Cleveland Cavaliers rookie Cedi Osman had a “Welcome to the NBA” moment in Sunday’s win against the Boston Celtics.
He found himself on a breakaway with no one in front of him. He skied for a thunderous two-hand dunk, but it clanked off the back of the rim.
The moment immediately made the rounds on the internet and even ended up on the official Twitter account of “Shaqtin A Fool.”
Osman played it off immediately, however, which was a veteran move. After the game, he provided an explanation for why he may have missed such an easy look, per Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com.
Osman blamed it all on “probably getting too excited.”
“I saw everybody stand up and when I missed the dunk, I saw like, Jeff (Green) was so happy and then he was like, ‘ohhhhh,'” Osman said. “But, it’s all good. … When I missed that dunk, I keep playing and coaches and my teammates keep supporting me and I keep playing. For me, it was really important to keep playing and that’s what I did, and the mental preparation was really good for me.”
Missing wide-open layups and dunks happens to even the best NBA players. It was bound to happen to Osman sooner or later, and it’s better that it happened in this rookie year on national television. It’s the best environment to learn from.
At the same time, Osman looks to be genuinely loving his time with the Cavaliers. He plays with joy and passion and takes everything in stride.
One little missed dunk won’t kill him.
