The 2018 NBA Awards were held on Monday night in Los Angeles and, like most award shows, there were highs and lows.
The opening monologue from Anthony Anderson didn’t exactly land as I think he and everyone else hoped, because NBA players don’t exactly love being roasted so many of the jokes got mild laughs and a lot of awkward looks. The two-hour long show featured all the favorite tropes of award shows, from celebrity presenters including some very random choices to weird comedy and musical interludes, but the best moment of the night was a completely unplanned one.
Charles Barkley and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar were presenting the Lifetime Achievement Award, which went to Oscar Robertson, and in the opening to their presentation, Barkley mentioned last year’s award winner Bill Russell, who hilariously responded by giving Barkley the middle finger on live television.
Bill Russell flipped off Charles Barkley on live TV..LEGEND 😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/aCxVG09i4a
— Gifdsports (@gifdsports) June 26, 2018
Sorry everyone, I forgot it was live TV & I can’t help myself whenever I see Charles it just is pure instinct. @NBAonTNT @NBA #birdman #NBAAwards pic.twitter.com/0zQLvWhuKi
— TheBillRussell (@RealBillRussell) June 26, 2018
Russell clearly found it hysterical as did pretty much everyone watching because, well, it was hilarious. It’s obviously all in good fun and I would bet there are a lot of people that jokingly (or not jokingly) give Barkley this gesture, but not usually on live television. In any case, despite the best efforts of everyone involved with the program, the best part of the entire show was an unscripted moment where one of the greatest NBA players ever gave another the middle finger.
