A Pelicans Rookie Had The Best Dunk Of Summer League And It Was Not Zion Williamson

Monday night in Las Vegas, New Orleans Pelicans rookie center Jaxson Hayes caught a nifty wraparound pass on a side pick-and-roll and dunked someone named Mychal Mulder into The Further.

It is honestly a deeply unfair turn of events for a relatively anonymous summer league guard to wind up in this kind of crushing highlight. Out of respect for poor Mulder, who suffered dearly for his love of basketball, here are some things you may not know about him: he grew up in Ontario, he played for John Calipari at Kentucky, he plays for the Windy City Bulls of the NBA’s developmental league, and he is a member of the Canadian men’s national team. Also he is a ghost now. Have another look at that damn dunk:

Hayes may not play much right away for the Pelicans, depending upon how they start the season and whether or when they shift away from pushing for the playoffs to developing the youths. But there’s a potential where Hayes and Zion Williamson are flying around the court with flubber on the soles of their shoes, dropping out of the rafters to throw down lob dunks from Lonzo Ball and Jrue Holiday, and that future can’t get here soon enough.