Anthony Edwards’ dunk of the year on John Collins injured both players.
Anthony Edwards is no stranger to the dunk of the year contest. Back in his rookie year of 2021, Edwards absolutely baptized Yuta Watanabe for one of the best dunks you will ever see. Believe it or not, he may have outdone himself on Monday night against the Utah Jazz.
As the Timberwolves were on their way to a 114-104 win in Utah, Edwards unleashed an all-timer that gave John Collins a head injury, and will probably be viewed across all media platforms tens of millions of times.
In the third quarter, the ball came Edwards’ way as he was running the floor full speed in transition. He loaded up off two feet, leapt from the dotted line, and threw down one of the nastiest posters ever over Collins. Watch the broadcast view of the dunk here:
I screamed. There’s a chance that, 20 years from now, this dunk is the first play they show on Edwards’ Hall of Fame induction montage. It will still be just as awesome then, because this play already looks like it’s from the future.
This view is even better:
The impact was so forceful that it injured both players. Edwards said he dislocated his finger after the game. Collins exited the game for concussion evaluation and didn’t return. Doctors ruled he doesn’t have a concussion, but he does have a head contusion.
Utah’s John Collins has suffered a head contusion from play contesting Anthony Edwards’ poster dunk tonight, sources say. Head injury but no concussion for Collins.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) March 19, 2024
Edwards watched the dunk on a monitor after the game in a TV interview, and his reaction was priceless.
“Oh my god!” Edwards said watching the slam. He called it the best dunk of his career. Edwards also confirms his finger injury in this video.
Edwards is just a supernova. I remember interviewing him as a high school senior in 2019 for this feature on the origin story of basketball’s next superstar in the making. It’s so cool to think back to that conversation now as his career has taken off.
Edwards is one of the greatest run and jump athletes you will ever see. This is his magnum opus. Let’s just hope both players can recover from these injuries and get back on the court.
