The world of sports has given us many an iconic photograph. The latest addition is this one from today’s NBA game between the Toronto Raptors and the Philadelphia 76ers.
This photo is better understood if you know what happened one second before, and one second after.
See that guy in a white jersey sitting on the floor with his tongue out? He is Raptors’ Kawhi Leonard and he is waiting to see if the ball he shot a moment ago goes into the basket. That huge guy in the #21 red jersey — he is 76ers’ Joel Embiid and he is waiting to see if he managed to stop the shot from going in.
Around 4 seconds before this photo, these two teams were all tied up. They had won 3 games each in a Best-of-7 series and the 7th game was tied at 90 points each. If Kawhi’s shot goes in, Raptors would win the series and eliminate the 76ers. If shot doesn’t go in, the series would stay alive and they would play more basketball.
In those 4 seconds, Kawhi caught the ball, ran to his spot, and took a jump shot over the outstretched smothering arms of Embiid. You cannot see any part of Kawhi’s body in this photo of when he released the ball from his hands.
You may wonder how they got time to sit down and watch after this, without knowing whether the shot had gone in. That’s because time seemed to stop after the ball left Kawhi’s hands. Everyone in the arena fell silent and watched what seemed to be straight out of a movie script.
A bunch of fans were watching from Toronto’s streets. This is how they all looked when the ball left Kawhi’s hands:
The ball’s first touch was with the side of the rim, and the angle looked like it was improbable that the ball would go in…
… and then the ball jumped up straight…
… and landed on the rim for a second time…
… then it jumped over to the other side of the rim and hit it for a third time…
… The ball wasn’t done yet. It jumped up again …
In those milliseconds between the ball leaving Kawhi’s hands and it completing its dance on the rim, Kawhi and Embiid had gotten into their sitting and leaning positions respectively for that iconic photograph. And everyone in that Toronto street crowd had new expressions on their faces.
… And then the ball slowly went in after gently touching the rim for a fourth time.
And it was over! Kawhi Leonard and the Toronto Raptors had won the game and thus the series. The silence in the arena was replaced with loud cheers. The people in that Toronto street rejoiced. Kawhi screamed and also smiled — something quite rare for him. Embiid cried on his way out.
The 76ers will go home, while the Raptors get ready to face the Milwaukee Bucks in the next round.
Have I told you I love NBA basketball?
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Sources:
- Photographer who captured that iconic photo — To be found. Edit: Found him — https://twitter.com/RMadonik
- Video of the shot dancing on the rim and falling in.
- Video from Toronto’s street
