Russell Westbrook
Wednesday, March 29, 2023. Off a pass inside, LA Clippers Guard Russell Westbrook pump fakes and gets two defenders to jump, scoring an and-1 basket. After drawing the foul and falling to the ground, Westbrook lets out a ferocious “and one” yell while lying on the ground. Although a great play and highlight of a 36-point night for Russ, this basket most likely will not make the lengthy official NBA retirement highlight reel when Russ retires. At that same moment, a camera high above snaps a high-resolution picture of Westbrook yelling into the sky, taking a photo that is now burned into my head.
This photo has a lot of meaning within. It is relatively well known that Russ has had his ups and downs throughout his career. Especially after leaving OKC, Westbrook has faced criticism for a variety of flaws in his game. This criticism reached its climax toward the tail end of last year but has been on a downturn as of late and this moment seems to be a tangible reflection of this upward trend.
In addition to the significance of the story, this photo stands out among others due to its unique camera angle and high quality. The above the backboard shot is usually one reserved for photography, as it is rarely used while watching the game live. In this case, the camera hangs high above Russ, framing him in two standing Grizzlies players and his teammate Terrence Mann. Also, the camera angle pairs perfectly with the lighting, painting a slight shadow behind and to the right of Westbrook on the ground. The colors in this photo are another notable aspect. The black and white “Los Angeles” Clippers jerseys are easily the best jerseys in the league. It is a simple jersey, but the lettering and jersey numbers standout better than any other color combination. Although I believe the Paul George’s “13” looks the best in this jersey, Westbrook’s classic “0” stands out because of this, only being slightly covered by the shadow of Kenny Lofton. On the other hand, the baby blue paint designation of the Grizzlies home court contrasts Westbrook’s jersey providing ideal color contrast to balance the image.
DeMar DeRozan
Next up is a specific celebration rather than one individual photo. Before the 2021-2022 season, DeMar DeRozan was sign and traded to the Chicago Bulls. Many considered his contract to be a large overpay for an average player toward the tail end of his career. Immediately as the season began, this was proved false. DeRozan began a surprising career resurgence, bringing his scoring averages to levels comparable to the prime years of his career in Toronto. This magical season for Bulls fans hit a climax when DeRozan hit back to back game winners on the change of the calendar year. I remember both with extreme clarity. The first I thought was a terrible shot for the situation because DeRozan seemed to lose track of time and had to pull up from half court while only needing a 2. Preceding the second, I turned off the TV and was convinced to turn it back on, immediately watching the inbound and then DeRozan fading to the corner and drilling a corner three. Along with many other times in the year after hitting late game shots, DeRozan threw up his hands in the air to celebrate, like a gymnast after finishing a routine. An interesting note is that in photos of the celebration if you boost the contrast and vibrance, DeRozan’s tattoos become dark and inky and pair extremely well with the red Bulls jersey.
Michael Jordan
Lastly, I had to put the last shot. This is most likely the greatest play in NBA history. Jordan with a powerful crossover on Bryan Russell, sending him flying in the wrong direction and creating space for a signature Jordan midrange jumper. Every eye in the entire stadium watches as the shot falls through the back of the net, except for John Stockton who turns toward Steve Kerr immediately before the shot falls through. We all know that Jordan probably should have ended it here, the perfect ending to a perfect career, but the fact that he played for the Wizards does not take away from this shot. Though not in the photo, the form hold long after the go-ahead bucket is scored, along with the look on Jordan’s face will forever be a go-to example of Jordan’s character, personality, and impact on the game of basketball.
April 13th, 2023 at 5:01 pm
That picture with Russell Westbrook looks good but I feel like it should have been replaced with Lebron dunking and Dwyane Wade posing since that may actually be the most iconic picture taken. The Miami Heat were at their best when they were playing with those guys. Russell Westbrook has also been pretty bad with the Lakers but it is good that he has been turning things around. People who insult him as Westbrick are awful since that negativity is becoming a problem for his kids. People seem to forget that this man has so many triple doubles and was the first to average one and win MVP. The picture with DeMar has me excited for tomorrow’s game against the Miami Heat since we are absolutely gonna win and make the playoffs. From there the Bulls are gonna beat the Milwaukee Bucks and destroy Giannis and then win the NBA Finals because we are the best team around. Michael Jordan though is just on another level. It sucks that he retired twice because this man could have easily been the leading scorer if he had played just a few more seasons. He is still the best to ever play the game however and I don’t think Kareem or LeBron can surpass him since he changed the game.
April 14th, 2023 at 2:59 pm
Hi Anton,
I really enjoyed these photos. Being a huge fan of both art and basketball, I can vouch that you picked some awesome photos. I disagree with you that the Clippers is the nicest-looking jersey, though— I was actually going to look at NBA jerseys and decide which is my favorite, but I realized that there’s too many choices. The Clippers jersey wouldn’t be my favorite, that much I know. I love the DeRozan picture a lot, it is cool to see the contrast of him boastfully raising his arms up while Kobi Simmons is in the background with his head down, looking absolutely defeated. I wonder how people get these sorts of jobs, e.g. photographer for the NBA. People would probably kill to get that kind of role, because it would probably be fun. I don’t know, though, maybe there’s some unspoken cons to working for the NBA in that capacity. The picture of MJ is one of my favorites, because the fans are just in such high anticipation of whether the shot will go in or not. Imagine if it didn’t; MJ would’ve had a completely different legacy, because ending your career on that kind of shot and six championships in a row is crazy. Thanks for sharing!
April 14th, 2023 at 5:55 pm
Hi Anton, When I saw the title of your blog I had to read and comment. I knew you were going to talk about the Russel Westbrook picture so I wasn’t surprised when I opened your blog and saw it. I agree with you that this picture won’t make it in the one-hour-long highlight video Brodie has, but the picture will definitely stay iconic. It is also the introduction for pictures taken from above. Most iconic NBA pictures are taken from eye level, but the amazingness of this picture taken from above will definitely cause a top-down picture revolution. I would say that this second picture is not that iconic, but it is still fire. The back to back game winners he hits were so hype and gave hope to the Chicago bulls franchise, which is hard to do. The last picture is one of the most iconic in basketball, and for good reason. That picture will always be iconic because of the greatness of MJ. I like how you talked about the backstory behind all the pictures and what happened in the game before them instead of just describing the pictures.
April 15th, 2023 at 11:08 am
Dude, I absolutely have been loving all of these birds eye view photos the NBA started taking of the players. The Russell Westbrook photo is so sick. It really just displays his emotion and love for the game that I think is not generally there for other players. Just him laying on the ground with opposing players surrounding him after a tough and-1 shot is just amazing photography in my eyes. I really do have to give props to the NBA for this. I also love how you give so much background information for all of the images that you write about. It really helps the people reading this if they are not as big basketball fans such as you and I. Seeing Demar Derozan really succeed on the bulls made me feel happy for the guy. Everyone did think that the bulls did too much and got a player that is useless for the amount of money. But there’s a reason the bulls have been able to stay in contention for the playoffs and that is because of his 4th quarter heroics. He really puts the team on his back when the team needs him most as well. Seeing Michael Jordan shot on youtube was incredible for the first time. Although he isn’t my GOAT, I still completely understand why people see him as such a dominant basketball player.