Chris Boucher Dunked From Damn Near The Free Throw Line Against The Pelicans

At 6’9 with a 7’4 wingspan and fluid straight-line movement skills, Toronto Raptors big man Chris Boucher is unaccustomed to bewildering dunks. His latest one, however, against the New Orleans Pelicans on Thursday night, is among the most impressive of his NBA career.

Late in the third quarter, with Toronto leading 90-77, Boucher initiated a fast break as many Raptors teammates flanked him. For the Pelicans, only Jose Alvarado was back on defense. Boucher bounded down the floor, saw open real estate and nobody to protect the rim, so he elevated for quite the dunk, taking off just a step inside the free-throw line.

“Boucherrrrr, oh, he took off in Montreal!” exclaimed Raptors play-by-play announcer Matt Devlin. “He landed in Toronto!”

That’s a very witty and enjoyable call from Devlin. The trope of deep three-pointers being from [insert nearby city or town] can be overplayed, so it’s refreshing to hear in the context of a dunk. We need more of those moving forward.

That was a rather scintillating sequence from the 30-year-old Canadian, who capped off the series by blocking Naji Marshall’s pull-up three as the third quarter expired as well. A possession earlier, he’d thrown down another dunk too.. Through 53 games, the former Oregon Duck is averaging 9.8 points and 5.8 rebounds on 58.7 percent true shooting. Kudos to him for the highlight and Devlin for capturing it aptly.