The influence of the Miami Heat‘s “Big Three” era continues to reverberate around the NBA. Kids who grew up watching Chris Bosh, LeBron James, and Dwyane Wade dominate the Association on their way to two championships in four years are now NBA players themselves, hoping to emulate the Hall of Fame players they idolized in their youth.
Orlando Magic duo Cole Anthony and Jalen Suggs did a pretty good impression of James and Wade on Wednesday night. In the fourth quarter of a home win over the Washington Wizards, Anthony and Suggs combined for an alley-oop that was practically a carbon copy of a 2010 slam — you’ve seen the one — set up by Wade and finished off by James.
Suggs sets up a spectacular slam
On Dec. 6, 2010, Wade bounced a pass in transition to the trailing James, who nearly jumped out of Milwaukee‘s old Bradley Center throwing down the ensuing dunk. The moment became iconic almost instantly — and it generated a still photo that has been recirculated millions of times.
Nearly 13 years later, inside Orlando‘s Amway Center, Suggs stole a pass intended for Washington‘s Kyle Kuzma and started a fastbreak. The guard lofted an underhand pass to Anthony and held his arms aloft as the ball went in — just like Wade all those years ago.
The alley-oop brought the Orlando crowd to its feet and became the signature moment in a 139-120 Magic win. Anthony’s dunk counted for two of his 25 points — in only 26 minutes off the bench — while Suggs finished with 22 points, three assists, three rebounds, and two steals, continuing his breakout third season in the NBA.
Red-hot Magic win again
The fourth-quarter alley-oop was perhaps the most exciting moment yet for a Magic team that has generated plenty of highlights already this season.
As a smaller-market franchise, the Magic are used to flying a bit under the radar — but Orlando is becoming too good to be ignored. The Magic have the NBA‘s longest winning streak at eight in a row, and their 13-5 record is good for second in the Eastern Conference. They entered Wednesday night with the #2 defensive rating (107.3 points allowed per 100 possessions) in the entire league.
Orlando’s resurgence has been dictated by smart drafting and even better development from a staff led by head coach Jamahl Mosley. At this rate, the Magic will do more than end a three-year playoff drought — they might be among the top teams in the Association for the long haul.
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