Mavericks vs. Pistons: Who Were the Hipster Bros Chilling on the Bench?

Cue the music—it's time for another episode of Bleacher Report Investigates.

In last night's tilt between the Dallas Mavericks and Detroit Pistons, it appeared that two hip-with-it bros were hanging on the Mavs bench, knocking back brews and putting out their dude vibe.

Or something like that. See for yourself.

On tonight's episode, we ask the question that has taken the nation by storm (that may be hyperbole): Who were these dudes cool enough to wear sunglasses and beanies inside while sitting on the bench?

Our first clue comes from friend of Bleacher Report (cough) and sports website Larry Brown Sports, who posted the following (via Matt Watson of SB Nation—LBS has the post on its main page but the link for the full article leads to a dead end. Very mysterious...):

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It turns out the fans in question are Aaron Cohen, a fashion designer who runs a clothing company called Revive, and a guy who goes by Chris Smokes on Twitter. Cohen is from the Michigan area, so we're guessing the seats came from the Pistons, not Mark Cuban or the Mavericks.

Cohen has also tweeted pictures from courtside seats in the past, but we're guessing this is the first time he's sat between players.

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Well, that was easy enough. But this isn't a open-and-shut case, my fellow sleuths, not at all. The questions remains: How did they get these seats?

We turn to Matt Watson of SB Nation one more time to answer that question:

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If you look closely, you can see that the chill bros (and Vince Carter) are sitting in big, plush chairs, while West (and the rest of the Mavs) are sitting on folding chairs. Those plush chairs are VIP seats immediately next to the bench that anyone can buy -- so what's actually happening is that Carter is sitting in the stands, not fans sitting on the bench.

As a Pistons blogger who's been credentialed for a game or two, I've often seen players take over those seats at the beginning of games and after halftime before fans arrive -- they're bigger and more comfortable. My hunch is that the chill dudes took their time coming back from halftime and found them occupied -- but instead of Carter sliding to the actual bench, he simply moved over to another comfortable chair. (And why not? The Mavs were blowing out the Pistons, and Carter was done for the night.)

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Vince Carter sitting in the stands...sometimes, the metaphors just jump right off the page and smack you in the face.

Linda Cohn (via Big Lead Sports) verifies Watson's theory:

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But late last night on SportsCenter Linda Cohn allowed us to breathe again, explaining that both the home and away benches simply have four VIP seats at the end of each bench. Somehow, likely through the magic of wearing sunglasses indoors and delivering artful fist-bumps, the animated duo managed to work their way up a bit.

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So there you have it. Of course, more questions remain: What exactly is the magic of wearing sunglasses indoors and delivering artful fist-bumps, and has it been used on you in the past?

Does Cohen like to be referred to as Brohen? What sort of person goes by the handle Chris Smokes?

Questions for another day. Thank you for joining us as we unraveled another mystery in the world of sports.

For Bleacher Report Investigates, I'm Timothy Rapp.

Keep sleuthing, gumshoes.

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