An image within an image
First and foremost prayers go out to Jayson Tatum. As much as I want the Knicks to win this series, and they most likely will, it’s a little bittersweet that it won’t happen by beating the best at their best through the entire series. It hasn’t been announced as of this post, but I actually have a feeling that the NBA has lost one of its top players through next season also.
With that being said, before anyone fully realized that Tatum had gone down, as O.G. broke free for the slam that put the hammer down on the Celtics, 20,000 fans inside the Garden, thousands more on Seventh Avenue, and every Knicks fan watching on TV were already celebrating, before OG even took flight.
Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images
Multiple images of the play have already surfaced on the internet. But, the saying that a picture is worth 1000 words can really be told from both sides of the opposition from this one moment frozen in time forever.
Let’s start with the Knicks. With the exception of Derrick White, no other player on the court was even on the same side of the court. And OG knew it, and everyone watching knew that what was about to happen was going to solidify the victory. If you look at the image above, the entire Garden is already celebrating before the dunk is even complete. OG’s expression shows calm, cool confidence, a quiet focus that quickly exploded into energy as he threw down the emphatic jam, punctuated by a little extra hang on the rim. The Knicks’ lead swelled to nine with 3:01 remaining in the fourth.
If you take a closer look at the picture, focus on Derrick White’s face as he watches from a distance, helpless to intervene, fully aware that once the dunk is complete, it will likely be the final nail in the coffin for the Celtics in Game 4.
Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images
If you take a deeper look in the photo, about sixty feet behind White, you can see what many did not at that exact moment, which was an injured Tatum screaming in agony.
The same image that captures one fan base celebrating more emphatically than they have since 1999 also contains a stark contrast, one of the NBA’s best players in visible, excruciating pain. In that moment, he likely ruptured his Achilles, not only ending his season but potentially ending the Celtics’ season and jeopardizing his availability for 2025–26.
Everyone will say, “Well, the Knicks would’ve won Game 7 against Indiana last year if they hadn’t dealt with their own injuries,” and they’d be right, injuries are part of the game. That said, this image of Anunoby may one day stand alongside John Starks’ “The Dunk” as one of the most iconic moments in Knicks history. It captures every Knicks fan in full celebration after a hard-fought series the team deserves to win. But in the background, a very different emotion lingers, the visible pain of a fallen star, making this image not just a Knicks moment, but a snapshot of both triumph and tragedy that will be remembered by both sides for years to come.