1. The shot heard round the bubble
I can’t remember the last true buzzer-beater the Phoenix Suns had. I want to say it came from Tyler Ulis after he stole the ball from Isaiah Thomas in the backcourt and nailed a fadeaway 3 for the win in 2017.
Regardless, Ulis’s best friend has the bragging rights now.
This shot, of which 700 words already leaped out of my fingers on, is a career-defining moment for Devin Booker. All the disrespect, all the “He can’t win” talk, and all the snubs culminated to a few seconds on a summer Tuesday afternoon in Disney World.
If Twitter is any indication, the league took immediate notice, with CJ McCullum, Jamal Crawford, Donovan Mitchell, Trae Young, and JJ Reddick among others tweeting out their praise for the young star.
The photo of him after falling, on his back with nothing but his head lifted up to watch the ball go in will live in Phoenix Suns history books. If this were 2009 when planking, Tim Tebowing, and Tom Bradying was a thing, everyone would be doing the Booker at bars and other public places.
But because it’s 2020 and everyone both over that fad and stuck in their homes, the photo is making its way around the Internet in meme form:
What about this pic.twitter.com/1gBtjWQoqW
— Carl’s Jr. (@CarlsJr) August 5, 2020
However, don’t think this of meme of Booker lying on a disgusting sandwich cheapens the moment. Devin Booker just shot up on the attention scale of everyone in the basketball world. Even if the Suns don’t make the playoffs, this moment will have been worth their inclusion.
Booker deserves this. This team deserves this. And perhaps most of all, Suns fans deserve this.
This is a big win, but let’s hope the players enjoy it and get ready for the Pacers on Thursday. There is more work to be done.