NBA

Jaylen Brown, Lauri Markkanen headline Monday's high-flyers featuring several Dunk of the Year contenders

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Benyam Kidane
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Dunk of the Year contenders

There was something in the water around the NBA tonight with Monday's nine-game slate delivering a plethora of Dunk of the Year contenders.

We're not even a week into the season.

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Featuring the usual suspects in Jaylen Brown, Miles Bridges and John Collins to a surprise slam from Lauri Markkannen, Monday's action made for a mean mixtape.
 
Let's break them down.

Jaylen Brown, Boston Celtics

Perhaps the best of the night belonged to Boston Celtics swingman Jaylen Brown, who had the timeline on fire with his dunk against the Charlotte Hornets.

With just over a minute remaining in overtime, Brown strapped on the jetpack and despite Hornets forward Miles Bridges' best efforts, he created his new phone wallpaper with this emphatic one-handed jam.


From one high-flyer to another, Bridges gave Brown his props after the game. 

Miles Bridges, Charlotte Hornets

Not to be outdone....it wouldn't be a Charlotte Hornets game without at least one above the rim effort from Miles Bridges.

Earlier in the game, the recently named Eastern Conference Player of the Week collected this Showtime pass from LaMelo Ball and only had eyes for the rim, taking it straight at three Celtics defenders for the powerful one-handed slam. 


Lauri Markkannen, Cleveland Cavaliers

Lauri Markkannen and poster dunk don't normally go in the same sentence, but the Cavaliers forward could easily lay claim to the play of the night with this effort against the Denver Nuggets. 

In the first minute of the game, he picked off a pass from Nikola Jokic, pushing the ball up the court. With Jokic waiting at the rim, he took the elevator upstairs to throw it down all over the reigning MVP. 


John Collins, Atlanta Hawks

Is there a better alley-oop finisher in the NBA right now than John Collins?

The Hawks big man is making a habit out of making the impossible look easy and he was at it again tonight against the Detroit Pistons. 

Collins swooped on an errant pass and was off to the races, getting the ball to Trae Young, who found Kevin Huerter. He spotted Collins making his run to the hoop and tossed it up, letting Collins do what he does best.

Sheesh! 


Anthony Edwards, Minnesota Timberwolves

The Timberwolves sophomore routinely finds himself on the highlight-reel with his supreme athletic ability nearly unmatched. 

Against the New Orleans Pelicans, he took it coast-to-coast, slaloming around Kira Lewis Jr., before rising up and hammering it home over Trey Murphy III.


Brandon Ingram, New Orleans Pelicans

In that same game, Brandon Ingram added his name to the conversation with this one-handed slam. 

Just a few minutes after Edwards' jam, Ingram took it right at the former No. 1 overall pick, detonating for a one-handed dunk.

Which dunk was the best of the day?

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Benyam Kidane

Benyam Kidane is a senior NBA editor for The Sporting News.

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