Anthony Davis Couldn’t Stop Norman Powell From Throwing Down A One-Handed Jam

After an encouraging rookie season, Norman Powell’s breakout campaign hasn’t quite materialized in 2016-2017 for the Toronto Raptors. The former second round draft pick from UCLA has been solid in limited duty this season but, with the emergence of fellow wing Terrence Ross, Powell’s playing time (16.0 minutes per game) has muted his emergence to some degree. On Tuesday, though, Powell sent a shockwave in the form of a poster-worthy dunk on one of the best players in the NBA in Anthony Davis.

The Raptors came out of halftime with a double-digit deficit but Powell’s massive right-handed dunk was part of a big-time run to jump back into the game. Without so much as a left-handed dribble, the 6’4 shooting guard glided to the rim before rising up to challenge Davis. Before the All-NBA big man was able to react in kind, Powell was already using his outstretched to ram the ball through the rim and it was a strong combination of explosiveness and power.

This wasn’t the first time that Powell invigorated the Air Canada Centre crowd with a big-time dunk but it might have been his most noteworthy single play of the 2016-2017 campaign. There will likely be plenty more where that came from but getting the best of Anthony Davis is no small feat.