One of the most exciting moments in an NBA game occurs when a player completes a nice slam dunk, and it’s even better if it’s poster-worthy. But Tristan Thompson has a message for players who occasionally miss dunks during games: Make them.
In the current social media landscape where someone’s camera somewhere picks up player bloopers all across the country and the world, no missed dunk goes unseen for very long. In fact, once it happens, it’s sure to end up on Twitter, YouTube and the growing House of Highlights.
Players, of course, want to make it on those platforms when they complete spectacular plays. But when those plays go awry, the players end up getting made fun of online. Thompson thinks players are attempting dunks solely to get featured on social media, and he thinks it’s leading to more misses, per Bleacher Report.
Thompson may have a point, though. Who can forget Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson missing a 360 dunk while in China? This moment cemented his legacy as China Klay.
Or when Cleveland Cavaliers rookie Cedi Osman jumped a passing lane for a steal and opportunity for an uncontested dunk in transition? But, alas, you guessed it. He missed. Badly.
It’s not that players should not attempt dunks altogether. But perhaps the possibility of ending up on a highlight package or TV show has seeped into the subconsciouses of these players because social media is so prevalent in society. Perhaps that leads to wanting to dunk more than normal.
Is that such a bad thing though? Oftentimes, missed dunks create more discussion and buzz than made ones do. And any discussion about the NBA and its players is ultimately good for the NBA.
So Thompson can say what he wants, but players should just keep dunking. It’s fun for everyone involved, make or miss.