This should have been changed to Sundiata Face/Lemon Face. It wasn’t.
So for now, these boys will still introduce this post the old-fashioned way until I get better at CGI and video editing.
Gentlemen, if you don’t mind…
Lion Face… I mean… LION FACE: Sundiata Gaines
There are champions of the D-League – Scott Schroeder, Matt Moore, Steve Weinman, Jon L from Ridiculous Upside and a few others. These guys fight to get the NBDL recognition because there is something joyous about a lifetime of fighting for what you want being rewarded. These guys put their lives on hold in order to live in crappy apartments for very little money while hoping to play well enough to catch a huge break and be one of the possible 450 players in the world to play NBA basketball.
They aren’t the privileged NBA players who are pulling in six figures, seven figures, eight figures and trying to decide if their entire bathroom should be gold-plated or just the bathtub. They aren’t guys who are setting up generations of their family for financial security beyond what you and I can fathom.
These guys are fighting for their dreams. And guys like Scott and Matt and Steve are dedicating themselves to tell the story because the journey is as intriguing as the players actually making it. And when they make it? Stuff like what Sundiata Gaines did happens.
Sundiata Gaines is not a household name. It’s probably not even a household name in his own household. But after Thursday night it certainly is something NBA fans and the Tweeting public now know. Sundiata Gaines was given an opportunity for 10 days with the Utah Jazz and Thursday afternoon he was given another 10 days. He didn’t just take that chance and run with it; he grabbed a hold of it and Usain Bolt’d his chance of a lifetime.
Nine minutes on the floor that didn’t start until the fourth quarter. Three field goal attempts in those nine minutes – all of them made. One of them was a three-pointer and it was a big three-pointer. It wasn’t just a three-pointer; it was a three-pointer that beat LeBron James. Yes, LeBron’s team gave the game away to a certain point. But in the final seconds of the game it had more to do with Sundiata taking the game than someone giving it to his team.
This was supposed to be a Lion Face/Lemon Face article. And I’m sorry that you aren’t going to get that. There are lemon faces to give LeBron’s teammates. There are lion faces to give to LeBron and his fourth quarter dominance. But none of that matters right now. All that matters tonight is one of the purest basketball moments you’ll ever witness happened on national television. We rarely get to see basketball purity. However, we got it from a guy being called “Yatta” because nobody could remember/pronounce his actual name.
D-League, stand up!
Sundiata Gaines Twitter Fallout
[...] story behind the Utah Jazz dramatic buzzard-beating 97-96 win over the Cavs on TNT is a look at the sport in its purest form. The game-winning shot was attributed to the least likely of players, Utah’s Sundiata [...]
[...] Sundiata Gaines missed a game-winning three? I know it was weird for all of us. We’re used to him ruling the big moment. However, he did have a chance to hit another buzzer-beat from the right side of the floor and just [...]