Being a rookie in the NBA on opening night is like going to your first school dance. It’s not the first day of school because training camp has already passed. Preseason is gone, so you’re acclimated to the people around you. But that first high school dance? PHEW, THAT ACNE IS FLARING UP AT THE WRONG TIME.
NBA rookie Jonathan Isaac lived your new job nightmare by forgetting to wear his jersey
Think you’d give the shirt off your back to play in the NBA? Jonathan Isaac nearly did.
That was Magic rookie Jonathan Isaac on opening night when he forgot to put his jersey on before heading to the bench. As gleefully pointed out by teammate Bismack Biyombo:
Rookie mistake, obvs. Nerves can do that. But let’s take a step back and peel through the layers.
THIS FACE
This is the face you make when you absolutely know you messed up.
This is hilarious. Not only because Issac forgot to put on his whole jersey — which, by the way, has to be the most obvious requirement for playing in an NBA basketball game — but because of that face.
You’ve seen this face before. You’ve made this face before. If you’re saying that you haven’t, you’re lying to yourself.
That’s the “I forgot to pull the chicken out the freezer to thaw, Mom,” face. Or that “Yo, wait I forgot to unplug the iron,” face.
The fact that Biyombo knew and hid the jersey the entire time
This makes me think that this may have been a rookie prank on Isaac. In fact, I’m 97.6 percent sure that this was a rookie prank.
First of all, there’s a camera set up perfectly to record this behind the bench, and Biyombo was somehow able to get his hands on the footage. Second of all, someone passed Biyombo the jersey, which suggests they were probably just hiding it for the reveal. Third of all, the laugh Biyombo belts out after telling Isaac he’s left his jersey is incredible.
“My boy nervous,” Biyombo said.
These are all the makings of a prank. Man, this is good.
He tried to put the jersey on while on the bench
This is the best part. Isaac was prepared to unzip his warmup right then and there and put his jersey on in the midst of the action. Someone saved him again, telling him to go into the tunnel and do what he needed to do.
But the fact that he was ready to handle it right then and there is gutsy. I like it.
Either way, Isaac has some good teammates who didn’t let him down when the time came. They didn’t let their boy check in with no jersey on, and that’s a beautiful thing. Whether this is a prank or not, it’s hilarious. Shoutout to Biyombo for holding his rookie down.
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