We’ll bet a somewhat sizable portion of our readers haven’t heard of Elfrid Payton. Fewer still of the rookie’s Orlando Magic teammate Dewyane Dedmon. But highlights don’t know names, either. Watch the relatively anonymous pair connect on a massive alley-oop from just inside halfcourt during their team’s last-second loss to the Washington Wizards on Wednesday.
Whoa.
Payton, of course, is the dynamic lottery pick point guard from Louisiana Lafayette that played well in an extended role before Victor Oladipo returned to the lineup. Though his numbers have suffered since he moved to the bench, Payton has the pace and court sense of a natural playmaker and the feet and dogged personality of a stopper. He’s a player.
Dedmon is 7-0 sophomore center who’s already bounced around in his brief career. The USC product played with the Golden State Warriors and Philadelphia 76ers last year before catching on in Orlando this season. He’s taken advantage of Nikola Vucevic’s injury the past three games and notched solid minutes off the bench.
And if Dedmon continues making plays like this, he’ll surely find himself a permanent home sooner or later.
(GIF via r/nba user ItoldonAnneFrank)
What do you think?
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