Shaq was without a doubt the winner of Inside The NBA's costume contest. Kenny Smith and Ernie Johnson both played it safe, going the pop culture route as Top Gun's Iceman and The Godfather's Vito Corleone respectively. Meanwhile, Charles Barkley threw it back to an iconic Kevin Durant insult leveled at him, coming into work as a bus driver. However, Shaq took the cake as he rolled up to set as "Emo Jimmy Butler", a reference to one of the offseason's more viral moments. Everything about the costume was perfect, from the painfully 2000s wig to the fake nose and lip rings.
Butler wasn't playing on Tuesday night, with the Heat having lost to the Bucks on Monday night. However, it was definitely one of the standout costumes of the evening. Of course, Giannis had set the tone after that Bucks victory, showing up to his post-game press conference dressed as the Hulk. However, perhaps the closest contender to Shaq's meme reference was Victor Wembanyama. The 7"4 Spurs rookie perfectly embodied Slenderman as he rolled up to the team's game against the Suns. In fact, Wemby's outfit was referenced on Inside The NBA, with Barkley roasting Shaq for not knowing who Slenderman was.
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Wembanyama & Spurs Stun The Suns
However, Wemby's costume wasn't the only scary thing about Spurs-Suns. Phoenix, widely considered one of the major contenders in the West, found themselves left holding nothing but candy corn and an apple. Up as many as 20 in the third quarter, and up 10 with about 5 to go in the fourth, the Suns clearly thought they had the game in the bag. Despite this, the Spurs kept pushing and with 6.1 seconds left, Wembanyama slammed down a putback dunk to close the gap to one. The ball found itself in the hands of Kevin Durant, only for Keldon Johnson to execute a nasty steal and drive to the basket for the one-point win.
"I seen Tre had him in the corner, and I was just like, sh-t, let's make a play. The worst that could happen was they call the foul and they shoot free throws. But we had to make something happen. Time was running down. So my mindset was just make a play on the ball and, after that, just try to finish it," Johnson said of the game-winning moment. While the Suns lamented bad officiating on their failed foul pull, even Durant admitted that it was just one of those things. The win was huge for the Spurs, especially after the 40-point blowout they suffered over the weekend. They have another game against the Suns tomorrow.
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