It's still early in the Summer League, but Johnny Furphy's wild dunk over Noa Essengue is going to be tough to beat.
The NBA’s Summer League in Las Vegas is just getting started, but Johnny Furphy has already laid claim to what should easily go down as the dunk of the event.
Furphy, after weaving his way up the court in the second quarter of the Indiana Pacers’ matchup with the Bulls, cocked back and threw down a wild one-handed slam over Chicago rookie Noa Essengue on Monday afternoon at Cox Pavillion in Las Vegas.
JOHNNY FURPHY WITH THE DUNK OF THE SUMMER LEAGUE 😱
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) July 14, 2025
(via @NBATV)
pic.twitter.com/xQu9USfA8Z
The replay and photos that came out of it were somehow even better.
WHEW, THIS REPLAY 🔥 https://t.co/IPISNBa8k3pic.twitter.com/h1ffoqhHld
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) July 14, 2025
😮💨 https://t.co/7HuSwzJk50pic.twitter.com/L9zvjIZFg1
— NBA TV (@NBATV) July 14, 2025
Essengue, who the Bulls took out of France with the No. 12 overall pick in the draft earlier this summer, didn’t stand a chance.
Furphy is fresh off his rookie season in the league last season with the Pacers, who he helped reach the NBA Finals. After being selected with the No. 35 overall pick out of Kansas in the 2024 NBA Draft, Furphy averaged just shy of eight minutes per game last season for the Pacers. He averaged 14.3 points in the 10 games he played with their G League affiliate, too. Furphy had 11 points at halftime on Monday night.
While there is plenty of time left for someone to go after the “Dunk of the Summer League” title, Furphy has set the bar incredibly high. That poster, which Essengue somehow already found himself on the wrong side of, is going to be very hard to beat.
Category: General Sports