Hot Athlete Takes on Sports' Biggest Moments

Peer reviews are some of the best in sports. When the NBA Finals are going down or major deals are signed, who has the hot takes? Often, it's athletes themselves.

Behold, a collection of hot—or, at minimum, interesting—takes on some of sports' biggest moments of 2016.

Let's kick things off with some big personnel moves.

Trade and Free-Agency News

NBA free agency has been bonkers.

The Los Angeles Lakers reached an agreement with free-agent center Timofey Mozgov for a somewhat baffling four-year, $64 million deal, according to The Vertical’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The Memphis Grizzlies agreed to terms with Mike Conley for five years and $153 million, according to ESPN.com's Marc Stein. 

NFL players weighed in like: 

Over in the NHL, the Edmonton Oilers traded left winger—and former No. 1 pick—Taylor Hall to the New Jersey Devils for defenseman Adam Larsson, a move largely considered lopsided in favor of the Devils:

Meanwhile, the Indianapolis Colts agreed to a six-year, $140 million deal with quarterback Andrew Luck, officially making him the highest-paid player in NFL history:

World Football Happenings

Iceland, playing in its first international tournament, stunned England, 2-1, in June to advance to the Euro 2016 quarterfinals. Former England striker Gary Lineker had this to say (geographic claims unverified):

Speaking of incredible underdog victories, the sports world lauded Leicester City's Premier League title, a 5,000-1 shot at the start of the season. Northern Irish golfer Rory McIlroy responded with optimism:

NBA's Whirlwind Season

The NBA was fun this year, right? In the end, LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers came back from a 3-1 series hole to beat the Golden State Warriors in a Finals rematch. Here's NASCAR driver Denny Hamlin with an important question:

Before all that, though, the Warriors had some OK moments. One of the most memorable came on a Stephen Curry buzzer-beater against the Oklahoma City Thunder in February. Frank Kaminsky of the Charlotte Hornets opined:

The Dubs also won their 73rd game on the same night Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant scored 60 points in his last NBA game:

"

The "Last" button on my remote might not work anymore thanks to Kobe and the Warriors 

— Torrey Smith (@TorreySmithWR) April 14, 2016"

Drama from the UFC

Nate Diaz defeated Conor McGregor—who moved up two weight classes for the fight—at UFC 196. Canadian UFC fighter Elias Theodorou invoked another fighter, B.J. Penn, and TLC in his take:

Also at UFC 196, Miesha Tate defeated Holly Holm to take the UFC bantamweight title, who took it from Ronda Rousey, who beat Tate twice. Former UFC fighter Mike Jackson dropped this:

Later, there was all that drama about McGregor's retirement tweet (he's not retiring, by the way):

Close Calls

When Jordan Spieth quadruple bogeyed the 12th hole on the final day at the Masters, Arizona Cardinals defensive back Patrick Peterson kept the faith:

The Seattle Seahawks almost made a great comeback after plunging headfirst into a 31-0 halftime deficit against the Carolina Panthers in a January playoff matchup. Seattle stormed back but ultimately lost, 31-24:

Meanwhile, in college basketball, North Carolina's Marcus Paige hit a game-tying three with seconds remaining in the national championship game. Villanova's Kris Jenkins outdid him with a game-winning buzzer-beater, though: 

"

Tweets changed from Marcus Paige (UNC) to Villanova kinda like this... pic.twitter.com/OxDPQDKExH

— Justin Britt (@JustinBritt68) April 5, 2016"

Miscellaneous Treasures

When his Denver Broncos won Super Bowl 50, now-retired quarterback Peyton Manning pushed Budweiser pretty hard in his postgame comments:

(Does Jordan Spieth have a big forehead? Who knew?)

Finally, here's one Los Angeles Rams player really not getting why St. Louis residents might be peeved about their team's move to L.A.:

What did we do before athletes had Twitter? Great stuff.