NBA Summer League Dunk Goes Viral Thanks To An All-Time Photo

Noa Essengue will probably never live the moment down

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With the Dallas Mavericks deciding to shut down #1 overall pick Cooper Flagg for the rest of the NBA Summer League, there aren't that many interesting storylines for the league now. But one way to generate buzz for your product is to have a moment go viral on social media. 

That's exactly what happened on Monday night when Indiana Pacers forward Johnny Furphy threw down a huge dunk against the Chicago Bulls. The dunk itself was highlight-worthy, but the real MVP was the photographer who captured the perfect photo of Furphy "posterizing" Bulls defender Noa Essengue. 

Great dunk, right? Now check out this perfect photo taken at the moment. 

Poor Noa Essengue. He's going to be a meme forever. ESPN ran a highlight of the dunk and showed the photo and the anchors couldn't even finish the segment because they were laughing so hard. 

Furphy is an Australian-born player drafted in the second round of the 2024 NBA Draft by the Sacramento Kings. However, the Kings immediately traded the 6'9" forward to the Indiana Pacers. 

Furphy didn't play much in his rookie season, averaging two points per game for Indiana. He appeared in 11 playoff games during the Pacers' run to the NBA Finals, scoring two total points. 

Indiana Pacers forward Johnny Furphy dunked on Chicago Bulls rookie Noa Essengue during an NBA Summer League game and the video and photo of the slam have gone viral.

Indiana Pacers forward Johnny Furphy dunked on Chicago Bulls rookie Noa Essengue during an NBA Summer League game and the video and photo of the slam have gone viral.

(Zach Beeker/NBAE via Getty Images)

Essengue, on the other hand, was a highly-touted prospect from France, drafted 12th overall in the 2025 NBA Draft by the Bulls. He joins a lengthy list of recent high draft picks from Europe and Chicago expects him to be a major contributor in the future. 

But this is one of the worst starts to an NBA career that one could imagine. It completely overshadows the fact that Essengue is averaging 12.7 points and five rebounds per game through three NBA Summer League games. 

No one is going to remember that. They are, however, going to remember that picture of him getting dunked on for a long, long time. 

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Dan began his sports media career at ESPN, where he survived for nearly a decade. Once the Stockholm Syndrome cleared, he made his way to OutKick. He is secure enough in his masculinity to admit he is a cat-enthusiast with three cats, one of which is named "Brady" because his wife wishes she were married to Tom instead of him.