The NBA has had a ton of run-ins with bats. In the last week, seven bats have been spotted in two arena on three separate nights in San Antonio and Utah. And it’s scaring a lot of players!
Donovan Mitchell openly admitted that had the Jazz Bear mascot not have saved the day, he would’ve went straight to the locker room and ditched his warm-up routine. D’Angelo Russell actually ran into the tunnel at the sight of a bat. And Rudy Gay hid behind a ref!
Not everyone is afraid of bats, though. In fact some are actively seeking they bite them.
On Saturday night after the Bucks beat the Wizards, SB Nation spoke to Brook Lopez on what he’d do if faced with a bat on the court. Here is the entirety of that conversation:
Brook Lopez: If you’ve learned anything from the modern superhero myth, if you see a bat around and it bites you, you have a 75 percent chance of ending up a superhero. Otherwise you’ll probably get really get sick. But it’d be cool to be a superhero. You don’t need to be too afraid, I’d say give it a shot.
SB Nation: So you’re going to let the bat bite you?
Brook: Yeah, absolutely.
SB: Are you going to just stick out your hands?
Brook: I’m just going to just make myself available. At that point, it’s up to the bat. A lot of it is up to fate in these superhero stories. But I want to give myself a shot.
TL;DR: Brook Lopez would like to be bitten by a bat so he can possibly become a superhero.
A complete list of NBA players who are and are not afraid of bats can be found here.