Charlotte Hornets star Gordon Hayward has been out of NBA action after he left the December 26 game against the Los Angeles Clippers with a left calf strain. Hayward didn’t play in the Hornets’ last three fixtures due to his injury. However, he did appear recently on Podcast P with Paul George to talk shop with his NBA Draftmate.
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The two All-Stars started their conversation by addressing the elephant in the room- Hayward’s infamous slam dunk on Paul George during their rooking year. Both Hayward and George were drafted in the 2010 NBA Draft by the Utah Jazz and the Indiana Pacers respectively. During the 2010-11 season, the Jazz paid a visit to the Pacers for a thrilling contest which would soon turn into a haunting memory for Paul George.
In the first few minutes of the podcast, PG brought up the dunk, painfully recalling the humiliation, “And you [to Hayward] had a fast break…You’re flying down the court. As soon as I jumped, I just knew it was-this is stupid. You punched the sh*t on me with the left hand.” Hayward immediately caught on to what George was talking about and could only smile at the Clippers’ guard’s hilarious recounting of the event.
PG further explained that he saw Pacers’ Dahntay Jones approaching Hayward and thought that he would mitigate the latter’s run significantly. Therefore, he jumped before the basket for what seemed like would be an easy block. However, Jones ended up letting Hayward go and the then Jazz rookie made the most of the situation, slamming it in with his left hand over George. Hayward admitted that he vividly remembers the play, not because he posterized PG during it, but because that was his only bucket that day.
The Indiana crowd cheered Hayward dunking on their own team
After discussing the dunk, Hayward talked about how the Indiana crowd cheered his dunk over PG that day. The 33-year-old explained that he had just led Indiana’s Butler University to the NCAA Championship game against Duke University. Therefore, Hayward’s visit to the Pacers’ home arena was kind of a special moment for the people of Indiana.
The Butler Bulldogs eventually lost the game and the National Championship 59-61 to the Blue Devils. However, Hayward had attempted an half-court heave just at the buzzer in the game that ended up bouncing off the rim. It could have been the greatest moment in March Madness history if it had actually went in. However, Hayward did manage to win the hearts of the people of Indiana. Therefore, Pacers fans had no qualms cheering for him after his dunk on PG, especially since the latter hadn’t established himself as the hero he would later become in Indiana.
Paul George has come a long way after that embarrassing moment 13 years ago. He is a eight-time All-Star now and part of a Clippers team that has a good chance to contend for the title this year. On the other hand, Hayward’s Hornets are currently 13th in the Eastern Conference with an abysmal record of 7-24.
Paul George has averaged 20.9 points, 5.9 rebounds and 3.6 assists in 17 games versus Gordon Hayward in his career, per StatMuse. It seems like the veteran guard really took the dunk personally.
