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When’s the last time someone did something where you just couldn’t help but utter that wonderful phrase…no not Hakuna Matata. I’m talking about the infamous, WTF. Did you just read that sentence and spew those words?
Now I know the NBA does a great job holding press conferences and handing out big trophies for deserving players. Even the NBPA wanted to get fancy and hand out their “Players Awards” on BET (guess they weren’t that fancy). With everyone seemingly giving away awards, we here at Off the Glass decided we wanted to hand out hardware (but not really) to celebrate accomplishments from the past NBA season.
For our second award in the OTG awards series, we asked four kind hearted and caring OTG writers:
Who deserves 2014-15 NBA WTF moment of the year?
Greg Alcala – There’s David Thompson’s 32 in ‘78, George Gervin (‘78) and Carmelo Anthony’s (‘08) 33 and even Joe Johnson’s 29, two years ago. Then there’s what Klay Thompson accomplished on January 23rd, 2015, joining the critically acclaimed ball-hog cast and put every other 12 minute barrage to shame.
Splash Brother Klay scored 37 points in the third quarter against the Sacramento Kings, going a perfect 13-13 from the field, including 9-9 from behind the arc and both free throws. Thompson’s record setting performance blew the game wide open and the Kings went from thinking about how to stop him to conceding to more significant thoughts like, post-game food options or how long the bus ride would be.
Did Klay get a sip of Michael’s Secret Stuff from Bugs Bunny at halftime? All I know is that, whatever Klay did before that third quarter worked, really damn well.
Jonathan Kim – Lance Stephenson may be a genius or a coach's nightmare. He’s a hit-or-miss type with major upside, but there’s always a chance of buffoonery. He seems to have lost his mind after blowing in LeBron James’ ear during Game 5 of the 2014 Eastern Conference Finals. Lance wasn’t Born Ready for life post Indiana; it’s gotten WTF bad.
In a regulation game against the 2015 NBA Champions, Stephenson ran into Harrison Barnes, slapping his own face and epically flopping to the ground. Lance’s flop was creative, perfectly timed and he drew a foul on Barnes. All positives but seriously dude, WTF is that.
Joe Vayas – Klay Thompson’s 37 point quarter was not the kind of event you can plan on watching beforehand. No, this was the kind of thing that blew up your Twitter, Facebook, and whatever social media feed you have. It brought major NBA JAM memories because Klay was legitimately on fire. Then watching the highlights, when you KNOW he is making every shot, you still think, “there is NO WAY that one is going in, here comes the miss.” Swish.
This game was tied before Thompson made his first shot, and by the end of the quarter, the Warriors were up by 24 points. WTF just happened??? This is not only the WTF moment of the year in the NBA, but also, the moment where Klay Thompson changed from a “really good” player into a “great” one. Let it fly Klay. #wishNBAJAMstillexisted
Landon Buford – WTF is billionaire and Los Angeles Clippers owner Steve Ballmer doing in the stands?
He needs to take some dancing classes as soon as possible, and this is did not help the underachieving Los Angeles Clippers last season. Being a Los Angeles Lakers fan, it pains me to admit this, but the Clippers were built to win a championship last year. It was supposed to be the year Chris Paul elevated his game to the next level and lead his team to the NBA Finals, but that didn’t happen.
After a summer reload and rebrand, the Clips are even more talented this year. They just need their owner to refrain from dancing until he enrolls into a dancing class. Maybe he can be a part of the next Dancing with the Stars cast. Actually, nevermind, I just watched the video again. We don’t need any more of that on television.