Perhaps you may have heard about this one. I think it deserves its own post.

Bonus:

Daily Thunder gets some great audio of Kevin Durant talking about Russell Westbrook's slam, and you can hear Westbrook in the background reacting to it.

Durant on Westbrook's Slam Against Kings

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Kevin Durant sent down a monster dunk on Al Harrington midway through the 3rd quarter of last night's win. The aggressive play was notable to me because it put Denver on notice that OKC was about to lay down the hammer, and also because with one emphatic slam and stoic glare, you could see all of the past two weeks' frustration in Durant simmering to the surface.

This is pure Thunder basketball. What we see here is the advancement of every players' skillset this season. Serge Ibaka is no longer a mere weak-side shot blocker, but stays with his man until the end and keeps the ball in-bounds. Kevin Durant makes the correct pass up the court to advance the ball past the defense. Russell Westbrook only has to take a single dribble before lofting a perfect lob pass to James Harden, who is streaking up the left sideline, and Harden finishes it with flair.

Russell Westbrook is having a great showing in his second All-Star game. In the first half he shot 8-11 for 17 points, two of which included this maniacal slam dunk off the Chris Paul dish:

I don't know what he is doing exactly after he lands, but I bet a honey badger might know.

Bonus

This dunk might be better. Tell me Westbrook doesn't look like a miniature version of the guy he just flew past on his way to the rim.

We finally get to give this honor to the rookie, the kid, Thunder 1st round draft pick Reggie Jackson. RJ has been going through a trial by fire this season, as he has been thrust into a responsibility for which he was not quite ready. When backup PG Eric Maynor went down for the season, Jackson was the man who had to step up. His season has gone the way you'd expect a rookie PG to go - some good, some bad, and a lot of general confusion as he struggles to learn the intricacies of the pro game.

One area that we knew that he could thrive in though was in finishing around the rim. He had a number of impressive highlights while at Boston College, but those athletic feats had not really manifested yet in OKC. He has looked timid around the rim, not seemingly sure about when to attack, when to pass, and when to reset. As a result, he's missed a handful of point blank shots that speak more about his confidence than his ability. So it was with great pleasure that we got to see him finally finish strong over Laker big man Andrew Bynum.

Last night's win against the Hornets was somewhat bereft of dramatic moments as the Thunder rolled to an easy win. One moment that punctuated the Thunder's dominance though was this Kevin Durant steal and slam, which pushed the 2nd quarter lead to 15. What I love about the play is that, if you pause the clip about four seconds in, you see that KD is leading a four on two fast break. He has both Russell Westbrook and Kendrick Perkins sitting on the baseline, ready to take an easy bounce pass to finish. However, in a play that easily could have turned into a "too-cute-for-its-own-good" kind of attempt, Durant forewent the pass and decided around halfcourt that he was going to jam it right on top of Chris Kaman's head. He didn't care that Kaman might try to block it (he didn't) or take a charge (he ducked); Durant was about to send a message that this game, although far from ending, was effectively "over."

On Feb. 17, the Thunder trailed the Warriors early but then surged late in the 2nd quarter to take the lead. It was then that they went on a dunkathon, with Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and James Harden each getting a shot at rattling the rim.

Up first: Durant takes it hard to the rim:

Next, Durant sets up Harden beautifully for the weak-side lob:

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Last night's game against the Kings was a bitter pill, but this soaring slam by Russell Westbrook made the announcers' tongues turn to taffy.

What I love most about it is that two of the guys in the booth on this night were Reggie Miller and Chris Webber, two of the more accomplished All-Stars of yesteryear. Their careers overlapped that of such high fliers as Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Kobe Bryant, and Vince Carter. I mean, you've seen Reggie; you KNOW he got dunked on a lot. And yet in this briefest of moments when gravity became optional for Westbrook, they were suddenly sitting there outside the Tower of Babel.