If you saw Dallas Mavericks forward Derrick Jones Jr. soar in for an alley-oop dunk in Tuesday night’s Game Four of the Western Conference Finals, you weren’t alone. TNT Sports NBA announcer Kevin Harlan punctuated Jones’ highlight play by bellowing “we just saw a man fly” as Dallas cut the deficit to three on a feed from Luka Doncic.
The call was classic Harlan, perfectly mixing a fan’s glee and a professional’s wordplay. It also was a callback to one of the longtime NBA broadcaster’s classic calls from nearly 15 years ago.
NBA fans online quickly discovered Harlan’s call of a J.R. Smith dunk from 2010, when Harlan first busted out the “we just saw a man fly” line.
Kevin Harlan brought back the iconic J.R. Smith call 🔥
(via @NBA) pic.twitter.com/wfRdBgEma6
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) May 29, 2024
Nuggets fans have long celebrated Harlan’s call of the Smith dunk, and many pulled it back out from previous social media posts when they heard it again this week.
I think this was the original Harlan “We just saw a man fly!” https://t.co/vq132RlZyi
— Wildes (@kevinwildes) May 29, 2024
Depending on your personal taste, you might even think the Smith dunk and the call there was even better. Smith drove in from the perimeter and posterized a smaller player, swinging on the rim for good measure. Harlan, of course, came up with the “man fly” line off the cuff that first time.
With Jones and Dallas, the liftoff was more explosive and the timing of the play made it more meaningful.
No matter which was best, credit Harlan for developing his own canon and playing the hits.
