It’s been a long time since I saw that grainy footage in a nondescript gym of Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk dominating his age-group over in the Ukraine. He was dunking on everybody, he was hitting deep threes, it was just a highlight video of course, but it made him look like a beast. He was probably 16 at the time. I think that footage was the reason Kansas recruited him, honestly. That and that one international showcase game he played in around the same time (featuring a whole bunch of NBA players like Nikola Jokic and “Karl Towns”).
It took him a while to do anything in college, but he eventually turned into a legit player, and now here he is, six years later, playing in the NBA. Against all odds, I must say, because his wingspan is, let’s just say, not a typical NBA-quality wingspan. How does he dunk with those T-Rex arms?
He should’ve had a lot more points tonight; he got to play a whole quarter of garbage time, he was getting good looks, but they just weren’t going down. His jumpshot is so nice that it’s a shame that it hardly ever goes in. Before we call him the Ukrainian J.J. Redick with dunking ability, we have to settle for him being the Ukrainian Donte DiVincenzo.