Updated throughout the day with quick takes from staff.
The NBA Development League doesn't typically get much run on a national stage, but every once in awhile something crazy happens and the world gets to see exactly what's going on in the NBA's official minor league. Of course something crazy happened Thursday night -- you wouldn't be reading this if it hadn't -- when the New Jersey Nets' affiliate Springfield Armor matched up in a D-League rivalry gameTM with the Maine Red Claws.
The Red Claws feature a pair of former first round picks in Ricky Davis and Morris Almond, but neither player was involved in the highlight that vaulted the D-League into the national spotlight as SportsCenter's No. 2 play for Thursday evening's brief 30 seconds.
Instead, it was reigning D-League dunk champion L.D. Williams -- a former standout with the Wake Forest Demon Deacons -- who made a game-winning, buzzer-beating putback dunk to seal the deal in the Armor's 93-91 victory. It's kind of tricky to explain so just watch the video embedded below.
The original shooter, Lance Hurdle, probably told everyone that his plan was to shoot the perfect airball so Williams could make it on SportsCenter ... but he was credited only with a missed shot attempt, not an assist.
D-League basketball: It's FANtastic.
A thorough breakdown of the play was drawn up over at Ridiculous Upside, SB Nation's dedicated D-League blog.
0 comments
