Andrew Wiggins's vicious dunk on Luka Doncic brings Golden State Warriors close to the NBA Finals: "I just saw rim”
Wiggins turned the tables and unleashed a massive dunk over Doncic to help shift all the momentum to the Warriors’ side
© Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
It’s already been established that Andrew Wiggins has had a massive impact on the Western Conference Finals for the Golden State Warriors with his defensive play. But it was his offensive play in Game 3 that turned heads.
Wiggins scored 27 points and snagged 11 rebounds to help the Warriors take a commanding 3-0 series lead over the Dallas Mavericks. Golden State is one win away from booking a spot in the NBA Finals because of how well Wiggins has defended Dallas’ star guard Luka Doncic.
But midway through the fourth, Wiggins turned the tables and unleashed a massive dunk over Doncic to help shift all the momentum to the Warriors’ side. Wiggins said after the game, “I just saw rim,” when discussing the dunk, and well, it’s hard to argue with the results:
Wiggins’ superb two-way play has the Warriors looking unbeatable
Golden State is up 3-0 over Dallas because their role players have played phenomenal basketball. Wiggins has been excellent on both sides of the ball, but so have Kevon Looney and Otto Porter Jr. The Mavs, on the other hand, have gotten virtually no production from anyone not named Luka Doncic.
Doncic has scored 40+ points twice now in this series, and it hasn’t mattered. While that may seemingly be a dig at Wiggins’ defensive impact, the Mavericks are doing whatever they can to keep Wiggins away from Doncic. When Wiggins finds himself on Doncic, though, Dallas hasn’t been able to score.
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Not only that, but Wiggins is also torching the Mavs on offense. Dallas has had virtually no paint defense all series, and it’s telling that 18 of Wiggins’ 27 points came in the restricted area. Golden State is notorious for outshooting teams, but they have gone back to the basics to pummel the Mavericks.
And it all circles back to Wiggins’ dunk on Doncic, which felt like the dagger not just for Game 3 but for the entire series. Even Doncic was praising Wiggins’ dunk after the game. “That was impressive, I’m not going to lie,” Doncic said of the poster. “I saw the video again, and I was like, ooh. That was pretty incredible. I wish I had those bunnies.”
Was Wiggins’ poster of Doncic the best dunk of the playoffs?
Wiggins has always been an athletic freak of nature, which has led to some big dunks throughout his career. His poster of Doncic will almost certainly go down as the best of his career. But is it the best of the postseason? A quick look at some of the other dunks in the playoffs points to no, but it’s not necessarily due to Wiggins’ dunk being bad, but some of the others just being so good.
There are probably only a couple of dunks that were better than Wiggins’, but among them is Giannis Antetokounmpo’s in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Boston Celtics. Giannis is forced to pick up his dribble and turn his back to the basket with Grant Williams in front of him. He somehow managed to pivot himself around Williams, fire a pass to himself off the backboard, and lay down a ferocious slam. You can’t teach this type of skill.
The top dunk of the playoffs belongs to Ja Morant, and it isn’t particularly close. The Memphis Grizzlies were trailing big in a pivotal Game 5 against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round. Morant proceeded to end the third quarter with an unbelievable poster over Malik Beasley, in which he very nearly jumped over him on his way to the rim. It sparked a massive comeback that would help Memphis eventually win the series.
If Golden State wins the Western Conference Finals, which seems quite likely to happen, Wiggins’ dunk can probably move past Giannis’ backboard pass one, but it won’t ever be as good as Morant’s. Wiggins could get the last laugh if Golden State ends up winning it all this season, which is a much more impressive feat than finishing with the best dunk of the postseason.
