Luka Dončić Couldn’t Believe Jaxson Hayes’s Between-the-Legs Slam in Lakers-Bulls

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The Lakers had some fun in Chicago Monday night as Los Angeles found its fourth win in the past five games with a 129-118 victory over the Bulls.
Luka Dončić starred, putting up 46 points to go along with 11 assists and seven rebounds while shooting 8-for-14 from the three-point line. LeBron James added 24 points, and Rui Hachimura provided 23 points off the bench, but the highlight of the night came from big man Jaxson Hayes as the Lakers closed out the game.
After a three from Dončić, Hayes came away with a steal as Josh Giddey tried to set up Chicago’s offense, then sprinted the other way with enough time to weave the ball through his legs while going up for the slam. How’s this for a dagger?
LUKA DONCIC IS GOING OFF & JAXSON HAYES WITH THE BETWEEN THE LEGS DUNK —
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) January 27, 2026
SHOWTIME LAKERS. 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
(h/t @BulletClubIta)
pic.twitter.com/iDRPQivk9J
Following the wild slam, Dončić could only look away with a smile, putting his hands together for a prayer. Maybe he was thankful that Hayes is on his side, maybe he was thanking the Bulls fans at the United Center for coming out.
Luka Doncic couldn’t believe Jaxon Hayes throwing down the between the legs dunk in transition.
— SM Highlights (@SMHighlights1) January 27, 2026
Threw up a prayer 🙏 pic.twitter.com/bSyqewXdWa
Luka Doncic makes the difficult 3 and Jaxson Hayes steals the ball and makes the incredible between the legs fastbreak dunk (with replays)
— MrBuckBuck (@MrBuckBuckNBA) January 27, 2026
He nearly gave Luka a heart attack with this dunk
Lakers and Bulls commentaries pic.twitter.com/wERPS7kRPd
Impressively, Monday night wasn’t even the first time Hayes broke out the Eastbay dunk during a game with the Lakers:
He did it during his time with the Pelicans, too:
The showtime Lakers came out in full force in Chicago, with James throwing down a couple of his signature slams as well:
Nobody gets an away crowd pop like LeBron James. Insane.
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) January 27, 2026
(h/t @LADEig) pic.twitter.com/8LZETPcKw2
Cinema 🔥 https://t.co/l6B3hBUHb6 pic.twitter.com/Z3BRwhdh0z
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) January 27, 2026
James dropped 20 of his 24 points on the night in the first half, as Dončić, the NBA’s leading scorer with 33.4 points per game, took over for his seventh 40-point game of the season. The Lakers continue their East Coast swing Wednesday against the Cavaliers in a return for James to Cleveland in his record-setting 23rd NBA season.
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Blake Silverman is a writer at Sports Illustrated, primarily covering the NBA and WNBA. Before joining SI in November 2024 as a breaking/trending news writer, he covered the WNBA, NBA, G League and college basketball for numerous sites, including Winsidr, SB Nation and A10Talk. He’s an alum of both Michigan State and St. Bonaventure University, receiving a master’s degree from the Bonnies’ sports journalism program. Outside of work, he’s a husband, father, yogi and fairly mediocre tennis player who’s open to any tips on how to play defense in EA Sports College Football.