🚨 BREAKING - Shams is reporting that Santa Claus has shown “strong interest” in adding you to the Nice List in exchange for two first-round picks and an elf to be named later. We at Enjoy Basketball will continue to monitor the situation for the next ten days.

Today’s Lineup

🎉 Our Favorite Lesser-Known Celebrations

We Enjoy a good celebration, and the NBA has some iconic ones: Damian Lillard’s “Dame-Time,” Steph Curry’s “Night-Night,” and LeBron’s “Silencer” are all elite. But let us tell you some of our favorite celebrations that every NBA fan might not know about. 

It’s been a MOVIE watching the Jordan Poole Party, and the Wizards guard added a new celly playing off of his aquatic name 💦. After splashing home one of his NINE three-pointers in a recent game, Poole acted like he was wearing a snorkel 😂. 

It seems like we can’t stop mentioning Derrick White in Out of Bounds, but we’re bringing him up again. We leave the house and pat our pockets for phone, wallet, and keys—meanwhile, the Boston Celtics guard goes phone, wallet, threes 3️⃣. Take a look at White’s “Pocket Full of Threes” celebration.

Mikal Bridges must’ve dropped a boatload of VC on emotes, because dude seems to have a new celly every week. Last week, after hitting a three in front of the Raptors bench, Bridges looked over to an injured Bruce Brown, who was wearing one of his famous cowboy outfits on the sidelines. Instead of his typical three-point celebration, Mikal tipped an imaginary hat to Bruce Brown 😭. Imagine making a three in an NBA game and hitting the “howdy, partner” 🤠.

🙏 Cole Anthony Gives Back to NYC, Orlando

Cole Anthony is at -10,000 odds to make the Nice List according to our internal metrics. The Orlando Magic guard won the NBA’s monthly Bob Lanier Community Assist Award for his work supporting youth health and education!

A native New Yorker himself, Anthony loves the opportunity to give back to the kids growing up in the same city he did. Anthony brought together some of the Big Apple’s best high school basketball players for a workshop focused on building financial literacy. Moreover, Anthony and financial professionals sat on a panel discussing the importance of saving and budgeting, improving your credit score, and how to navigate NIL opportunities. Additionally, Anthony hosted a free basketball clinic for local kids and donated 500+ backpacks to students and held a charity Pro-Am game at The Harlem Police Athletic League!

Over the summer, Anthony’s foundation supported City of Orlando District 6 Commissioner Bakari Burn’s Back to School Bash by providing essential back to school items for more than 500 kids. What’s more is Anthony surprised more than 50 kids and provided dinner, clothing, and school essentials! As a part of the award, the NBA will donate $10,000 to his 50 Ways Foundation 🙏 

If you’re a fan of college basketball, this is the best news you will see today: Dick Vitale is cancer-free!

One of the most iconic voices in college basketball took to social media to announce the good news, but instead of focusing solely on himself, he used the media attention to fundraise for the V Foundation which honors Coach Jimmy Valvano and pursues cancer research to one day find a cure. 

Vitale is college basketball royalty 👑. The man called ESPN’s first college basketball broadcast in 1979—the year the network started—and is a member of both the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame and the College Basketball Hall of Fame. More importantly, he’s one of the most joyous personalities in sports. Happy for you, Dickie V!

Signing Off

Much like James Harden calling an iso, we’re taking a step back for now. But don’t worry, its just a quick hesi—tomorrow we’ll be right back in your inbox (and at the free-throw line, probably) like usual!

-Conor Geelan