'The craziest dunk I've seen': The NBA's dunk of the year may have happened in Utah

SALT LAKE CITY — The crowd reaction said it all.

When Anthony Edwards threw down what may be the NBA's dunk of the season on Monday at the Delta Center, the Jazz home crowd responded with shocked oohs and ahhs.

It didn't matter that it was a Minnesota player doing the dunking, or that Jazz forward John Collins was left lying on the floor; sometimes a play is so good that you have to tip the cap.

Edwards' epic slam (or at least throw-in) was just that.

Edwards sprung from the middle of the paint over Collins (with a little help from a hand swipe to Collins' face) and tossed in the dunk with such authority that it even won over, at least temporarily, the Utah faithful.

"That was the best dunk of my career, I'm not gonna lie," Edwards said after the game while watching the replay.

He won't get many people disagreeing with him; heck, some said it even ranks up there with the best in-game dunks ever.

"That was the craziest, craziest dunk I've seen in my career, probably," said former Jazz guard and current Timberwolves player Mike Conley. "When I get home, I've got to go through the archives and start looking for (others that would be better) because that was crazy."

Conley was on the bench when the play happened, but he said he's pretty sure he ended up at least taking one step on the court due to getting caught up in the moment.

"I went to go chest bump him or something," he said. "People were holding us back."

The play ended in carnage. As Edwards went to throw down the dunk, he reached out his left hand and it collided with Collins' face. The collision dislocated Edwards' finger and sent Collins into concussion protocol; he didn't return.

Jazz coach Will Hardy said Collins "looked a little out of it" and "had a pretty good cut under his eye." The Athletic reported that Collins suffered a head contusion but wasn't diagnosed with a concussion.

Edwards, meanwhile, returned after a quick trip to the locker room and finished off a 25-point second half to lead Minnesota to victory — a victory that may very well have been spurred on by the memorable dunk.

"It gives everybody energy," Edwards said. "It makes everybody want to defend, want to get stops. It makes the game more exciting."

Everyone — Jazz fans, included — can attest to that.

"It gives me chills, man, because like I always dreamed of dunking on somebody like that," Edwards said. "Watching like Vince Carter jump over somebody on USA or watching T-Mac — so I was dreaming of dunking on somebody like that, and that was like my favorite one of all time."

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