Hector just finished the best match of his career. His performance has not gone unnoticed, and no one can miss this kind of performance. He became the second-youngest player in history to grab 20 rebounds in a game. Only Dwight Howard is ahead of him with several 20-rebound games before his 20th birthday.
The beginnings of an elite rebounder have been visible since the beginning of the season. Hector leads in rebounds per game with an average of 12.2 rebounds. Even though the Kings aren't the best team in this area, Hector's presence alone makes the Kings dangerous at offensive rebounding.
Whiteside's presence is beneficial to Hector. Whiteside came to be the starter, but Hector beat him to the loyalty. That's why Whiteside has no reason to be angry now. If he gets his money and playing time, everything is fine.
Defense is still an issue with the Kings. In the next game against the Toronto Raptors, they would concede 144 points in a 144-123 loss. The Raptors' cheeky success percentage is to blame on this game. No one can win a game against a team with 58.2% goal on the court and 51% from three-point range. Hector didn't have a bad game with 16 points and 13 rebounds, but you can only do something in those conditions.
The Kings' record drops below 50%, and will lose the next game against Portland. CJ McCollum scored 37 points, making six 3-pointers, and the Trail Blazers beat the Kings 125-99.
The Kings all missed their games. Hector leads Sacramento in scoring with 15 points but a nasty 5-of-15 field goal. To illustrate all this, the Kings finished with 33.8% in field goals and 26.7% in three-pointers. This is not an acceptable performance for Wharton.
On January 13, a tweet from Adrian Wojnarowski puzzled the entire league.
@wojnarowski The NBA plans to send Hector Herrera to the Slam Dunk Contest; sources tell ESPN. Hector himself was interested in this proposal.
Contrary to what is said, the NBA Slam Dunk contest does not favor the smallest. In reality, the smaller the athlete, the more impressive it looks to rise, fly and twist in the air for a dunk.
Taller athletes don't have to jump as high to dive and generate less suspension time in the air to perform dunks. Generally, taller athletes are not as fluid or graceful as smaller athletes. It is these factors that have an impact on Dunk Contest judges.
Many great men were disappointed during the Dunk Contest, like Andre Drummond and two-time reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo couldn't even make his first dunk attempt in 2015.
Others have shone, like Dwight Howard. The Superman dunk is among the most legendary of the contest, and even Nate Robinson took advantage of him in 2009 by jumping over Dwight in his Superman costume, which will be named the dunk "Kryptonite."
Kings players and fans are surprised by this information that came out of nowhere. Specialists too. So the journalists, all intrigued, came to see the person concerned directly, Hector still without pressure, replied:
"Dunker isn't something I do often, but that doesn't mean I can't do it. If the league calls me, I'll be up for it. I'll still be there at the Rising Challenge if I don't get calls. No matter the situation is beneficial to me," he says with a carelessness that characterizes him.
Behind the scenes, Hector's father has devised a plan to increase Hector's popularity, and the Dunk Contest is one of the few opportunities. Knowing Hector's personality, he will not accept if asked to do something that does not look like him, but he knows he will seize this chance. So, he contacted Monte McNair to contact league management and even opportunities.
And the NBA welcomes Hector's participation. Even if he does not dunk often, it is evident that he has a high vertical trigger, almost unprecedented for his size.
"I wouldn't have any interest in that one way or the other," Kings coach Luke Wharton said when asked about the possibility. "If he wants to do it, good for him as long as he doesn't get hurt, but it's entirely up to him."
And then added: "It's not something I'm going to get involved in."
(PS: The choice of the dunk contest was made with careful consideration. To start that year, Anfernee Simons is a winner but mediocre at best among the winners. Then it's for popularity. This popularity will be necessary for the takeover of Hector in the organization chart of the Kings. I remember that at this time, Fox was not an All-Star. Where am I going with this? Taking on Mac McClung, unknown to the battalion until the day he won the competition, he became a world star. These are the projectors I'm looking for. And those projectors will also project Hector's performance and realize that there's something in Sacramento. This is the best compromise. He couldn't become Pat Ewing overnight, but a guy like Aaron Gordon has made a career out of it.)
Creation is hard, cheer me up!