Pacers.

https://twitter.com/TheRenderNBA/status/1058868127180746752

This is so good to see. Gordon Hayward put in so much work to get back from that ankle fracture and he's starting to get his basketball rhythm back.

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Entering Saturday, Hayward was averaging 11.3 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 2.1 assists per game while shooting 42.9 percent from the field, 40.7 percent from beyond the arc, and 61.5 percent from the free-throw line. Expect that free-throw percentage to go up as the season moves along.

Gordon Hayward says he still has soreness in his left ankle after games. That is to be expected since he endured such a horrific injury and had screws taken out from his ankle.