I’m on record as being against the Kiss Cam, which often makes gross assumptions about females and males sitting next to each other and can foster a coercive environment (plus it’s just cliche). That being said, there is one notable exception to that rule, which is when it’s used jokingly to embarrass unlikely couples. Mark Cuban and Steve Ballmer? Throw them on the Kiss Cam. Dustin Hoffman and Jason Bateman? Sure, why not.
But for my money, the best use ever of the Kiss Cam was by the Atlanta Hawks, when they used it on the new couple of LeBron James and Dwyane Wade in 2011. The Heat were decimating the Hawks in the fourth quarter, so the video operator must have been extra salty. He or she tossed on “Careless Whisper” and tried to make some magic happen, but wound up embarrassing LeBron and Dwyane (LeBrane? Why did we never talk about this when they were on the same team?) so badly that the two covered their own faces rather than look at each other and confront the feelings that were boiling up deep inside.
We’re waiting for the Oklahoma City Thunder to take this cue to throw Steph Curry and Kevin Durant up on the Kiss Cam the first time the Warriors come to town. That would be the apex of the form.
