If all of Twitter disappeared tomorrow I wouldn’t be upset at all, except for the loss of NBA Twitter. If you’re not familiar, NBA Twitter is the one part of Twitter left that’s truly delightful.
There’s so much trash talk. SO MUCH trash talk. Everyone is dissing each other and the hot takes fly off the shelves like Charmin during an earthquake drill. But it’s so much different than regular fighting on Twitter.
There’s like this underlying understanding that everything is in good fun and the constant oneupmanship is fine because after the game on Friday we can all get together and share some wings and sodas.
I think the first time I really came to appreciate NBA Twitter was when Deandre Jordan ended up locked up in a random house in Dallas and all of his Clipper teammates flew to Texas to find him. It’s a crazy story for life, let alone sports, and from that moment on I was hooked.
Shooters Shoot
One of the phrases I noticed early on was “shooters shoot”. It made sense to me. If you’ve got a jump shot, you’ve gotta keep chucking. You may go through streaks where you miss, but you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take, or something like that.
It wasn’t until recently that I really appreciated the profound nature of “shooters shoot”. And honestly, explaining it might be somewhat taboo. It’s like one of those unwritten laws that everyone just understands but no one ever talks about.
At the risk of being blackballed from NBA Twitter I’m gonna go out on a limb and say that “shooters shoot” applies to every facet of life, and truly has very little to do with basketball.
Unapologetic
Take a page from one of my favorite Twitter follows @talkhoops in response to this tweet saying Porzingis wants to date Rihanna
I mean, even for an NBA player dating Rihanna is a tall order but @talkhoops understood the mindset
You see, “shooters shoot” has very little to do with basketball at all. It’s about laying it all out there when the odds are totally stacked against you. It’s about being unapologetic with your hot takes and moving on because you understand even if you miss 100 times in a row, you’re going to start hitting soon enough.
Shea Serrano (one of my other favorite NBA Twitter follows) breaks down “shooters shoot” beautifully in this wonderful story about a middle school kid who shot his shot on Valentines day (amazing story).
SHOOT YOUR SHOT (v): To do a thing, or say a thing, or claim a thing possibly outside of your range of abilities, though not explicitly so.
When was the last time You Shot Your Shot?
I know for me it’s been too long since I really laid it all out on the line. Five years ago I started WP Site Care, and that was a pretty big shot. Twelve years ago I asked my amazing Jackie to be my best lady friend forever. That was probably the biggest shot I ever took.
And now, I’m going to ask for the big sale. I’m going to take the big chance. I’m going to be unapologetic about my takes and speak the truth I know. I’m done waiting for someone else to put up the buzzer beater. It’s my turn to hit that game winner.
And you know what? Even if I miss…
At least I shot my shot.
Thanks to @marksolarski on Unsplash for the ? basketball hoop photo.