T-5: Lance and Carmelo Anthony get caught up
Maybe a bit of recency bias here but Lance and Melo’s most recent outing stirred the internet ever so slightly. With the 3rd quarter coming to a close;
Anthony posted up Stephenson for what should’ve been an easy bucket. Lance hacks Melo to prevent the bucket. After the foul, both players crashed to the floor and somehow ended up like this.
Anthony and Stephenson intertwined like a fresh Auntie Anne’s pretzel at the mall. It is unclear whether they were merely trying to squeeze in a game of Twister before the 4th quarter.
Stakes: 14/20
Absurdity Factor: 13/20
Disrespect Factor:13/20
Reaction:10/20
Meme-ability: 16/20
Final Score: 66/100
T-5: Born Ready posterizes a referee
We take a quick aside from Stephenson’s greatest hits and examine a deep cut.
Indiana is playing a regular season game against the visiting Brooklyn Nets. Stephenson has the ball on the perimeter when Roy Hibbert gets called for an offensive foul. The play is blown dead before Lance attacks the rim but an official’s whistle has never stopped him before. With an official square under the hoop, Stephenson launches himself out of Bankers Life Fieldhouse and orbits the moon twice before returning to earth to put this unfortunate referee on a poster.
What makes this an all-time Born Ready moment is how Stephenson comports himself throughout the play. He can clearly see the official in his path and decides to jam on him anyway. Bonus points for grabbing at the official’s head. Double bonus points for staring back at him after the dunk. The whole thing is downright rude.
Stephanie Tanner would be disappointed, but I am here for it.
Absurd? Absolutely. Disrespectful? Certainly. However, this one scores low due to it being a regular season game, the tame reaction from the official3, and minimal meme-ability.
A fun trip down memory lane nonetheless.
Stakes: 12/20
Absurdity: 17/20
Disrespect Factor: 17/20
Reaction: 10/20
Meme-ability: 10/20
Final Score: 66/100