Toronto Raptors: Mid-season Awards
By Demar Grant
Dunk of the Year
DeMar DeRozan Reams Tristan Thompson
It wouldn’t be a Raptors award show without a dunk of the year. Running a Fresh 24 play, the Kyle Lowry decoy, DeMar DeRozan elevates and detonates on Tristan Thompson.
In the quarterly awards, this dunk over Thompson was a runner-up to Jakob Poeltl‘s explosion over Tim Hardaway Jr. There was wavering back and forth throughout the judges committee, but they settled on DeRozan’s dunk this time.
Half the hype behind the dunk is the person who does it – nobody recalls Stromile Swift’s cataclysmic dunk over Tyrus Thomas, but they remember the time and place they saw every Vince Carter slam. DeRozan’s dunk is going to stick out more than any other dunk by the Raptors this year, just because of who he was and who Thompson is.
The fact it happened in the half court at the end of the game against Cleveland and DeRozan had to meet a much bigger man in Thomson at the rim, makes the dunk that much more impressive. Not to mention he threw down a dunk that had a very satisfying audible thunk when going through the net, sending the crowd into a frenzy,
The Raptors loved it and the crowd loved it, so the judges love it too, From take off to touch down, DeRozan gives a display of his nuclear athleticism.
Other Nominees: Patrick Patterson soars and lands over Kris Humphries & Jakob Poeltl Divides Tim Hardaway Jr. by Zero