WATCH: DeMar DeRozan tries to put down a 360 contested dunk

This was ambitious to say the least

By Zach Harper

Jul 27, 2016 at 12:58 am ET • 1 min read

Maybe there's something in the water in Toronto? That's the best explanation I have for their shooting guards wearing a USA Basketball jersey and trying to bring down the world of hoops as we know it with one big dunk in international play. It happened with Vince Carter back in 2000 when he jumped over Frederic Weis in the Sydney Olympics. While this wasn't as competitive or as high stakes as an actual Olympic game, the friendly exhibition between Team USA and China nearly became the stage for one of the biggest basketball highlights ever.

Toronto Raptors guard DeMar DeRozan attacked the basket in transition with a little over two minutes left in a game the U.S. would win by 50. As a defender was coming over to protect the rim, DeRozan decided he was going to try to not just dunk on the man but do it by attempting a 360 dunk. He tried to put the man on a spinning poster and just missed coming through on the completion of an unbelievable highlight.

(Video via Deadspin)

You'll notice in the video that Kevin Durant walks off the bench, walks to the painted area under the basket, and does a spin on one foot. Perhaps he was trying to recreate the spin by DeRozan. Maybe he didn't know what to do with his bodily movements at that point. Whatever it was, it was appropriate. It also earned the USA bench a technical foul, which I'm sure they're happy to give up.

The NBA world reacted a bit to it, but nothing like they would have done had he thrown it all the way down while twirling toward freedom. LeBron James, Kendall Marshall, and Spencer Hawes were all dumbfounded and appreciative of the attempt.