R. Westbrook goes 2-14 vs Kings, gets trolled on every miss with "Foreigner - Cold As Ice"

[ryguy613]

Aw got it, I know what you meant (my bad).

My example, the Miami Heat (the team) promoted the game by passing out 8,000 fortune cookies. That would be out of line for the organization.

I still believe targeting a player's shooting performance by the PA announcer (or whoever is working the screen) is not out of line. It's just a way to pump up the fans. There were plenty of chants to pump up the crowd; Pistons' announcer used chant "Out of bounds, Detroit basketball" in a key turnover, or Lakers' announcer plays "Move bitch, get out the way" whenever their opponent's shot is blocked. I suppose we could have two difference opinions on this topic.

Woooooow. That is beyond **** up, and the Miami Heat as an organization should be ashamed of themselves for that. That is truly disgusting.

how is that messed up?
that's like if americans play the Toronto Raptors, and they pass out mcdonalds to everyone. who cares? whats the offense here

"here's a symbol of american food, haha, because you're american!"

i don't see the offense. omgawd they passed out mcdonalds burgers!! lol at the fake outrage over nothing


(yes im aware fortune cookies were invented by chinese americans, and not in china)

This one seems like an odd one to have to explain. They were leaning into idiotic cultural stereotypes in, if im understanding it right, was a deliberate attempt to heckle him for being Chinese. Your McDonalds comparison is... not great... especially considering that McDonalds is eaten everywhere on the planet. This would be more like when black players join a Chinese team, everyone the crowd is handed out pieces of fried chicken.

[amcoolio]

Boooooo

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What?? why would the NBA not allow this to continue?? it's hilarious, it's entertaining, for players it's part of the experience when you play in a hostile arena with opposing fans.... i don't get why they would disallow this

...because it makes the sport look like its run by a bunch of twitter obsessed teenagers instead of... you know... a professional business worth billions of dollars.

Let's be honest, you only think this way because you are a Lakers fan and this is directed towards one of your players

[Nate505]

Was this just for Westbrook or do they do that for every opponent miss?

I hope it's just Westbrook

[TheLand13]

yeah, you can call me a grumpy old man (Im sure most of you will) but to me this kind of stuff just shows the overall decline of the nba. Professionalism is becoming an endangered creature. Trolling has become pervasive in all aspects of the game, and more and more it is becoming the primary method for communication, whether its in the national media, local broadcasts, arenas, or the players themselves. The NBA is essentially becoming an extension of NBA Twitter instead of NBA Twitter being an extension of the NBA.

Yeah, you're right. Let's start a natural progression towards going back to the good old days.







Good times.

[Time for Change]

Say what you will about Westbrook, but he took it with a mature attitude. We’ve got guys in the league screaming obscenities at fans or sitting out with mental problems because they got criticized.

[DreamTeam09]

Did the NBA do or say **** when every team would play the Barney theme song for like the first 7yrs of our existence???

[PhilBlackson]

I wanna say feel bad for the guy buuuut I don't. It's all the by-product of his own stubbornness.

[BostonCouchGM]

that is outstanding. Every arena needs to follow suit

[DroseReturnChi]

Boooooo

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What?? why would the NBA not allow this to continue?? it's hilarious, it's entertaining, for players it's part of the experience when you play in a hostile arena with opposing fans.... i don't get why they would disallow this

huh ur trolling personl attacks on russ.

[hippesthippo]

I mean.. that's a liiiiiitle over the top. Bush league imo.

[FrobeBryant]

As much as I wanna say Russ deserves it with his terrible play..the Kings organization should be the last ones trolling. They haven’t done squat and are the butt of every NBA joke.

[kenwood3333]

Boooooo

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Maybe the NBA should consider banning 'shaqtin a fool' too

[HotelVitale]

What?? why would the NBA not allow this to continue?? it's hilarious, it's entertaining, for players it's part of the experience when you play in a hostile arena with opposing fans.... i don't get why they would disallow this

...because it makes the sport look like its run by a bunch of twitter obsessed teenagers instead of... you know... a professional business worth billions of dollars.

Lol wut? They put a ball through a hoop for a living, it's all entertainment for ratings and money. Since when is funny heckling a bad thing lol

The NBA generally wants it both ways, space for the 'respectable' families to quietly watch games but also space for the hecklers and drunks to do their thing. This is risking the former even if the latter loves it. Plus they also know the players have a lot of direct power and might get pissed about this, why even bother baiting them.

It's a business, marketing is marketing, respectability is big part of that.

[vital_signs]

yeah, you can call me a grumpy old man (Im sure most of you will) but to me this kind of stuff just shows the overall decline of the nba. Professionalism is becoming an endangered creature. Trolling has become pervasive in all aspects of the game, and more and more it is becoming the primary method for communication, whether its in the national media, local broadcasts, arenas, or the players themselves. The NBA is essentially becoming an extension of NBA Twitter instead of NBA Twitter being an extension of the NBA.

Take a gander at Gary Payton's trash talking, amongst others, and get back to us about professionalism.

[Nuntius]

Both the trolling by the PA team and Westbrook's response were pretty awesome here. I approve

[Heat_team02]

Boooooo

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Maybe the NBA should consider banning 'shaqtin a fool' too

Watch on YouTube

[DavidSterned]

yeah, you can call me a grumpy old man (Im sure most of you will) but to me this kind of stuff just shows the overall decline of the nba. Professionalism is becoming an endangered creature. Trolling has become pervasive in all aspects of the game, and more and more it is becoming the primary method for communication, whether its in the national media, local broadcasts, arenas, or the players themselves. The NBA is essentially becoming an extension of NBA Twitter instead of NBA Twitter being an extension of the NBA.

I wouldn’t say grumpy, more like hypocritical old man. Teams and their fans have been taunting players since forever. This isn’t even mean spirited.

But please go on telling us how things were so much better in the past.

uh, fans have been doing stupid **** for the entirety of sports. Sports TEAMS (as in the people running organizations) really havent proceeded into anything that would be considered trolling until recently. Playing like "hit the road jack" on the loud speaker when a player fouls out is not the same as having a plyaer for the opposing team named as the player of the game for having a **** night or having your local broadcast put out chyrons like "Ya'll really paid Russ $44M dollars!". All of that **** is the clear personification of Meme Culture in entertainment. And meme culture by definition is mean spirited. Its one of the things that has made social media in general a **** show thats mostly only good for a cheap laugh every now and then (again generally at someone else's expense). So yeah I would definitely consider this **** to be mean spirited. Obviously the NBA agrees with me that this is unprofessional since theyve said it wont be happening again.

Meh, "hit the road Jack" or making crybaby sound effects very much feels in the same vein to me. Razzing an opposing player for fan amusement. Who cares?

And it's not just arena loudspeakers. Mascots (employed by NBA teams) have been poking fun at opposing players with goofy hijinks for decades. All part of the game and it's all in fun. I mean, what's the point in the league if it's not any fun for the fans?

[vital_signs]

Boooooo

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NBA: * FUN DETECTED *

MUST DESTROY

phew good. Can't have any personality, someone might get offended!

Should be used to society being soft as hell but good lord. Get Silver and whoever else made this decision out of here. Next up, won't be able to chear a miss by the opposing team.

[Nate505]

What a soft pathetic league for banning this.

[LoveMyRaps]

Boooooo

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That's incredibly dumb...

What's the point of home court advantage then?