James Harden of the Philadelphia 76ers responded to a summer of criticism by coming out on opening night and bagging 35 points. The Sixers lost anyway to the defending Eastern Conference champs, the Boston Celtics, whose two stars Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum went for 35 each themselves.
But the most memorable play of the game is the one below where Celtics guard Marcus Smart — the 2022 NBA Defensive Player of the Year — does a ridiculous flop followed by James Harden’s shoulder shimmy and masonry masterpiece. Harden’s big brick, that is.
the flop. the shimmy. the slide. the brick.
— Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) October 19, 2022
one of the worst possessions of basketball you will ever see. absolute A+.https://t.co/pU9Em4uMTC pic.twitter.com/SBZUfPsW4J
Shaqtin’ A Fool has its first video clip here, one that may win the entire season when all is said and done. Here are last year’s winners:
Fans who have loved the NBA for decades can find in this play all that seems to be unsatisfying about the way the game is played some nights now, with showmanship and fakery sometimes getting more credit than grit and commitment.
Or maybe this play just an outlier, even if it’s what Rob Perez (above) calls “the worst possession of basketball you will ever see.”
But hey, sometimes the shots don’t go in. Harden played a great game and once in a while the shimmy just overtakes you, you know? (Though Steph Curry, a fellow shimmy fan, usually shimmies after the shot.) If Harden bangs that shot, that is also today’s top NBA video. He’ll live with that and shimmy again tomorrow.
.jpg){kind=link}