If you’ve been paying attention to the content churning out from Belly Up NBA lately, you know we got beats on beats covered. There are Rockets articles, early looks at awards, All-Star snubs, trade chips, and rookie rundowns. I could try and break in with some thoughts on trades or a player or a team, but I think it’s best to let the teammates shine. They got the real stuff covered.
Beyond great analysis, NBA Twitter has been at the forefront of niche Twitter, adding color to the long, grinding season. Can it get bogged down in pedantic debates? Yes. Does it go too hard in stanning for its players? Also, yes. However, many times it gives great laughs as we aimlessly scroll through Twitter.
The broader NBA Twitter ecosystem is bolstered by various team Twitter followings that get into the weeds only possible by watching 70-80 games of your team a year. Whether teams are trash or chasing titles, there are so many creative fans that pull little nuggets out then use their great editing skills to bring us all joy. Without further ado, let’s dive into a few good laughs that popped up over the last few weeks.
Suns Twitter x Kendrick Crossover
Everyone knows what that means pic.twitter.com/a8IvOINRKJ
— Realistic Suns Fan (@RealisticSuns) January 26, 2022
In 2017, Kendrick Lamar released his album DAMN. to much fanfare. The lead single on the album was HUMBLE., which spawned many videos of people dancing and rapping along to the catchy hook. It’s been able to stick in the lexicon, no doubt due to the unique sound, and used in several ads.
We were graced with the latest rendition of the song when the Phoenix Suns had to throw newly signed center Bismack Biyombo into the starting lineup amidst a rash of injuries to their normal centers. In stepped @RealisticSuns to provide this quick edit of Kendrick’s music video with an overabundance of Biyombo faces. Close your eyes and “be humble” becomes “Biyombo.” Open your eyes and Biyombo is all around you.
This short, little video shows the power and creativity of NBA Twitter, combining a classic hook with a current theme. The fact that Biyombo, with much help from Chris Paul, has been killing it during his stint with the Suns made this catchy video all the better. Biyombo averaging 10 points and 7 rebounds should keep these hilarious edits on the interwebs.
Warriors Twitter Takes on the Announcers
this fitz and kelenna video got me in tears ?? pic.twitter.com/7EX3OboR3l
— ??? ? (@hoodiedoms) January 25, 2022
If you watch enough Warriors basketball, you are probably aware of their announcing team of Bob Fitzgerald and Kelenna Azubuike. And if you are aware of them, my guess is you probably wish you weren’t. For this writer, at least, they are one of the worst announcing tandems in the league. Bad takes and homerism are not a good combination, in my book.
Well, Warriors fan @hoodiedoms found a way to make them both enjoyable to listen to. Speed up the broadcast, my guess is this is on 2.5x speed, and all the annoying things the two say become hilarious. The extra hype in their voice for James Wiseman goes from annoying to laugh-out-loud funny. Fitzgerald’s go-to, “Yes, sir” sounds much better when he’s a member of Alvin and the Chipmunks.
GOAT DUO LMAOO – part two https://t.co/uoyfXHhxIB pic.twitter.com/u9b3nEP7j4
— ??? ? (@hoodiedoms) January 25, 2022
Whenever you strike creative gold, there is a risk of going to the well too much, wearing the bit out. However, @hoodiedoms doesn’t have anything to worry about there, as his part two is equally as good. This time he weaves some classic “tic, tac, toes” that Fitzgerald loves to belt out, as well as Azubuike’s cringe laugh when he doesn’t have the words to speak. We need more Alvin and the Chipmunk edits.
NBA Twitter Sets Their Sights on Lakers-Knicks
Lakers Knicks Saturday night gonna sound like the beaches of Normandy
— sam (@fbl_sam) February 3, 2022
In the lead-up to last Saturday’s Lakers-Knicks game, we got a tour de force of great tweets. @fbl_sam started it off three days before the games, providing any NBA/history buff with a perfect analogy of what might commence with the 13th and 25th ranked teams in effective field goal percentage, respectively, matching up. Any time you compare teams’ shooting to an endless bombardment of gunfire, many that never hit the mark, you got a good chuckle coming.
Russ vs Randle tonight I hope everybody in the arena got a construction helmet available
— dame ? (@DameDeadAF) February 5, 2022
Then, we get this gem. @DameDeadAF zeroes in on two embattled former all-stars who seemingly cannot find their shooting touch. For Russell Westbrook, it’s less about his current percentages and more about his consistently horrendous attempts at bank shots. With how often he is hitting the top of the backboard, anyone sitting at baseline definitely needs to have their head on a swivel. Add in the number of times he’s hit his teammates in the head on passes this year, and you had many clamoring for those construction hats.
For Julius Randle, this year has been an eternal struggle after his breakout last season. Everyone was wondering if his shooting might fall back to earth and crash back it did. Randle is currently shooting just 41.6 percent from the field and has an effective field goal percentage of 46.6, his worst since his second season in the league. Like Russ, Randle continues to shoot the ball a lot, simply making it easier for fans to get these jokes off at his expense.
JFK if Russell Westbrook was the shooter pic.twitter.com/LBv6r1ZiL3
— Soby(?️,?️)? (@sobylife) January 13, 2022
The final tweet of the night was a retweet of a January tweet by user @sobylife, once again using an NBA/history crossover. Any hope Russ would put the first two tweets highlighted to bed did not materialize. By the game’s end, Russ threw up a 1-10, and the jokes had to flow. For me, @sobylife gets added points for producing a JFK that looks eerily similar to Dave Chappelle’s Chuck Taylor character. The question is, would this JFK be the fox at 100 that he was at 40?
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