'I don't know what on earth would make him try that': Hardy reacts to Sexton's 360 dunk

SAN ANTONIO — Will Hardy shook his head — again and again and again — with only a hint of a smile.

The Utah Jazz head coach's response to Collin Sexton's brash (but admittedly astounding) 360-degree dunk early in the second half of Utah's 130-118 win over the Spurs?

"So many bad words. Collin is truly amazing to me," Hardy said. "I don't know what on earth would make him try that. I also think the fact that he's 6-foot-1 and pulled that off is wild to me."

That about sums up just about everyone's reaction to Sexton's memorable and spectacular dunk.

Sexton was alone on a fast break and decided to audition for the dunk contest. He bounced the ball to himself while doing a 360-degree spin and used every bit of his 8-foot reach to get the ball into the hoop.

So much could have gone wrong. The bounce could have been off — leading to a missed shot or an unforced turnover — or Sexton could have been blocked by the rim.

It was the type of play usually reserved for pre-game layup lines or, at least, well-in-hand games. He pulled the move off less than a minute into the third quarter with the Jazz only up by 6 points.

This much is clear: Sexton is a brave soul.

And even he knew he got away with one.

"The look on his face when he landed indicated that he thought it was both awesome and he knew that he was like kind of in trouble," Hardy said. "Like, 'Oh, I shouldn't have done that.'"

Hardy then shook his head once again, smiled, and (maybe reluctantly) admitted, "But I still love Collin."

In the end, everything worked out.

But what was going on in Sexton's head when he found himself alone on the fast break?

"I was like, wide open, so I was just like, 'Oh well, I'm gonna try it,'" he said. " I will say, just having fun. I mean, I feel like that was something that sparked the momentum and sparked the run. So just the energy place is what's needed."

The Jazz pushed their lead to 12 a few minutes later, so maybe Sexton is on to something.

But Hardy probably isn't rooting for him to try it again.

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