At All-Star Weekend, Charlotte Bobcats rookie wing Michael Kidd-Gilchrist attracted attention after admitting that Michael Jordan, his franchise's owner and the greatest basketball player ever, had beaten him in a game of one-on-one. While it's not as if MKG lost to an owner like Senator Herb Kohl or James Dolan, it's still pretty embarrassing for a 19-year-old to lose to a man who just turned 50. After this news, Kidd-Gilchrist needed to regain some pride.
On Wednesday night, MKG did just that with one of the best dunks of the NBA season. With roughly three minutes left in the fourth quarter and the Bobcats down 96-93 to the Detroit Pistons, Gerald Henderson drove to the basket and drew two Pistons defenders under the basket. They foiled the attack, and Henderson could only make an off-balance pass back to an open Kidd-Gilchrist near the three-point line. With three seconds left on the shot clock, MKG furiously attacked the rim and exploded on Pistons big man Greg Monroe for a full posterization. Check out the video above courtesy of our colleagues at the Yahoo! Sports Minute.
The Bobcats ended up losing the game 105-99 to run their record to an NBA-worst 13-41, but this play by Kidd-Gilchrist is an example of why he's likely to figure into their plans for a long time. While he hasn't performed as hoped after being selected second overall in last June's draft, MKG has the sort of all-effort approach to the game that will make him a valuable part of a team even if he never develops into a consistent scorer. In theory, he's the kind of player who helps a team win.
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