Photo : Streeter Lecka ( Getty )

Hornets rookie Miles Bridges helped his team to a comfortable win over the Kings last night, with 15 points and some strong defense off the bench. Neither of those contributions, nice as they are, matter nearly as much as this absolute hammer he dropped as the shot clock was expiring in the first quarter.


As the suddenness of his explosion to the rim makes clear, Bridges is a power dunker, all muscle and fire. He’s a burly 6-foot-7, so while he’s not going to pull off finesse jams like someone with Derrick Jones Jr.’s build, Bridges will really just slam that fucker down. The Hornets don’t really run plays for him, so he’s learning how to be opportunistic and clean up messes. According to Basketball Reference’s data, almost one third of his made field goals have been dunks this season, which feels about right. Check out this bad boy from a few months back.

Again, power is the word here.

Bridges will reportedly take part in next month’s Slam Dunk Contest, which is fitting, since the 2019 All-Star Game is taking place in Charlotte. Hopefully he’s saved something extra for the crowd.