Damian Lillard’s last-second, long-ass 3-pointer that dispatched the Oklahoma City Thunder for good in the NBA playoffs on Tuesday night has been labeled “psychotic,” “cold-blooded,” and akin to “first-degree murder.”
But if you look at the photo taken seconds after he hit the 37-foot shot amid all the jubilation and celebration around the Portland Trail Blazers point guard, he looks anything but overwhelmed by the moment. Or even excited. No, he looks about as tranquil as a person who just scored 50 points to win his team the game in a high-pressure situation can possibly be.
His face shows contentment. Hell, it shows a hint of boredom even.
Naturally, his calm reaction to the chaos around him was meme-worthy. And people quickly got to work.
First, here’s the ridiculous shot.
🗣M 🗣V 🗣P 🗣 pic.twitter.com/iu9Rz77UyQ
— Portland Trail Blazers (@trailblazers) April 24, 2019
Now, here it is set to the soaring climax of Celine Dion’s “My Heart Will Go On.”
Dame Lillard. Onions.
— Mason Asher (@MasonHAsher) April 24, 2019
Biggest shot = Titanic Music pic.twitter.com/TOzfg8bCj4
His mug also reminded people of somebody else who continues to live (and be loved) in the internet’s heart.
Wait… pic.twitter.com/P3ndg8vGKO
— Kris (@KrisKoivisto) April 24, 2019
Unbelievable Dame Lillard. pic.twitter.com/o1AasDw3SK
— Shaun Sundholm (@f_letter) April 24, 2019
Others thought the expression on his face and the position of his body were created to make him immortal.
https://twitter.com/mattwhitlockPM/status/1120929649234776064
— Matt (@MidloMatt) April 24, 2019
And, of course, there were plenty of other thoughts by those who fell in love with that one moment.
The many faces of @Dame_Lillard@trailblazers #NBAonTNT #NBAPlayoffs2019 pic.twitter.com/Fj05D9n8gn
— Tim Sorenson (@timmysorenson) April 24, 2019
https://twitter.com/nitzbluv/status/1120918947308556289
https://twitter.com/MiCxSiC/status/1120930207693717506
https://twitter.com/coolghost101/status/1120925919990796288
Perhaps, though, the most cold-blooded moment of all occurred in the seconds between when he nailed his shot and when he made his face.
Dame waves goodbye to the Thunder pic.twitter.com/kBmHYbAuJr
— CJ Fogler account may or may not be notable (@cjzero) April 24, 2019
After the game, Paul George, the Thunder guard who was defending Lillard at the time of his miracle, said the shot wasn’t a good decision.
“I don’t care what anyone says—that’s a bad shot,” George said. “But he made it. That story will be told that it was bad shot and you have to live with it.”
Statically speaking, Lillard’s attempt apparently only had a 13 percent chance of being successful when the basketball left his hands. But after the face he made when he swished it, there was a 100 percent chance he would be immortalized by memes.
READ MORE: