Yes, yes, I am back after a mini hiatus to bring you all the jokes from NBA Twitter. While this space is typically used to compile jokes throughout the week, sometimes there is an event so galvanizing that NBA Twitter is all posting about the same thing. Not since the Los Angeles Clippers coughed up a 3-1 lead in the bubble have we seen a night like Tuesday, April 5th. With the Los Angeles Lakers being eliminated that night, all the tweets saved in drafts were unloaded and the Lakers were roasted for missing the playoffs. What a night it was, as any folly by the Lakers will be met with great joy by the basketball community. Before we dive into the best of the night, make sure you check out all the great, serious work being put out by Belly Up NBA writers.
Sreekar Finds Multiple Ways to Roast Lakers
https://t.co/qamsCuSGWr pic.twitter.com/btI2dQ9NHd
— sreekar (@sreekyshooter) April 6, 2022
The original tweet that generated the quote was just asking to get clowned. If you’re a Lakers fan, part of the territory is being dragged for any demise your team encounters. To paraphrase Don Draper, “That’s what the championships are for!” This doubles when that demise is a season-long trek, ending in a blowout loss to miss the playoffs.
If you don’t follow international politics, you might be wondering who the dude in the hospital bed four times is. That would be none other than Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro. By my count, he’s been in the hospital at least 5 times since 2018, including multiple complications from a stabbing in 2018, a bout with COVID, and intense hiccups. The only thing he’s better at than getting ailments is using the judicial system to lock up political rivals. Safe to say @sreekar, as a Suns fan, is as sick as Bolsonaro watching his team eliminate the sad-sack Lakers. And who can blame him, when you have multiple pictures like these of a head of state? They resoundingly signify your stance on the question while being objectively hilarious.
— sreekar (@sreekyshooter) April 6, 2022
In August, after the Lakers had made their offseason moves, the chatter around the team was all over the place. You could find takes ranging from “the Lakers are going to win again with their three stars” to “lol, the Lakers assemble a team for 2014, this will end poorly.” LeBron James, who forever has his eye on the Twitter chatter, had to weigh in with his typical, emoji-filled tweet.
As the season started slipping away, some would argue almost immediately, LeBron ensured the tweet was scrubbed from the site. However, luckily for us who revel in jokes and dancing on graves, screenshots live forever.
@sreekar was there to add the appropriate Suns response as they closed the Lakers out for good. It’s safe to say that NBA Twitter kept the energy LeBron requested. A perfectly captured Mikal Bridges demonstrates the sentiment. As they say, a picture is worth 1,000 words.
Roasted for Missing the Playoffs
https://t.co/h4RzmylgwF pic.twitter.com/vEMImAyqmO
— Rodger Sherman (@rodger) April 6, 2022
With the legalization of sports betting, more people are chasing their hot takes hoping to win a bag of money. Hey, if you can win a stack while being loud right, why not? Always fun to win some cash, whether it’s a bet for your team or to watch the world burn.
The Ringer’s Rodger Sherman (@rodger) announced in early March he had laid down money on the Lakers missing the playoffs at the beginning of the season. With their roster questions, +1400 definitely was too good to pass up. After having to sweat it through early March, the prize hit a fast track towards the end of the month.
Once the calendar turned to April, I’m sure Sherman was feeling pretty good as the Lakers played like Edmond Dantes sinking to the ocean floor. As the night closed, Sherman announced his victory in the most appropriate way, by using LeBron’s silencer celebration. Kudos.
Live look at Lakers huddle pic.twitter.com/O0J3478Exa
— gifdsports (@gifdsports) April 6, 2022
The running joke around the NBA is players can’t wait to get to Cancun once the season is over. Finally, they get a little R&R after the six-month grind of a season. That trip can be made in frustration, joy, or with a simple sigh of relief, depending on the season. The TNT Thursday night crew always likes to joke that teams that see the writing on the wall, whether at the end of the regular season or in the playoffs, will have one foot out the door before the season is officially over.
@gifdsports was quick on the draw last night to splice in the crew’s favorite “1, 2, 3, Cancun” chant as the clock struck zero on the Lakers season. With how they played the last month, one can’t help but wonder if they were saying this chant each game.
Let the Funeral Roasting Commence
— Valley of the Suns (@ValleyoftheSuns) April 6, 2022
The culmination of all the jokes people had been waiting to unleash on the Lakers. If ever there was a team funeral for Twitter to dance on, this was the team. 73 win Warriors lost in the final minute of Game 7. The Heatles made the Finals. The 2004 Lakers made the Finals. The “This is Fun” Lakers made the playoffs. So did the KG and Paul Pierce Nets. In, contrast, these Lakers have 31 wins with three to play.
The Valley of the Sun Twitter account nailed it by using the famed Ghanaian pallbearers as their gif of choice. All of NBA Twitter chipped in to make sure Tuesday night was a lively funeral procession for the Lake Show. LeBron asked us to keep the energy and the Ghanaian pallbearers led us to fulfill that request.
It’s over.
— who did this’ fam (@LakerFan9888102) April 6, 2022
One Shining Moment.
The 2021-2022 Los Angeles Lakers.pic.twitter.com/4Ip7JxK85e
If you have ever watched the final of the NCAA Men’s Tournament, you’ve seen the video montage of highlights from the tourney cut to Luther Vandross’ “One Shining Moment”. It’s difficult to find a better, more emotional end to a three-week mad dash. The song has become a staple and something any other competition will have trouble topping.
Enter @LakersFan9888102‘s genius in dubbing the song over to this particular Laker season. The video is masterfully cut to juxtapose Laker lowlights with the dreamy and uplifiting lyrics of the song. For a team oddsmakers and hometown fans alike had high hopes for, the season is best remembered as a hilarious failure. If there is one stanza that captures this comedic season, it reads:
“But time is short
and the road is long
in the blinking of an eye
ah that moment’s gone
And when it’s done
win or lose
you always did your best
cuz inside you knew…
(that) ONE SHINING MOMENT, YOU REACHED DEEP INSIDE
ONE SHINING MOMENT, YOU KNEW YOU WERE ALIVE.
Good riddance Lakers, I’ll miss laughing at you.
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