Top Five Pictures From the 2016–2017 NBA Season Thus Far

As we approach NBA’s All-Star Weekend, we have had plenty of memorable moments, plenty of triple doubles, plenty of in game dunks, plenty of buzzer beaters, plenty of basketball. There have also been plenty of pictures snapped throughout this season so far, and some of them are funnier than others. I’m going to determine the top five snapshots from the halfway over 2016–2017 NBA season.

Five.

This image of Tim Duncan and coach Gregg Popovich from Duncan’s jersey retirement ceremony is everything that is right in the world. Just look at them. They’re best friends. Who doesn’t love Tim Duncan? I’ve never heard of anyone not liking Tim Duncan. Or at least respecting him. Now that he’s gone from the game, power forwards can breathe again, but Pop keeps chugging along with those wins. This hug makes me happy, and I’m no Spurs fan.

Four.

On December 30, 2016, both Doc and Austin Rivers were ejected from the same game. A father-son duo getting thrown out of the same game. There’s nothing more poetic than that. It’s that, “if he goes, I go,” mentality. Deandre Jordan is at least nine feet tall, I’m sure of it, and he’s barely getting a hold of Doc. There’s only one way he’s getting out of Jordan’s hold, and it has to be the eternal anger that Doc has built up inside of him. He’s always yelling. I’ve never seen the coach not yell. I can’t believe he still has vocal chords at this point. Seriously, how does he do it?

Three.

You can’t tell me that you don’t love this picture. Before the New Year, the Knicks went on a west coast road trip, and Kristaps Porzingis finally was able to fulfill his dream of going to a Disney theme park. Look at this 7'3" Latvian kid with Winnie the Pooh ears on his head. He may be 21 years old, but he’s having fun like a six year old does in Disney Land. He has pure joy on his face. I wish I was as happy as Porzingis in this picture. You can’t deny that you were the same way when you first got to ride the tea cups in a Disney park. You may have puked afterwards, but that didn’t stop you from having this type of smile on your face as you went through a whirlwind of turns and spins for a few minutes.

Two.

This image was snapped after T.J. McConnell hit the game winning buzzer beater against the Knicks on January 11th. I’m not entirely sure what’s going on in McConnell’s head in this picture. Is he thinking, “I’m better than Michael Jordan, that’s a fact,” or is it, “Wait, what just happened?” Or even, “Why is Joel screaming this close to my face?” All three of those are high possibilities, but I’m most confident in the third thought. Embiid has an electric personality on and off the court, and with electricity, comes yelling. It’s a given. T.J. may have dismantled an already dying Knicks team, but no one was more excited than Joel Embiid that night.

One.

This happened on opening night of the season. This Sixers fan has more guts than anyone in that arena. Who flips off an already on edge Russell Westbrook that close to his face? Westbrook was left to die in OKC after Kevin Durant signed with the juggernaut Golden State Warriors, and is on a petty mission to single handily destroy that team. This Sixers fan whipped out the double bird, and was immediately removed from the game. If I were to ever be that close to Russell Westbrook in a game I would most certainly give him a hug instead of the double bird. I, too, would be thrown out of the game, but that would be because of my undying love for Brodie.

While the NBA season is a little over the halfway point, there are still plenty of pictures to be taken throughout the rest of the season, but as of now, these are the top five pictures of the 2016–2017 season.