On Saturday night, Denver Nuggets forward Paul Millsap found himself standing toe to toe against Orlando Magic center Nikola Vucevic. The two hunched into athletic stances at mid-court in preparation for the game’s opening tip. The odds were stacked in Vucevic’s favor as referee Marc Davis approached them with the basketball in hand. The 7-foot tall native of Montenegro had four inches on the 6-foot-8 power forward opposite of him.
When the ball went up, Millsap didn’t even bother jumping. He just watched as Vucevic leaped, swung his massive right arm into the sky and tipped the ball back to teammate Aaron Gordon.