[Issue #10]: My Favorite Obscure Topshot Moments
Just for fun!
Hey everyone! Welcome to the new issue of the Dropshot. We’ve discussed some deep marketplace dynamics and the future of Topshot during my reflections of the past month. I decided to change gears today and talk about one of the secret joys of Topshot: finding moments from lesser-known NBA players that are just cool. They’re not really good investments, as I’m not sure about the career longevity of any of these players, but part of the joy in any collectibles market is valuing certain items more than the marketplace.
The moments that I’ve nominated as my “favorite” obscure moments generally fall into one (if not more) of the following categories:
A moment from a non-All Star player, or a young and ascending player
A moment with a cool and uncommon basketball play (following the idea of scarcity that I talked about in last week’s post)
A moment that showcases (pun intended) the absurd athleticism of even an average NBA player
A moment from a player who used to be on my favorite team (the 76ers) who I liked when they played for the Sixers
I’ve compiled these moments into a showcase, one of the most underrated product features of Topshot. I think showcases are a great use case for something like this, as your favorite obscure moments can be lost in the sea of your blue-chip moments. Showcases don’t enforce an ordering when they’re playing (yet), so for fun I’ll go through the exercise of ranking these moments based on my personal preference. I’ll attach a link to the showcase after I go over the moments!
#10: Nickeil Alexander-Walker (Series 2, 12K Limited Edition)
NAW, as he is affectionally known by the NBA writer digerati, is a high-flying Canadian guard playing for the New Orleans Pelicans. He’s got a lot of talent, though, as you can clearly see in this sick up-and-under reverse layup against the Houston Rockets.
This moment is also is a favorite of mine because of the use of the top-of-the-basket alternative angle, which clearly shows the absurd spin that NAW puts on the basketball and the Houston defender’s grimace after the shot drops through the hoop. Very cool!
#9: Jerami Grant (Series 2, 15K Limited Edition)
Jerami Grant (a former Sixer, in a land far far away….) became a favorite player of mine in last year’s playoffs, when he helped power the Denver Nuggets to the Western Conference Finals. Now toiling away for the league-worst Detroit Pistons, Grant is having a career-best scoring season and is a leading contender for the Most Improved Player award this year (perhaps he would get a badge for that?)
This dunk comes after a powerful drive from across the court, and also features a great James Wiseman grimace from the top-of-the-hoop angle.
#8: Jaxson Hayes (Series 2, 12K Limited Edition)
Not much really needs to be said about this play - Jaxson Hayes, aka a human Pogo stick, just sweeps across the painted area and somehow dunks the basketball while moving away from the rim, courtesy of his Spiderman-like arms. Extra points for palming that basketball all the way through!
#7: Robert Covington (Series 2, 12K Limited Edition)
One of my favorite players from the Process Sixers era, RoCo does what he does best in this moment: hustle and scrap for the ball on the floor and then make a deft pass while he’s sitting down (over the shoulder no less) for an easy layup! Typical RoCo stuff.
#6: TJ McConnell (Series 2, 15K Limited Edition)
Another former Sixers player, but more controversial during his time in Philadelphia due to his defensive limitations. Now in Indiana, I really enjoyed this blind over-the-shoulder “hook pass” (if that’s even a term?) after a hard baseline drive. The baseline camera angle comes in handy here, as it shows the limited pocket of space that the pass had to go through to make this play possible!
~Interlude~
One interesting thing I noticed when compiling this showcase is that it’s many of these players Topshot debuts (indicated by that blue TS badge underneath their preview). I wonder if a player that’s more of a fan/cult favorite having fewer moments than a star player will make their moments be more valued in the future…
Now. back to the showcase list for our top five!
#5: Joe Ingles (Series 1, 3999K Limited Edition)
The Australian Jinglin’ Joe Ingles is a cult favorite in the NBA, especially for Jazz fans, for his ability to play off superstars and make smart basketball plays. This moment makes my top five because it’s a Series 1 moment, it’s a typical Joe Ingles play (a no-look shovel pass off the pick and roll), and it’s punctuated by a hammer of a dunk by the Stifle Tower, 2-time Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert.
#4: Miles Bridges (Series 2, 35K+ Circulating Common)
Come for the sweet behind-the-back pass from rising superstar LaMelo Ball, stay for the very unnecessary but also very sweet windmill dunk from the hyper-athletic Miles Bridges. The only Circulating Common to make this list, but definitely deserves it. I can see this moment being a Topshot staple in the years to come, especially if LaMelo and Bridges become cornerstones for a young Hornets team.
#3: Robin Lopez (Series 2, 12K Limited Edition)
Frankly, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a play like this in my (short) history of watching basketball games. I think the Topshot description does it justice:
“Somebody commission the statue of Robin Lopez’s fallaway laser hook already. The Washington Wizards big man deserves credit not only for the finish but for pirouetting to snag the entry feed in the first place. Lopez finished with eight points against the Orlando Magic on December 27, 2020.”
Can’t say it better than that!
#2: Isaiah Roby (Series 2, 12K Limited Edition)
A very worth #2! Roby is an exciting young player on a frisky Oklahoma City Thunder team that was projected to be the worst in the league, but has instead remained pretty competitive and entertaining to watch (sidenote: I’m eagerly awaiting Aleksej Pokuševski’s Topshot debut moment…).
In any case, this moment has it all. A jab step and reverse drive is something you’re more likely to see from Kyrie Irving or Ja Morant, not a 6’8 center! Roby also completely shakes his defender and sends him to the ground with the move and finishes the whole sequence off with an emphatic slam. The guy he sent to the ground? Nikola Vucevic, a 2021 NBA All-Star. Not exactly a scrub!
I could easily see this moment becoming popular if Roby develops into a consistent player. Sidenote: I’m not the only one who loves this play…
Sadly I had to go in another direction for #1…
#1: DeJounte Murray (Series 1, 3999K Limited Edition)
Since Kawhi Leonard left the Spurs, I think the majority of NBA fans have forgotten that a professional team in San Antonio even exists. Luckily, they’re still developing good players - I think one of the most underrated players in the entire league is DeJounte Murray. He’s still pretty young, but he’s supremely athletic and is only going to get more responsibility as the older Spurs like DeMar Derozan and LaMarcus Aldridge age out of their roles.
The moment here itself is in the Robin Lopez vein of something that I don’t think I’ve seen on the court before, and certainly not on Topshot. The strength to take the contact from the foul, and then have the presence of mind to throw up a shot while falling down, is pretty special. Once again, the top-of-the-backboard angle really comes in handy, as it shows the absolute circus-like quality of the shot.
Because of all of this, and the fact that it’s a more limited Series 1 moment, I had to give this my #1 spot! But it was tough between this and the Roby dunk.
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You can find the entire showcase here: https://nbatopshot.com/showcases/68c45082-e0e6-4587-9803-fdeeadf13bf5. If you have a Topshot account, I’d appreciate a 🔥 reaction on it if you get a chance!
Enjoy the showcase, and start building your own! I’m almost 100% sure that showcases are going to play a larger role in the Topshot experience in the future - it’s such a great feature!
Happy Topshotting!