With NBA All-Star Weekend in New Orleans coming up next week, we have nearly reached the halfway point of the season, people! That fact alone makes us want to shed some Knowshon Moreno-sized tears. But instead of dwelling on how fast time flies, why don't we take a look back at the craziest, weirdest and most incredible moments since the start of the 2013-14 campaign. And as you have come to expect from us, we're not about discussing the MVP of the league *cough Kevin Durant cough* or the Sixth Man of the Year, we'll leave that conversation for the folks over at ESPN.
Instead, we want to acknowledge the baller who has flourished in the world of social media, as well as putting a spotlight on the individual who failed miserably. And of course, our personal favorites, recognizing the worst flop performance and nastiest ankle-breaker of the year so far. Here are The Complex Sports 2013-14 NBA Midseason Awards.
The Poster Child
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And the winner is...Ben McLemore
Getting posterized in the NBA is one of the rawest, most degrading punishments you can be handed as a professional baller. However, it's also something of a rite of passage in the league. Here's the thing: young guys like rookies and second-year players have been growing up playing basketball for years, and from high school to college, they were probably known as the best talent on their team. But, when they get into they NBA, suddenly they have to come to terms with the fact that they're nowhere near the cream of the crop. More likely than not, some player out there is better than them.
For a player like Ben McLemore, this was most certainly the case. Having been a highly regarded prospect and player for the Kansas Jayhawks, McLemore came into the NBA this year with a fair amount of expectation weighing down on his shoulders. As a two-guard in a league that is starved for star players at the position, McLemore has been seen as the next great shooting guard, and even earned comparisons to Ray Allen. Even McLemore probably wanted to believe that he could come in like that and make an impact from the very first game. Unfortunately for Ben, it hasn't taken him long to find out that he still has a ways to go. The Kings rookie has only been averaging 7.7 PPG, while making just 37 percent of his shots, a number that Sacramento certainly didn't envision when they picked him seventh overall in the draft.
However, McLemore's biggest wake-up call this year hasn't been from the statistics. It came when he was completely victimized by a dunk from none other than LeBron James. On December 21, when the Kings were playing in Miami, and the game was still in its early stages, LBJ took the ball down the court, made a couple quick moves around the perimeter, and then drove to the rack, straight in the path of an awaiting McLemore. Foolishly hoping to get a charge, McLemore stood tall, ready to go down when LeBron went up. And McLemore certainly went down, but the result wasn't quite what he had envisioned. As you'll see in the video, the Kings rookie was absolutely abused by LeBron, as the four-time MVP embarrassed McLemore with a thunderous throwdown. The kid deserves credit here for trying to make a basketball play, but McLemore should have also gleaned one key takeaway from this encounter: never try and get a charge called against the biggest superstar in the NBA. Welcome to the L, Ben.
Mr. Thirsty
Dunker of the Year
And the winner is...Paul George
On the court, it's been the perfect season for Paul George. The Indiana Pacers star is an All-Star starter, in the MVP race, and has his Pacers currently with the best record (39-10) in the NBA. One of George's talents has been his ability to breakaway and pull off some fabulous dunks. When he pulled off a 360-windmill finish, the whole NBA started to take notice for George's spectacular aerial assaults above the rim. With the Slam Dunk Contest just a week away, George has to be an early favorite to come out with a victory. He also should add some spice and a superstar presence to a dunk competition that has been more plain than rice cakes the past few years.
The F*ck Were You Thinking?
And the winner is...Jason Kidd
When Jason Kidd agreed to become the head coach of the Brooklyn Nets last summer, he knew that there were going to be a few things that he had to learn when it came to coaching. Even though he spent 19 years in the NBA, he knew that he would have to learn how to manage the egos of the players on his team. He knew that he was going to have to learn how to get guys involved out on the court from the sidelines. And he knew that he was going to have to learn how to do things that coaches are required to do on the bench, like manage timeouts. But late in a game against the Lakers in late November, he failed to do that and found himself with no timeouts remaining and less than 10 seconds on the clock.
So while the Lakers were shooting free throws, he did what any NBA coach in his position would do, he trusted his team full of professional basketball players to know what to do at the end of a game. Er, okay, so that's not what he did. Instead, Kidd decided to try and create a timeout on his own. He instructed one of his players Tyshawn Taylor to bump into him near the Nets' bench. Then, he dropped a cup filled with soda on the ground and spilled it everywhere. And finally, he sent one of his assistants to draw up a play with the Nets' players who were on the court while the officials took care of the spill. Genius, right?!? Uh, yeah, except that within just minutes, a GIF of Kidd saying, "Hit me," to Taylor was everywhere on the Internet. He was toast.
Kidd tried to explain himself after the game by saying, "Cup slipped out of my hand while I was getting Ty. Sweaty palms. I was never good with the ball." But his ship was already sunk. The NBA evaluated video of Kidd's faux pas the next day, saw what he said to Taylor, and slapped Kidd with a $50,000 fine. Oh, and to make matters even worse, the Nets lost the Lakers that night, too, so...yeah. Nice try, J-Kidd, but don't try it again. Lesson learned.
Mr. Clutch
And the winner is...Damian Lillard
Damian Lillard is one cold dude. His back-to-back game-winning shots back in December catapulted the second-year point guard into stardom, but Trail Blazers fans already knew about his clutch genes. He's been knocking down big late-game shots for them since his rookie year. This year, however, Lillard is doing it with a nearly unmatched level of consistency. Per NBA.com, out of all point guards who have played in more than 20 games with "clutch" situations (five minutes left with the game separated by 5 or fewer points), and who play more than 3 minutes during that time (only the best are out there), Lillard has the highest three-point field goal percentage, the second highest field goal percentage, the highest plus-minus ratio, and he's only behind Kyrie Irving, John Wall, and Stephen Curry with the fourth highest point total, even though Irving and Wall take more shots than Lillard during those situations.
If there's one guard who's going to get it done in the clutch, it's Lillard. Yet is that enough to lift the Trail Blazers more often than not? Duh, because the Trail Blazers are awesome and Lillard is too. His win percentage in clutch situations is the highest out of all NBA guards (excluding players on his own team) at 71 percent. Be warned, NBA: If you're looking to go toe-to-toe against Lillard and the Blazers down the stretch, you might as well pack it in and head home early.
Mr. Social Media 2013
White Player of the Year
Mr. Ankle-Breaker
And the winner is...Chris Paul
Kyrie Irving doesn't have the same grasp on this award like he did last year. The same goes for everyone this year because the biggest ankle-breakers have frail ankles. Lance Stephenson got Alan Anderson and Courtney Lee, but went completely the wrong way when Jamal Crawford gave him the work. Kevin Durant owned Harrison Barnes and shook Kenneth Faried, but got took by Mike Conley. You can't have "Ankle-Breaker" in your title and have yours suspect.
Chris Paul isn't innocent either as he also got got by Deron Williams, but he gets the edge for the title because CP3 almost literally broke Williams' ankles. He may have stepped on Lopez's foot, but the whole point of a crossover isn't to "fairly" send someone to the floor. If the opponent is on the floor, he's done his job. Paul did his job here. That's yet another nail in the coffin in the Williams vs. Paul debate.
The Fail King
And the winner is...Andrea Bargnani
First the Knicks traded a first round pick for him, then he cost them a game against the Bucks with a dumb ass three, and finally he tore a ligament in his elbow trying to do something he has never done before: dunk on two guys. Just watch the GIF above to either laugh or cry. The entire Knicks organization should be awarded the Fail King award, to be honest.
King of Flop
And the winner Is...LeBron James
Ladies and gentlemen, we are all witnesses. Two NBA Championships and four MVP trophies simply weren't enough for the league's best player. In LeBron's quest to become the greatest, he's brought it upon himself to chalk up one more for the record books. LeBron James has earned his title as the undisputed King of Flop.
With unrivaled accuracy and masterful timing, LBJ's flopping matches the product of a seasoned thespian. Just look at this double flop from February 3rd's victory over the Pistons. Brilliant form. Notice the soft jaw clutch as James slowly crumbles to the hardwood. A garnish to what critics say was a sensational performance. Few athletes have the courage to dig deep and go to that place. Thank you, LeBron. Thank you.
