The Los Angeles Lakers scored another dominant victory on Tuesday, taking down the Toronto Raptors to improve to 4-1 on their six-game road trip. Of course the performances of LeBron James and Anthony Davis were discussed, but reserve big man Jaxson Hayes also got a lot of attention after he threw down a between-the-legs Eastbay dunk late in the fourth quarter.
With the Lakers well out in front, Taurean Prince found Hayes out ahead in transition. The big man never put the ball on the floor, but simply took two steps and rose up to throw the dunk down bringing the Toronto crowd to their feet.
The slam also impressed his teammates as LeBron James rated the dunk as a 10, giving extra credit for the fact that he pulled it off in a game, which very few have done, via Spectrum SportsNet:
“Great. He gets a 10 because it was in-game. Not many guys in NBA history have done it, so it was pretty cool… It was the first time he did it in a game, so we were super impressed. He was super casual with it, but he has that ability obviously.”
Anthony Davis was also impressed, adding that the dunk, as well as his putback slam earlier in the game, really showed off Hayes’ athleticism, via Spectrum SportsNet:
“That’s Jaxson Hayes, Very athletic, showed off his athletic ability tonight with the putback dunk in the first half and then the Eastbay just off a simple one-two. He showed off his athletic ability, it was fun. All of us got excited for that dunk, even the coaches. It was fun to watch.”
Hayes has really come on down the stretch of the season, carving out his role as a backup center who provides a ton of energy and plays hard every second he’s on the court. He took a scary fall on the putback dunk, but stayed in the game and wound up giving fans a huge highlight to remember.
For the Lakers, Hayes has been extremely important since the All-Star break and his teammates were happy to give him some well-deserved praise.
Lakers’ Jaxson Hayes discusses when he decided to throw down Eastbay dunk
Throwing down the Eastbay dunk was not something Jaxson Hayes had planned out beforehand, but rather he chose to pull it out in the moment.
Speaking after the game, Hayes said that he knew he was going to attempt the dunk only when Prince threw the pass. The big man noted that there was no one down there with him when he got the ball and the fact that the Lakers were ahead big late in the fourth allowed for him to try it.
