The NBA is a unique sport in a lot of ways. Entire television networks, for example, have free reign to poke fun at a team that’s not exactly having the best go of it.
The NBA on TNT Twitter account posted an edited clip from the movie The Hangover 3, where a character sings “Ave Maria” at a funeral. The clip, however, is to honor the death of a once-proud NBA franchise who traded away Jimmy Butler and might buy out Dwyane Wade.
https://twitter.com/NBAonTNT/status/898601878111571969
The clip here is repurposed to have Charles Barkley singing at the funeral for the Chicago Bulls, presumably for a season that hasn’t even happened yet. That’s because the Bulls won’t appear on any TNT games this season, which isn’t a great sign if you believe the schedule is built to include good, interesting teams in prime time.
“My god. He’s got the voice of an angel,” Shaq says to Kenny Smith in the video while the operatic singing continues.
It’s sort of a dated reference, but it does highlight just how different basketball coverage is on TNT. I can’t imagine a network partner like NBC Sports do something like this to make fun of a bad hockey or EPL soccer team. It’s part of the charm of how they cove the NBA and how much fun it is for fans, and how the league doesn’t feel threatened for taking a less-than-serious approach to sports.
It’s still going to make Bulls fans angry, though. And they’ve had a rough enough summer as it is.
