Shaun Livingston is back!
This dunk happened during last night's Blazers-Nets game, and it is a welcome sight for anyone who still gets bummed out when they think of all the things that could have been if the 6-foot-7 point guard who once showed flashes of Magic Johnson had never blown out his knee. We'd probably have an entire YouTube channel comprised of no-look passes and dunks instead of this one compilation of grainy footage. Ugh, goddamn you, Shaun Livingston's knee.
But now's not the time to dwell on the past. Let's just be happy about the fact that Livingston is showing bursts of athleticism like this while enjoying the best year of his post-injury career. He started his third consecutive game in place of the injured Deron Williams last night, and scored 23 points. For the season, he's averaging 10 points and three assists while playing 20 minutes per game, and his 20.4 PER is good for second-best on the team.
And if dunks aren't really your thing, check out this highlight reel from Friday night's game, when he scored 18 points and dished out six assists in 37 minutes against the Suns:
There are flashes of the Shaun Livingston that once made basketball fans stop and say, "Whoa, who the hell is this kid?" in that clip. God knows how long this spry, play-making version of Livingston will be around for, but it's nice to see him again.