Lakers’ Jaxson Hayes was prepared for disaster on wild Eastbay dunk vs. Bulls

On Monday evening, the Los Angeles Lakers continued their winning ways with a comfortable road win over the Chicago Bulls in the Windy City. Luka Doncic was brilliant in this game, scoring 46 points, including a barrage of three-pointers in the fourth quarter, to guide Los Angeles to the victory.

The highlight of the game occurred in the second half when Lakers big man Jaxson Hayes had a runout fast break opportunity, and instead of dunking the ball in a normal fashion, he put it through his legs while in the air, electrifying the crowd at the United Center.

After the game, Hayes got 100% real on the fear that was running through his head as he prepared for the audacious dunk.

“I thought I was about to get hung by the rim so bad, and I thought I was about to get yanked out of the game right away… Luckily, God was on my side,” said Hayes, per Spectrum SportsNet on X, formerly Twitter.

Hayes has long been known as an elite athlete who can get off the floor especially well for a center. However, at times he has struggled to stay in JJ Redick’s rotation due to his dubious defensive tendencies as well as his lack of touch around the rim on offense.

This, combined with some recent solid play from Lakers reserve big man Drew Timme, has caused some to wonder whether Hayes’ spot in the Lakers’ rotation might be threatened moving forward. At times, he was played off the floor during their playoff loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves a year ago.

However, Hayes sure made the most of his minutes on Monday night, producing arguably the highlight of the season for the Lakers.

Los Angeles will next take the floor on Wednesday evening for a road game against LeBron James’ former team, the Cleveland Cavaliers.

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