Ball Stalls on Rim During Clippers-Grizzlies Game, Hilarious Faces Ensue

The basketball gods are strange and whimsical deities, and when they feel like stopping the action, they will do so.

It certainly appeared as though a strange force was at work when the basketball came to rest on the back of the rim during Tuesday night’s Game 5 between the Memphis Grizzlies and the Los Angeles Clippers.

Tony Allen grabbed a rebound and laid up the ball with a heavy dose of backspin in the fourth quarter of the game, and the result brought the proceedings to an awkward, freakish standstill. 

The ball hopped on the rim and wobbled a bit as commentators wondered aloud “What’s it gonna do?” 

Well, as it happens, what the ball did was stick to the back of the rim like a kid afraid to jump off the diving board. The game was stopped by refs and the ball was taken down by refs but not before some amazing faces were made by players under the basket. 

Notice Ronny Turiaf, who’s looking up at the ball with crazy eyes, his mind presumably screaming “Come on down, I just want to talk.” Or perhaps it was more like this “I just want to open you up and live inside you" look.

Tayshaun Prince, on the other hand, looked like a kid whose best friend just left him for the cool kids up on the rim and won’t play with him anymore.

It’s not the most awkward thing NBA players have ever had to deal with concerning stuck balls in the hoop.

You can deal with a lot of weird things as seeing a strange video of NBA rookies tickling a bulging bag of balls in the net—it only makes you stronger.

With that being said, it would be nice if the NBA gods could leave the ball alone. He doesn’t deserve to be stranded at such an important time in his life.

They call him “Crazy Eyez Ronny.” No they don’t: Dr__Carson