J.R. Smith Called Out Isaiah Thomas For Messing Up Their Pregame Handshake

Isaiah Thomas‘ worst nightmare has finally come true. Not only will reporters not stop asking “dumbass questions” about his trade from the Boston Celtics this summer, but now he’s messing up handshakes with players on his new team.

Thomas joked earlier this year that he’s worried he will mess up some of the elaborate handshakes each individual Cavs player seems to have with their teammates.

“When I got traded here that’s one of the first things, I’m like ‘dang, I’m going to have to get my handshakes down,’” Thomas said last month. And it hasn’t taken long for him to slip upo.

An eagle-eye’d Twitter user noticed that Thomas goofed up the elaborate handshake he had with J.R. Smith on Christmas Day, causing Smith to laugh as the injured point guard struggled through the moves. AWESOME ANDREW sent video of the mistake to Smith, who quote-tweeted it and admitted that Thomas’ worst fears had been realized.

To be fair to Thomas, with the exception of Kevin Love’s hilarious minimalism the handshakes are pretty complicated. And handshakes in general are a social experiment that’s rapidly getting more and more complex. Even for non-NBA superstars it can be a difficult thing to manage. It’s hard with strangers, especially if you don’t know what kind of handshake they’re going to try.

Much like a hitter trying to determine what a pitcher is throwing, arm slot is often a telling sign. But it’s just the start of it. A raised hand could indicate a slap and interlocking hand handshake, or perhaps something closer to a bro dap. And sometimes there are hugs, or at least friendly embraces or shoulder touches. It’s all a bit much, really, and socially awkward people can definitely sympathize with IT here.

With even more scrutiny on Thomas as he returns to the lineup, however, he needs to tighten this up in a hurry. Forget how he fits in with the Cavaliers on the floor. Handshakes are essential to what the Cavs do. If he can’t remember a dozen or so unique greetings before playing basketball at a high level, he doesn’t belong out there.