As the kids say, the Houston Rockets have zero chill. (Would the kids still say this?)
The NBA franchise on Thursday posted a hype video to Instagram, readying the Rockets faithful for their matchup against the LeBron James–led Cleveland Cavaliers that night. Houston's social media team took the opportunity to troll James.
Exactly how it trolled him takes a tiny bit of explaining. James is (in)famous for his cryptic social media posts, and this week he did a doozy of one on Instagram, posting a picture of the Arthur clenched-fist meme with no explanation as to what it meant apart from the caption "Mood..."
Arthur is a children's cartoon that was very popular in the late '90s and—as things are wont to do these days—has been made into a meme. James's Instagram post had infinite potential meanings (he's not telling), with perhaps the most popular theory being he was upset watching former teammate Kyrie Irving play well with his new squad, the Boston Celtics. It also could have meant he was upset with Cleveland's play or perhaps he was mad the Cavs didn't land guard Eric Bledsoe in a trade. Nobody truly knows except James.
All of this leads us to the Rockets. The lead image of the video the team posted is the Arthur meme. Then, as the video goes on, commentators talk in the background about Houston star James Harden and LeBron James with images from Arthur peppered throughout. At one point, James even has the Arthur fist photoshopped onto his arm.
It's clever and light-hearted and more proof the NBA has more fun than any league in the world. Watch the Rockets' video embedded below:
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Reporter, covering a bit of everything.
