It can be difficult to keep track of all the NBA's important moments on social media. Every night there's seemingly a new meme, a new highlight or a new beef to keep track of. That's what we're here for. Moving forward, we'll be rounding up the top social moments of the week and asking readers to vote on their favorite tweets, videos, GIFs and Instagram posts.
Whether there's shade being thrown in the Instagram comments or a new viral challenge, we've got you covered.
Here are the top social moments of the final week of the regular season and opening weekend of the playoffs (April 9-15):
Rookie of the Year race turns personal
With Rookie of the Year voting due last Friday, Ben Simmons and Donovan Mitchell -- the two front-runners for the award -- had their final chance to make an impression and potentially sway voters.
In an interview with ESPN on April 9, Simmons said he is "100 percent" the Rookie of the Year. On Tuesday, Mitchell arrived to the Utah Jazz's game against the Golden State Warriors wearing a black Adidas sweatshirt with the word "rookie" accompanied by the word's definition across the front of the hoodie. The underlying message? Simmons shouldn't be eligible for the award because he was drafted in 2016 and this is technically his second season as a professional.
The image immediately went viral. Blake Griffin, who like Simmons missed his rookie season and won Rookie of the Year in his second professional season, playfully took offense to Mitchell's statement:
And then Lakers rookie Kyle Kuzma chimed in and backed Mitchell:
When asked about Mitchell's sweatshirt after his game that night, Simmons downplayed the gesture and doubled down on his assertion that he's the league's best rookie.
On Wednesday, the final day of the regular season, Mitchell wore a red Adidas sweatshirt with "Rookie?" across the chest, further fanning the flames of the debate. Both Simmons and Mitchell enjoyed impressive playoff debuts this weekend, and one can only think this debate will continue until June 25, when the NBA holds its annual awards show.
The Phantom of The Process
Leave it to Joel Embiid to turn a serious injury into a new nickname and grow his legend on social media.
Since suffering a fractured orbital bone a couple of weeks ago, Embiid has been playing up his new face mask, referencing a Bane line from Batman in his Instagram caption about his mask, flaunting the protective gear all over the Well Fargo Center and even donning a Phantom of the Opera replica mask to ring a ceremonial Liberty Bell before Game 1 of the Philadelphia 76ers' first-round series with the Miami Heat.
But Embiid's week on social media wasn't finished there. Before Game 1, he took to Instagram to post about his excitement for the playoffs -- and preview what he believes is the Sixers' path through the postseason (Heat, Celtics, Cavs and Warriors).
The King's royal statement
Earlier in the season, LeBron James and Enes Kanter exchanged barbs, with Kanter poking fun at James' "King" nickname.
"I don't care what you call yourself. King, Queen, Princess, whatever you are," Kanter said. "You know what, we're going to fight and nobody out there [is] going to punk us."
Flash forward to Cleveland's visit to Madison Square Garden on April 9, and James wore LeBron 15s with "I'm King" inscribed on the back of his left and right shoes, respectively. Trash talk would go only so far without a W, but James' performance backed up his statement, as the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the New York Knicks 123-109 and James scored 26 points, grabbed 6 rebounds and dished out 11 assists.
Hawks become Timberwolves' No. 1 fan
Back in 2015, the Atlanta Hawks traded Adreian Payne to the Minnesota Timberwolves for a lottery-protected first-round pick that kicked in in 2017. Because the Wolves missed the postseason last year, the pick conveyed to 2018 under the same conditions (after 2020 the pick would turn into a second-round pick).
So when the Wolves and Denver Nuggets met on the final day of the regular season for the first playoff play-in game in more than two decades, the Hawks were among the Timberwolves' biggest supporters, changing their Twitter handle, photo and cover photo to show their excitement over possibly gaining Minnesota's first-round pick.
The Nuggets weren't pleased with the gesture.
After Minnesota won the game and made the playoffs, Atlanta was the first to congratulate them.
LeBron vs. Lance, Round 2
Everyone remembers where they were the first time they saw Lance Stephensonblow in LeBron's ear during Game 5 of the 2014 Eastern Conference finals. The meme became inescapable on Twitter and Instagram. To this day, it's still referenced across pop culture.
It was only natural to go down memory lane with James and Stephenson given their teams are facing each other in the first round of the 2018 playoffs. During Game 1 on Sunday, Stephenson defended James for chunks of the game and took a couple of hard swipes at him, including one that resulted in a technical foul.
At one point, cameras caught James looking down at Stephenson, who was crouching down in a defensive stance, and James couldn't help but smirk and roll his eyes at the sight of Stephenson trying to lock in and defend him. Stephenson got the last laugh, though, as the Indiana Pacers crushed the Cavs 98-80. This rivalry won't die.
World Peace back in the Big Apple?
The Knicks fired former coach Jeff Hornacek early Thursday morning just hours after the regular season ended. It didn't take long for a list of coaching candidates to form, including the usual carousel of candidates, such as David Fizdale, David Blatt and Mark Jackson.
On Saturday, former Knicks player Metta World Peace decided to throw his hat in the ring, because, well, why not?
The Knicks have made some questionable hirings throughout their 21st century malaise -- most a result of bringing in former players -- so it wouldn't be that ridiculous for them to at least consider hiring World Peace, if he were serious. It's unlikely, of course, and given his humorous nature on social media, World Peace is almost certainly kidding. But at least he has the right basic principles in mind.
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