Very few players know the honor of dunking on LeBron James. While the exact number is probably unknowable, Jake Fischer wrote for Bleacher Report in 2020 that only nine players had done so. James is one of the greatest athletes in the history of basketball, and his basketball IQ means he’s almost always in the right position. When a player does manage to dunk on James, it’s memorable.
When a player does so in a big game? Well, that tends to be a legacy-defining play. It’s been six years since rookie Jayson Tatum threw down a slam on James in Game 7 of the 2018 Eastern Conference finals and it still might be the most famous play of his career.
On Saturday, French forward Guerschon Yabusele had what is now unquestionably going to be the most famous play of his own career when he joined the “dunked on LeBron” club. The play came in the second quarter of France’s eventual 11-point loss in the gold medal game against Team USA. Yabusele snuck past Devin Booker on the perimeter, and James rotated to try to get in position to take a charge. He was too late, though, and Yabusele finished a dunk for the ages and got the foul as well. Take a look:
Yabusele has been one of the breakout players of the Olympics. When France elected to play smaller and limit Rudy Gobert’s minutes in the knockout stage, it unlocked Yabusele and turned him into one of their biggest weapons. His motor and strength have made him a force inside, but his ability to shoot from deep has kept defenses honest in the process.
Yabusele, 28, was the No. 16 pick in the 2016 NBA Draft by the Boston Celtics. His NBA career didn’t pan out at the time, and he has been playing abroad since 2019. He is currently a member of Real Madrid, but seems interested in an NBA return if one is available. He told The Boston Globe’s Gary Washburn “you gotta tell (the Celtics) to bring me back” after Thursday’s semifinal win over Germany.
If his Olympic performance is any indication, Yabusele is more than ready for a second chance in the NBA. It’s hard to imagine anyone dunking on James without being one of the 450 best players in the world.
