NBA litness test: 2017's best beefs, clapbacks, trolls, quotes, GIFs and more
In a special edition of the NBA litness test, we’re honoring the best of what we saw in what’s been an absolutely bonkers 2017. From the best clapbacks to the top Gregg Popovich quote, review the year that was.
Beef of the year
Charles Oakley vs. James Dolan
Soooooo Charles Oakley just got into a fight at he Knicks game. pic.twitter.com/klZBD89VI7
— Ian Schafer (@ischafer) February 9, 2017
Honorable Mentions
Joel Embiid vs. Hassan Whiteside
Reconciliation of the year
Magic Johnson and Isaiah Thomas
“Let me apologize to you. If I hurt you. That we haven’t been together.”#PlayersOnlyMonthly pic.twitter.com/nDpfDfZek8
— NBA TV (@NBATV) December 20, 2017
Honorable Mentions
Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook at the 2017 All-Star game
Kevin Durant just threw an alley-oop to Russell Westbrook pic.twitter.com/FuzbjFEuEo
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) February 20, 2017
The West's reaction to KD and Russ pic.twitter.com/ld4ZrbVJyQ
— SLAM Magazine (@SLAMonline) February 20, 2017
Bobby Portis and Nikola Mirotic
OMG Moment of the Year
Kyrie Irving demands a trade away from the Cavaliers
Honorable Mentions
DeMarcus Cousins gets traded to the Pelicans, days after the Kings promised they wouldn’t trade him
Grizzlies coach David Fizdale gets fired after 7-12 start
Clapback of the Year
TIE: CJ McCollum ends Chandler Parsons
We hit the lottery by not signing you https://t.co/eSiBaNT061
— CJ McCollum (@CJMcCollum) January 28, 2017
TIE: Joel Embiid ethers Jalen Rose
Jalen Rose called Joel Embiid's joke about being at 69 percent conditioning level "unprofessional."
Embiid's response: pic.twitter.com/nBzWLm7TrF
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) November 23, 2017
Honorable Mentions
Devin Booker claps back at Jae Crowder
omg Devin Booker pic.twitter.com/R68oT0tAXX
— adam figman (@afigman) March 25, 2017
Joel Embiid cooks Karl-Anthony Towns
Joel Embiid put Karl-Anthony Towns in a body bag for trying to talk trash to him on Instagram pic.twitter.com/iPX8gJNYQC
— NOT_SCTop10 (@NOTSCTop10PIays) December 14, 2017
Troll of the Year
Joel Embiid
Joel Embiid's troll game is IMPECCABLE. pic.twitter.com/3AFYRSzYdb
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) November 21, 2017
Honorable mentions
Reggie Jackson
Patrick Beverley
Patrick Beverley is the ultimate troll #ItTakesEverything pic.twitter.com/H227UdLUjE
— TBN (@TBNMedia) October 20, 2017
Tweet of the Year
LeBron James on President Donald Trump un-inviting Stephen Curry and the Warriors to the White House, after Curry already announced he would not attend.
U bum @StephenCurry30 already said he ain't going! So therefore ain't no invite. Going to White House was a great honor until you showed up!
— LeBron James (@KingJames) September 23, 2017
Put this in the Smithsonian.
Retweet of the Year
Rudy Gobert following the Kyrie Irving-Isaiah Thomas trade
LMAO Rudy Gobert with the pettiest retweet of the decade pic.twitter.com/AUySMMwDjw
— Rob Perez (@World_Wide_Wob) August 23, 2017
Instagram of the Year
Joel Embiid following his destruction of the Lakers
WHAT A NIGHT !!!!! #TheProcess
A post shared by Joel "The Process" Embiid (@joelembiid) on Nov 15, 2017 at 10:56pm PST
Honorable Mention
LeBron James #MOOD
A post shared by LeBron James (@kingjames) on Nov 6, 2017 at 7:07pm PST
Bench Reaction of the Year
The Cavaliers react to Jeff Green’s dunk over Ian Mahinmi
WHY ARE YOU SO MEAN, JEFF GREEN?!?! #WizCavs pic.twitter.com/6UZLFGBUg4
— NBC Sports Wizards (@NBCSWizards) October 8, 2017
Honorable Mention
The Lakers react to Larry Nance Jr.’s posterization of Kevin Durant
Larry Nance Jr. did THAT. pic.twitter.com/ux9qr0o4tB
— Yahoo Sports NBA (@YahooSportsNBA) December 19, 2017
Scuffle of the Year
Russell Westbrook vs. Kevin Durant – Part II
Russ and KD got something to say pic.twitter.com/uzrlLGKvr9
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) November 23, 2017
Honorable Mentions
Russell Westbrook vs. Kevin Durant – Part I
WELCOME TO THE MAIN EVENT pic.twitter.com/4fLcLo7g59
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) February 12, 2017
Robin Lopez vs. Serge Ibaka
Replay Review (Game Crew): player altercation in Q3 of #CHIatTOR. Ruling: Fighting technical fouls assessed to Lopez & Ibaka (both ejected). pic.twitter.com/bFIK5awlZc
— NBA Official (@NBAOfficial) March 22, 2017
LeBron James vs. Frank Ntilikina and Enes Kanter
Enes Kanter stands up for his rookie and exchanges words with LeBron. pic.twitter.com/RVo38N8BLN
— BallersHype (@BallersHype) November 14, 2017
Dad Highlight of the Year
Dell Curry nailing a 40-footer
Honorable mention
LaVar Ball speaking it into existence
Disrespectful Moment of the Year
Giannis Antetokounmpo throws down a late dunk over Rudy Gobert
Honorable Mention
Kristaps Porzingis swallows Spencer Dinwiddie’s shot
kristaps just came over and snatched spencer dinwiddie's shot right out of his hand pic.twitter.com/3gTXXvf4vJ
— CBS Sports NBA (@CBSSportsNBA) March 13, 2017
“Did LeBron really just do that?!” Moment of the Year
Throwing it off the backboard for himself IN THE NBA FINALS
Can't stop watching this. #NBAFinals pic.twitter.com/qfR8u6ApKe
— NBA (@NBA) June 10, 2017
Honorable Mentions
Hitting a circus-shot game-winner against the Wizards
The shot. #DefendTheLand pic.twitter.com/fVgO4e8G6i
— NBA (@NBA) February 7, 2017
Throwing the an inbounds pass off of Giannis Antetokounmpo, then hitting a 3-pointer
LeBron is straight silly. #Cavs pic.twitter.com/rYEDncPN6S
— Glenn Moore (@GlennMooreCLE) December 20, 2017
Backfire of the Year
Honorable Mentions
Bradley Beal and John Wall saying the Cavs ducked them in the 2017 playoffs
Were LeBron and the Cavs dodging the Wizards?
A post shared by NBA on ESPN (@nbaonespn) on Nov 3, 2017 at 3:36pm PDT
Yeah, about that.
Nick Young’s old tweets coming back to haunt him
Welcome to the Warriors, Nick Young! pic.twitter.com/6hBt13b9QK
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) July 5, 2017
Celebrity Fan of the Year
Rihanna
Honorable Mentions
Rihanna
Rihanna
A post shared by badgalriri (@badgalriri) on Oct 18, 2017 at 7:00am PDT
Rihanna
A post shared by badgalriri (@badgalriri) on Jun 13, 2017 at 4:08am PDT
Rihanna
A post shared by badgalriri (@badgalriri) on Jun 13, 2017 at 3:28am PDT
Conspiracy of the Year
Did Stephen Curry pretend to defecate in celebration?
Anyone else see Stephen Curry take a dump on he Cavs floor after Kevin Durant made that 3? #DubNation #CavsNation #NBAFinals pic.twitter.com/Uvo08aQNqY
— Treymond Green (@TreymondGreen) June 8, 2017
Honorable Mentions
The Draymond Green technical foul that wasn’t
Did Rajon Rondo try to trip Jae Crowder?
A post shared by NBA on ESPN (@nbaonespn) on Apr 21, 2017 at 7:37pm PDT
Finesse of the Year
Eric Bledsoe getting himself off the Suns with one tweet
I Dont wanna be here
— Eric Bledsoe (@EBled2) October 22, 2017
NBA Rap Reference of the Year
“Tables turned, lesson learned, my best look
You jumped sides on me, now you ’bout to meet Westbrook
Go celebrate with your team and let victory vouch you
Just know, the next game played I might slap the [expletive] out you.”
Kendrick Lamar – “The Heart Part 4”
Honorable Mentions
“And the truck behind me got arms
Yeah, longer than LeBron”
Rihanna and N*E*R*D – “Lemon”
“Y’all wanna ball, I’m Stan Van Gundy”
Big Sean and Metro Boomin – “Pull Up n Wreck”
GIF of the Year
Gregg Popovich tries to avoid the cameras
bae: come over
Pop: can't I'm busy
bae: I'm a skilled international player likely to be available in the 2nd round of the NBA draft
Pop: pic.twitter.com/KP3mm7a3XI— sreekar (@sreekyshooter) April 21, 2017
Honorable Mentions
Draymond Green pumps up Kevin Durant
"Dawg, you know I'm shy.. go talk to her for me bruh.." pic.twitter.com/YUkyqEheja
— phlegmbrandt (@BleakSuperior) April 17, 2017
Jimmy Butler reacts to Taj Gibson’s full-court heave
Jimmy Butler was not impressed by Taj Gibson's full-court heave pic.twitter.com/wCGuAcK9FX
— Michael Lee (@MrMichaelLee) December 7, 2017
Quote of the Year
Jordan Clarkson on Brandon Ingram’s game-winner against the 76ers
Jordan Clarkson with some words of endearment for Brandon Ingram’s game-winner: “Sh-t, that mother f-cker was wide open! He better shoot that mother f-cker. If you ain't shoot that sh-t, I might’ve slapped them worms right off your mother f-ckin head.” pic.twitter.com/giTqO9rHkx
— Serena Winters (@SerenaWinters) December 8, 2017
Honorable Mentions
Michael Beasley on his 32-point performance against the Celtics at Madison Square Garden
Michael Beasley on when he started feeling the hot hand: "January 9, 1989."
— Al Iannazzone (@Al_Iannazzone) December 22, 2017
Dion Waiters on his confidence: “That’s just that Philly cheese swag.”
Gregg Popovich Quote of the Year
On Manu Ginobili: “I’m going to use him like a bar of soap until there’s nothing left for his family or anybody else in the world.”
Honorable Mentions
On LeBron James:
Gregg Popovich on LeBron's praise of him: "He owes me a lot of money, and he thinks I'll forget if he says something nice about me."
— Rachel Nichols (@Rachel__Nichols) January 22, 2017
On his strategy against the Warriors:
Gregg Popovich has an innovative plan to stop the Warriors. pic.twitter.com/3uOL5nKcsp
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) May 14, 2017
On being one win away from tying Phil Jackson for most wins of all time: “It’s the most important thing in my life. My grandchildren can take a hike.”
On Tim Duncan: “Tim can’t help us a lick. He can’t play dead anymore. He just comes for the free lunch.”
Team Account Tweet of the Year
@PelicansNBA following the team’s stunning trade for DeMarcus Cousins:
— New Orleans Pelicans (@PelicansNBA) February 20, 2017
Honorable Mentions
"This trade is a blessing. I'm ready to grind, Rip City. I think I can make an immediate impact out on the floor." — Cash Considerations pic.twitter.com/iRkC5vfwps
— Trail Blazers (@trailblazers) June 28, 2017
This one's for the Land… pic.twitter.com/GiJ2wSEoOZ
— Sacramento Kings (@SacramentoKings) January 26, 2017
An #MVP performance by @JHarden13 today. pic.twitter.com/208UKAbd6k
— Houston Rockets (@HoustonRockets) March 26, 2017
Moment of the Year
Michael Beasley gets MVP chants at Madison Square Garden
Michael Beasley getting “MVP” chants at The Garden?! Yes, Michael Beasley getting “MVP” chants at The Garden. #Knicks pic.twitter.com/IrTXiGtGbm
— Ryan Field (@RyanFieldABC) December 22, 2017
Honorable Mentions
5-foot-9 Isaiah Thomas and 5-foot-9 Tyler Ulis go against each other for a jump ball
5'9" Isaiah Thomas against 5'9" Tyler Ulis
Let's have a jump ball! pic.twitter.com/eW1nfqnYrx
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) March 5, 2017
Nate Robinson goes through the legs in the G-League
Nate Robinson saw an opening…and he took it (via @nbadleague) pic.twitter.com/kuGOn75Q1l
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) February 26, 2017
