Raptors center just drops his shorts in the middle of the game, as one does
Toronto Raptors coach Dwane Casey decided to shuffle his team’s starting lineup on Thursday, moving 6-foot-9 rookie Pascal Siakam to the bench in favor of teaming starting center Jonas Valanciunas with reserve 7-footer Lucas Nogueira in a twin-towers look to counter Utah’s imposing frontcourt pairing of Rudy Gobert and Derrick Favors. It didn’t pay dividends right away, as Utah started strong and held a 22-13 lead after 9 1/2 minutes, but the Brazilian big man played well enough, scoring four points with six rebounds, three assists, two blocks and a steal.
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His most memorable moment of the evening, though, came while just standing around, doing nothing much at all except trying to stay in compliance with the NBA’s uniform regulations.
Now, I know what you’re thinking: “Dan, is it common for NBA players to drop their shorts all the way down to their knees in the middle of someone’s free throw attempt?” It’s a good question, and because I’m a good, good basketball journalist, I’m here to tell you that no, it is not common for NBA players to drop their shorts all the way down to their knees in the middle of someone’s free throw attempt. This, friends, is rare!
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Perhaps it was the novelty of Nogueira’s trou-drop helped influenced Favors, a 66.7 percent career shooter at the stripe, into missing the freebie. It’s anybody’s guess, really. And maybe — juuuuuust maybe — Nogueira’s self-pantsing was an act of sacrifice, a means of bringing a little of the ol’ Mr. Whammy out of the stands and onto the court.
Nogueira, for his part, apparently denies such ulterior motives:
Bebe says he drops his pants every game merely to adjust his jersey tuck. NOT to distract. #RTZ
— Daniel Reynolds (@aka_Reynolds) January 6, 2017
… but then, of course he would. Who would hatch a scheme as brilliant as taking your pants off in front of tens of thousands of people in the Air Canada Centre, and millions more watching around the world, see it work, and then admit it? We see what’s going on here, Bebe. You didn’t just drop your pants; you dropped your pants like a fox.
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Dan Devine is an editor for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at devine@yahoo-inc.com or follow him on Twitter!
