Hamidou Diallo has played sparingly during his rookie season with the Oklahoma City Thunder, but that doesn't mean he hasn't made a huge impact thus far. Fresh off winning the Dunk Contest title at All-Star Weekend, Diallo joins Reiter's Block to discuss several topics on Thursday at 5 p.m. ET, including his recent All-Star crown, using Los Angeles Lakers legend Shaquille O'Neal as a prop and what his rookie season has been like to this point.
Reiter: Did Shaq know you were going to use him in the dunk contest?
Diallo: Yes, but we never had practiced it before. He knew i was going to bring him out, but I had never practiced jumping over him, I never have jumped over someone that big before.
Reiter: What is the biggest surprise to NBA life?
Diallo: The amount of downtime I have. (Then when asked what he does with downtime). Play a lot of 2K yeah. I like using myself a lot. Besides myself I like using the Houston Rockets.
Reiter: How do you work to improve your vertical?
Diallo: I go to sleep.
Reiter: If you were in Zion Willamson's shoes what would you do if you were able to come back and play?
Diallo: If I was able to come back I would. I'm a born competitor and would definitely want to come back and play ... Whatever decision Zion makes though, every one should support though because it is his decision.
Diallo won the Dunk crown after outlasting the likes of John Collins, Dennis Smith Jr. and Miles Bridges. The 2018 second-round pick used O'Neal in one of his dunks, ended up leaping over O'Neal, and hung on the rim with one hand to really get the crowd into a frenzy.
During his rookie campaign, Diallo is averaging 4.2 points and 2.1 rebounds while shooting 46.6 percent from the field in 11.4 minutes per contest. The Thunder are very deep in the backcourt, so the former Kentucky Wildcat hasn't had to play a ton of minutes in his first NBA season.
"Reiter's Block" starring CBS Sports national columnist Bill Reiter airs at 5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday on CBS Sports HQ. You can get your sports news, highlights, picks and fantasy advice from CBS Sports HQ live for free here or through the CBS Sports app on any device.
