The Craziest Dunk You'll Ever See Didn't Count. Here's Why

A dunk so hard the ball bounced off the shooter's own face, back up through the rim, off the backboard, and down through the basket again. Noah Penda's attempt against Cleveland is one of the strangest plays you will ever see, and it did not count. We went 3D and frame by frame to figure out exactly why.
It turns out the NBA rulebook is a jigsaw puzzle on this one. We start with Rule 5, Section 1, and what actually constitutes a made basket: the ball has to enter from above and either remain in or pass through the net. Penda's never passed all the way through, which is the same reason Ja Morant lost a dunk on a 180 that bounced off his own head, and the rule at the center of the famous James Harden play against the Spurs that cost Houston a game in double overtime.
Because the ball never cleared the net, the play stays live, which drags in a whole second set of rules. Offensive basket interference and why hanging on the rim is illegal, plus the carve out that lets every big man dunk without getting whistled. Larry Nance Jr. showing us the separate violation for vibrating the rim. And the rule stating the ball is dead the instant it enters the cylinder from below, which arguably means the whistle should have blown well before any of this.
We also break down the officials' huddle: why the trail official could not see it, why this play belongs to the slot official, and what Paolo Banchero was lobbying for.
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