Watch: Sacramento Kings guard Malik Monk has two of the NBA’s top 10 dunks this season – Sacramento Bee
Kings guard Malik Monk threw down some of the most astonishing dunks in the NBA over the first two months of the 2023-24 season.
On Christmas Eve, the NBA tweeted out a jaw-dropping, eye-popping gift to its fans, a collection of the top 10 dunks so far this season. Monk didn’t just make the list – he checked it twice, coming in at No. 1 and No. 9.
“Malik is a freak of an athlete,” Kings coach Mike Brown said recently. “… He can really fly. He should be in the dunk contest.”
Monk has provided a spark off Sacramento’s bench for two seasons since signing a free-agent deal with the Kings in the summer of 2022. Brown frequently lobbies for Monk as a Sixth Man of the Year candidate.
Monk is averaging career highs of 14.0 points and 5.1 assists. He is shooting a career-best 40.1% from 3-point range.
Monk wasted little time in launching his aerial assault in a 130-114 victory over the Utah Jazz in the season opener Oct. 25 at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City. De’Aaron Fox, who teamed up with Monk at Kentucky before they reunited in Sacramento, came up with a steal at midcourt. Fox threw a drop-off bounce pass to the trailing Monk, who took flight from outside the restricted area to throw down an emphatic dunk in the face of Jazz guard Kris Dunn.
That dunk was ranked No. 1 in the NBA’s top 10. Monk’s other top-10 dunk came in a 129-120 victory over the San Antonio Spurs in an in-season tournament game Nov. 17 in San Antonio.
This time, Monk created for himself off the dribble, utilizing a screen from JaVale McGee to get by Spurs small forward Doug McDermott. Zach Collins, a 6-foot-11 forward, and the 6-9 Sandro Mamukelashvili rose up to meet Monk at the apex, but Monk fearlessly attacked the rim, dunking over both men.
