Watch Boston Celtics @ Miami Heat live on Sky Sports Arena in the early hours of Thursday morning (12:30am)
Wednesday 3 April 2019 10:22, UK
Miami Heat small forward Derrick Jones Jr has lit up the NBA this season with a series of spectacular in-game dunks. Watch the best of them here.
If it is possible for an individual player's trademark shot to define an NBA season, the 2018/19 campaign can surely be characterised by James Harden's step-back three-pointers, Giannis Antetokounmpo's unstoppable tomahawk finishes at the rim and, albeit to a lesser extent, the spectacular high-flying in-game dunking of Heat forward Jones Jr.
Jones Jr, who averages 19.1 minutes and a meagre 7,1 points per game, doesn't inhabit the superstar echelons of the NBA where MVP contenders Harden and Antetokounmpo reside, yet his jump-out-of-the-gym athleticism and the sheer force of his finishing at the rim have made his plays as big a social media sensation as those of his better-known counterparts.
Jones Jr, established his rim-rocking credentials while assigned to the G-League by the Phoenix Suns, but his catalogue of devastating 2019 dunks began in March when he threw down a huge alley-oop 'thrunk' off a Bam Adebayo pass during a heavy Heat home loss to the Toronto Raptors.
'Airplane Mode' needed all of his athleticism to reach Adebayo's slightly wayward lob in mid-air before throwing the ball through the Raptors hoop.
Eight nights later, Jones Jr soared again to take full advantage of a Goran Dragic feed and ram home a thunderous two-handed slam to help the Heat to a 116-107 road win over the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Jones Jr also punctuated the night of Chris Bosh's jersey retirement ceremony with another memorable slam against Florida rivals the Orlando Magic, posterizing their All-Star center Nikola Vucevic in the process.
With 4:10 remaining in the first half, Jones received the ball outside the three-point arc courtesy of a kick-out pass from team-mate Dion Waiters. He instantly blew by Magic guard DJ Augustin, creating a runway directly to the Orlando basket.
Another dribble took Jones Jr into the paint where he took flight from inside the free-throw line, rising high above help defender Vucevic to hammer home a trademark southpaw spike.
Click the video at the top of the page to watch Jones Jr's full highlight reel of sensational 2018/19 season slams.
