The NBA season was suspended indefinitely only a week ago because of the coronavirus pandemic, but it already feels like an eternity for the fans who spent almost every night watching the league. Imagine how the players must feel.
What’s an athlete to do when shut off from playing the game they love? Some, like Stephen Curry and Spencer Dinwiddie, are watching their own highlights. Others are taking it a step further and putting on their full uniform in the comfort of their homes to recreate the thrill of being on an NBA court.
Here’s Ja Morant having his own personal starting lineup introductions. He posted this to his TikTok account.
Ja Morant is staying game ready (via jmorant12/tiktok) pic.twitter.com/1umA5Gon4q
— The Association on FOX (@TheAssociation) March 16, 2020
Fellow rookie Mattisse Thybulle of the Philadelphia 76ers has also become a First-Team All-TikTok selection during the Covid-19 shutdown. Thybulle has made a number of entertaining videos since the season was suspended, but none were better than him wearing his full uniform doing drills in his apartment while listening to Kurtis Blow.
This is a masterpiece in Gen-Z social media usage.
matisse thybulle, the best and funniest nba player on tiktok as of march 18 pic.twitter.com/r03Rohpmcr
— (@nbaspidey) March 18, 2020
Morant and Thybulle are both rookies, which means they are young enough to be pros at making jokes on social media. For a veteran like Serge Ibaka, figuring out how to show your followers a little slice of your life is a bigger challenge.
Ibaka put on his Raptors shorts and a sweatshirt and started running back and forth down the hallway of his apartment. Hey, you have to get your cardio in somehow.
Cardio day at home pic.twitter.com/LzSRGBnzwk
— Serge Ibaka (@sergeibaka) March 18, 2020
This is only week one of no basketball. If you think fake starting lineup introductions and full uniform workouts are weird, you can expect things to get much more bizarre.