The Minnesota Timberwolves defeated the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday in the play-in tournament to earn the seventh seed. Following the victory Patrick Beverley, Anthony Edwards, and Karl-Anthony Towns celebrated the win with a lot of exuberance. The TNT “Inside the NBA” crew of Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and Shaquille O’Neal had a good time laughing at the Timberwolves celebrating like they won a title.
“We need ‘One Shining Moment,'” said Barkley.
“They needed to play ‘We Are The Champions,'” said Shaq.
“They doing a little too much,” added Kenny.
"We need 'One Shining Moment'" 😂
Inside the NBA crew reacts to the Timberwolves' celebration after clinching the 7th seed. pic.twitter.com/kMkhQBhKkN
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) April 13, 2022
Because it’s 2022 and we have the internet, the merits of the Timberwolves’ celebration and whether or not the TNT guys should have been making fun of the Wolves was a big topic of discussion on Wednesday.
Beverley jumped atop the scorer’s table following the game, took off his jersey and threw it to the crowd. He hugged his mom, and shed tears of emotion. He was hyped. To be fair, the Clippers are his former team, and guys always want to beat their former teams.
“Man, I wanted this one so bad,” said Beverley, who hugged his mother, Lisa, on the court. “This is just the icing on the cake, the cherry on top. Play-in, to be able to beat them … another goal scratched off. I told you we were going to the playoffs. Most of you all, y’all looked at me like I was crazy when I first said that. I f—ing told y’all.”
This is just the Wolves’ second trip to the the playoffs in the past 18 seasons, so you can understand them being a little jubilant.
But all the referendums about the TNT crew going too far and why we should let people enjoy things is a bit contradictory.
People can enjoy whatever they want. If seeing the joy and emotional outpouring from Beverley, and Karl-Anthony Towns makes you feel good, that’s cool.
And if you enjoy Chuck, Kenny, and Shaq making fun of current players, that’s cool too.
“Inside the NBA” is a television show first and foremost. Their job is to draw ratings by entertaining the audience, and they’ve been doing it well since 1989. The show has earned 15 sports Emmy Awards and counting.
Chuck, Kenny and Shaq are going to make jokes, poke fun at players, themselves, and do whatever it takes to entertain the audience. The Wolves’ celebration was perfect for them. This is why fans stay up late after the late game to tune in. They know hilarity and high jinks will ensue.
They certainly weren’t alone. A lot of y’all thought the Wolves’ celebration was over the top too. It’s all good. At the end of the day this is sports, and we are all here to be entertained and have a good time.
It’s a hard concept for people to grasp, but more than one thing can be true. It can be true that Timberwolves and their fans are excited and happy about making the playoffs. It can also be true that the celebration was over the top, and it’s OK to make fun of that.
