Nigel James Jr.'s viral layup for Marquette must be seen to be believed
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Nigel James Jr.'s latest highlight has to be seen to be believed.
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The freshman phenom for the Marquette men's basketball team hasn't been getting a lot of national buzz, but that will likely change after the 6-foot guard's physics-defying layup in MU's 76-70 loss to St. John's on Feb. 18.
The most insane move you probably missed last night, courtesy of Nigel James Jr pic.twitter.com/V5Z0QG8K7g
— Brian Rauf (@brauf33) February 19, 2026
In the second half, James cut from the right wing to take a pass from teammate Tre Norman. The Red Storm's 6-foot-9 enforcer Zuby Ejiofor and 6-8 super-athlete Dillon Mitchell converged on James to form a formidable wall.
But James was able to break between the St. John's defenders to improbably scoop the ball up onto the glass and into the hoop.
Woke up thinking about St. John’s being in first place and Nigel James being insanely talented…I don’t think there’s a better basketball highlight this year. Degree of difficulty is otherworldly. What a wizard pic.twitter.com/uas7Q1HtVb
— Dave (@SJUDave) February 19, 2026
And if you think the shot was lucky, James has been working on those finishing moves his entire life. The New York native is one of the best guards in the country at getting to the rim despite his small stature.
"I was going to go up to dunk it, but I first saw two people so just creativity came out," James said after scoring 25 points in the game. "I watched a lot of (NBA star) Kyrie (Irving) growing up, a lot of (former Auburn standout) Sharife Cooper.
"So those are like people that I model my game after. Finishing, I worked a whole lot on that because I was a smaller guard. Just being able to get around defenders and knowing how to keep my eyes on the rim and at the basket."
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Nigel James' viral layup for Marquette must be seen to be believed