By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Noah Penda sparked viral headlines during the NBA Preseason 2026. On Tuesday against the Cleveland Cavaliers, the 21-year-old guard-forward of the Orlando Magic turned a quick steal into a physics-defying sequence.
Penda drove inside for a fast-break slam but threw the ball down so violently it ricocheted off his own face. The ball bounced back up through the top of the rim, rattled off the backboard, and fell through the net a second time. However, referees whistled the play dead and waved off the basket. They called him for offensive interference since he hung on the rim.
The Paris native laughed off the self-block after team practice on Thursday. Asked if he had ever seen a dunk strike his own nose, he offered a candid explanation. “It has happened to me before, I’m not going to lie,” revealed Penda. “It’s not my first time that this stuff happened, but it’s part of the body transformation, I guess. You get higher. Usually I don’t get on the side on the rim but at the front, so now I got to position my body better.”
He also broke down the mechanics of why the play looked so strange. “I was almost parallel to the ground, so I mean if you put a woodboard under a basket, of course the basket is going to come out,” noted the French wing. “Just learn how to maybe jump from further.”
The Magic close their exhibition slate against Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Miami Heat at Kia Center on Friday. They also open the 2026–27 Regular Season at home against the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday.
Penda, the 32nd overall draft pick in 2025 who made 60 appearances as a rookie last year, is averaging 6.5 points in tune-up games.
Make 
Your Preferred Basketball Source.
Add Eurohoops to Google