‘Oh my god’: NBA teammates lose it as Aussie goes viral
An Aussie is quickly emerging as a cult hero in the United States with the first round draft pick committing a savage act on Sunday.
The looks on Johnny Furphy’s teammates said it all.
The Aussie is going viral in the United States after hammering down one of the most brutal dunks basketball fans have witnessed this year.
The 20-year-old added to his insane highlight reel on Sunday when he monstered the Oklahoma defence with a drive to the basket which finished with a savage poster over the top of Malevy Leons.
Furphy’s move overshadowed the Pacers’ 116-101 victory against their NBA Finals Series rivals.
The No. 35 draft pick made Leons look nothing like the 2.08m forward he is, when he leapt over the top of him before slamming the ball down with his arm at full stretch.
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Furphy’s teammates lost it watching the dunk from the sidelines and many dropped their jaws after watching the highlight come up on the big screen inside the Gainbridge Fieldhouse arena in Indianapolis.
The broadcast team covering the game were just as blown away.
“That’s nasty,” one broadcaster said.
“He wants to make sure the bench sees it. That’s a punch. That’s a poster.”
The official Indiana Pacers X account posted: “Johnny Furphy just detonated on this poster”.
Former NBA star Patrick Beverley called for Furphy to be added to the NBA Dunk Contest during the All Star weekend this season.
“Best White dunker we’ve seen in some years,” he posted.
One NBA content producer shared a video with a caption: “Oh my god”.
Furphy put up eight points and three rebounds in the 11 minutes he was given on court in the pre-season game.
It’s not the first time Furphy has gone viral in the United States.
His coast-to-coast dunk on the head of Chicago’s Noa Essengue earlier this year also went viral when Essengue was left in utter bewilderment.
The effort sent NBA Twitter into overdrive and had many wondering if an Australian had ever produced a dunk that matched it.
Pacers franchise player Tyrese Haliburton couldn’t hide his approval: “Johnny MF Furphy sheeeeeesh”, the injured star wrote on X.
“Your favourite players favourite player,” he added.
Furphy will be hoping to get more game time in the 2025-2026 season after struggling to force his way to get game time last season.
The 2m Melburnian played 61 games for the Pacers last season — including 11 games during the Playoffs, but averaged around five-minutes on the floor per game.
He is going to get plenty of game time with the Boomers in coming years.
Originally published as ‘Oh my god’: NBA teammates lose it as Aussie goes viral
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