Have you ever wanted to try your chances in a game of H-O-R-S-E against an NBA player? Contributing Editor Gordon Jones tells you how.
This YouTube sensation was brought to my attention last week in an article on Grantland.com by Rafe Bartholomew. In ‘A Fate Worse than Death,’ Bartholomew writes about the drudgery that was a game between the Nets and Bucks, two of the NBA’s worst teams. In discussing some back-of-the-rotation players for both teams, Bartholomew mentions the Bucks’ Jon Brockman and his alter-ego, the Brockness Monster.
If you watched the video above, then you already know that the Brockness is a trick shot master. There are plenty of YouTube videos to prove it. He can make shots from behind the backboard from any position on the baseline. The shot from the catwalk might be the longest (and scariest) shot in the history of basketball, but my personal favorite is the shot where the Brockness throws the ball up through the hoop from underneath and lets it bounce back off the floor and up into the hoop. How much time did he spend practicing that shot (and all the other ones in the video)? Does all the trick shot practice leave him any time to work on his actual game?
Jon Brockman soars for the dunk against the Pistons last season. No word on whether he was dropped in from the catwalk. Photo by Getty Images, courtesy of The Basketball Jones.
Even so, the Bucks seem okay with him spending time filming these trick shot videos, as the website trickshotmonster.com is prominently featured on the Bucks’ official website, and the people filming the videos appear to be Bucks’ employees. You can even enter a contest by sending the Bucks a video of your very own trick shot. The prize? A game of H-O-R-S-E against the Brockness Monster himself. Coolest team promotion ever, hands down.
The real question is why Jon Brockman was never a participant in the NBA All-Star Weekend H-O-R-S-E competition? His shots bring back memories of the classic Jordan vs. Bird McDonald’s commercials:
Brockman would make for a game of H-O-R-S-E that would actually be an entertaining and fun addition to the otherwise nearly-unwatchable All-Star weekend. (At this point, the only thing I look forward to is the crazy All-Star edition footwear unleashed by the sneaker companies.) Everything else about the weekend is tired.
Unless someone can work a Segway into the dunk contest.
“That’s how it’s done.”
I would pay top pay-per-view dollar to watch Kevin Durant defend his 2009 and 2010 H-O-R-S-E championships against Jon Brockman.