SAN ANTONIO — In front of the Warriors’ bench, Lester Quinones crossed his arms over his chest and collapsed backward. The Golden State bench guard, for a moment, was a thespian playing the role of a bystander to a shocking, violent crime.
The misdemeanor that caused Quinones to pantomime fainting: Trayce Jackson-Davis adding Victor Wembanyama to his growing dunk body count.
“Man, that was just a natural reaction, he dunked on someone nine feet tall,” Quinones said from his locker postgame.
To dunk over Wembanyama, the 7-foot-4 rookie phenom with a 9-foot-7 standing reach, Jackson-Davis needed to keep the French center on his hip as he drove left, lift off as high as he could, and spike the ball into the cylinder through a mid-air collision. When he peeled himself off the hardwood in front of Golden State’s bench, he chest-bumped Draymond Green and hyped up his hysterical teammates.
“He challenged (Wembanyama) at the rim, obviously one of the great shot blockers in the game,” Green said. “Incredible shot-blocker. Trayce isn’t backing down. His athleticism, taking it right through his chest. Incredible play. And to own it, to get up like he meant it. I think that was a huge, huge play for us to keep the momentum and close out the game.”
The impossible poster stamped Golden State’s 112-102 win over the Spurs, their first of the year without Steph Curry. In it, Jackson-Davis continued his rookie breakout, notching his fifth double-double — sixth-most among rookies — and baking some French toast.
“That’s two guys about as high as humanly possible,” Steve Kerr said postgame. “That’s what NBA fans come to see, feats like that. It just doesn’t seem human.”
Roughly an hour before Jackson-Davis induced Quinones into a fake coma, the two were chatting on the bench. Jackson-Davis had just forced Wembanyama to miss at the rim.
The Warriors center wanted more.
“He’s like, ‘Imma get him,’” Quinones said. “I was like alright, we’re gonna see. Then he did it.”
EVERY ANGLE of this poster! https://t.co/39tjVhLQQI pic.twitter.com/grlaxqCG1l
— NBA (@NBA) March 12, 2024
At the time, Quinones had “a little faith” in him. Jackson-Davis has been a sky-walking revelation for Golden State, routinely finishing alley-oop and putback dunks. In early February, he caught a body in Atlanta when he dunked over center Onyeka Okongwu — his favorite flush of the year, at least until Monday.
But Wembanyama? That’s a different beast.
As a rookie, the former first overall pick is leading the NBA in blocks per game. On shots he contests within six feet of the hoop, Wembanyama allows a 54.3% field goal percentage — on par with Giannis Antetokounmpo and Brook Lopez.
But Jackson-Davis always knew he could rise up with Wembanyama. Even before the game, he already knew he was up for the challenge. This is the same guy who blocked Antetokounmpo twice last week, after all.
“I told Loon before the game that if I got the chance to try him, I would,” Jackson-Davis said. “At the end of the day, sometimes you dunk on people, sometimes you get dunked on. It’s just a basketball play.”
At the time he revealed that interaction postgame, Jackson-Davis hadn’t yet seen the replay, which instantly went viral. If he had, he’d surely know that was much more than just a basketball play.
“It was insane,” Looney said. “Incredible play like that, just put a punctuation on the game. Close it out. It was a dope play. It’s going to be on his career tape for a long time.”
Jackson-Davis’ jam came with 1:13 left in the game and put Golden State up an insurmountable 11 points. It sucked the life out of Frost Bank Center, Podziemski said, and put Jackson-Davis in front of a national audience on social media.
Wembanyama is only 20 years old, but in terms of dunk victims, he’s already somewhat of a final boss. If Jackson-Davis can put Wembanyama on a poster, is there be anyone he couldn’t dunk on?
A few lockers down from Looney, Podziemski threw out Manute Bol, the 7-foot-7 center who played in the ‘80s and ‘90s. Looney went a different direction.
“The only one he ain’t gonna dunk on is Draymond,” Looney said.
Yet even Green, one of the best defenders of this generation who has been teaching an advanced course on NBA defense to Jackson-Davis, isn’t safe.
“He ain’t got me yet, but it’s just a matter of time,” Green said. “You know, it’s a matter of opportunity, but I don’t doubt that he can.”
