Welcome to the Vinsanity scale! In honor of one of the best dunks in the game in NBA history, the Vinsanity Scale rates dunks on a scale of 1 to 4. Similar to the Horry Scale, the dunk in question is rated based on the situation of the game. , the difficulty and celebration in answering a question: Would Half Man, Half Amazing, make him proud?

In the first meeting of the season between the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Boston Celtics, Timberwolves guard Jaylen Nowell threw an all-time hammer on the Celtics in the fourth quarter.

The mate

Game situation

The Timberwolves have struggled with COVID-related injuries and absences all season. They currently have seven players in the league’s health and safety protocols, including Anthony Edwards, Karl-Anthony Towns and D’Angelo Russell. This misfortune has allowed third-year guard Jaylen Nowell to step up and defend the team as they try to fight their way through this stretch of the season. Entering the game against Boston, the Timberwolves lost two games in a row and needed to get back on the win column.

The dunk came early in the fourth quarter with the game tied at 79. Nathan Knight tried to dribble from the 3-point line, but ran into a barrier of Celtics defenders. He returned it to Jordan McLaughlin, who immediately passed it on to a rising Nowell.

Two dribbles and Nowell was at the rim. Poor Jabari Parker didn’t stand a chance.

Difficulty

Let’s go now. This is not the slam of your garden variety. He threw this viciously. And no, Parker doesn’t have the athleticism he once had, but he still has a 6-foot-8-inch frame in front of you and Nowell is only 6-foot-4. Nowell knew exactly what he was going to do when he cocked that ball just outside the restricted area.

Reaction

Nowell’s teammates came off the bench, and Nowell himself did some bombast and flex in their direction. Apparently the entire Target Center was in unison. This dunk played an important role in the T’Wolves building momentum to close out the victory.

Here’s another angle on the mate.

Vinsanity scale

For me, this dunk had all the elements needed to make it a great dunk.

The degree of difficulty was there. It was cruel, and the Wolves snapped a two-game losing streak with the win. Nowell finished the game with 29 points, six rebounds and three assists.

Fills up Four Vinsanitys.

(NBA Canada Illustrations)