Two days removed and the NBA world is still a buzz about Nic Claxton’s posterizing of Lebron James on Christmas Day. The play, unsurprisingly, has created the most memorable moment in Claxton’s career to date.
“That’s definitely No. 1. Definitely the most memorable moment of my career and it was lit,” Claxton said ahead of Monday’s game against the Los Angeles Clippers.
Claxton has seen an improvement in his play of late this season and he was buoyed on Saturday by the dunk seen around the league. The 22-year-old finished Saturday’s win with a career-high 6 blocks, as well as 9 points and six rebounds and three assists in 32 minutes on the court.
Claxton also put up a season-high 17 points against Philadelphia on Dec. 16 and he recorded 16 points against Toronto on Dec. 14. The play on Saturday and the recent success have helped boost the confidence of the young center.
“It’s definitely good in growing confidence,” Claxton said about the play. “The coaching staff trusting me to finish big games and my teammates trusting me to go out and make plays. James having that trust to even throw that pass like that, it says a lot about the way he feels about me. I went out and made it happen, so my confidence is definitely growing. I’m looking forward to just continuing to do what I’m doing and the sky’s the limit.”
Claxton had been dealing with a wrist injury, but it won’t prevent him from suiting up. He did play Saturday’s game with a guard on is wrist and expects to have it on for a few more games.
“Just protection,” Claxton described it as. “My wrist is fine. Nothing I can’t play through. I was kind of lucky a few games were postponed and gave me some time to rest, so I’m good.”
