By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
From Julius Erving in the 1984 NBA All-Star Game hosted in Denver to Vlatko Cancar launching himself from just inside the free-throw line for a big-time dunk Wednesday evening.
“Mine was more inside the free-throw line. Don’t disrespect Dr. J like that,” he underlined while enjoying Erving’s effort.
In any case, the fans at Ball Arena were relishing the flight path of the Slovenian small forward. The dunk ignited the crowd, surely highlighting his 13-point effort in the second straight home win versus the Houston Rockets.
“I was just thinking, ‘don’t get blocked,’. I just jumped thinking for a layup but at the last minute I just changed…” he described the process leading to the throwdown.
Emerging as the sixth player for head coach Mike Malone in recent games of the 2022-23 NBA Regular Season, Cancar put up three double-digit scoring displays in six outings. Over the last couple of weeks, he checked in for six games and an average of 22 minutes per contest. Other highlights of the productive stretch were a couple of long-range buzzer-beaters in two straight games at the Dallas Mavericks.
“The same with my halfcourt shots, I will work on [dunks],” he promised more fireworks.
Packing 5.2 points, 1.5 rebounds, 0.9 assists, 0.5 steals, and 0.3 blocks per game, he is on pace for multiple NBA career highs in his fourth year at Denver. Selected with the 49th overall pick of the 2017 NBA draft, he finally became a Nugget two years later, in 2019. Previous experience included the Basketball Champions League, 7DAYS EuroCup, and ANGT in Europe.
Photo Credit: Getty Images