There Are Few Things More Electric Than A Game Winner

Adam Hagy. Getty Images.

While the games may not matter in terms of official stats or team record, don't let anyone try and tell you that preseason NBA basketball is meaningless. Never forget that not only does every single dribble matter, but these games also give us awesome basketball moments which as a sports fan I will always welcome. I don't really give a shit when it happens, if you do something awesome on a basketball court, I'm in. It could be Summer League, preseason, regular season, the playoffs, or the NBA Finals. Makes no difference to me. 

For example, game winners will always rule. Who doesn't love a good old-fashioned game winner? If I'm mindlessly scrolling and I stumble across a game winner from pretty much any level, it's an instant watch. There's just something about the moment that always delivers. 

Take this shot from Seth Lundy from the Hawks/Pacers preseason game. You can't tell me this moment wasn't electric

Sure it wasn't Game 7 of the NBA Finals and the arena isn't exactly packed, but for those who were there? It may as well have been. Preseason in the NBA is a weird time because once we get within two weeks of the season, you're already so drunk on hope and preseason hype that if you get any sort of awesome moment in the fake games, it enhances your experience tenfold. Your brain goes to dangerous places and there's nothing wrong with getting a little irrational. That's what the preseason is for.

Do I know who Seth Lundy is? Not really. He played in 9 games for the Hawks last year and scored a total of 14 points on 23/23% splits. He's probably not even going to make the final Hawks roster. But does that matter? Hell no. That's the power of the game winner. Everything about that play was a prayer, from the perfectly missed FT to the perfect offensive rebound tap out. Then once the Hawks secured the ball, nobody panicked and rushed a bad shot. Somehow after semi-pumpfaking Lundy rises up to get a clean look at about 1.8 seconds left and the rest is history. The make was pure too, which makes it even better. A moment like the Kawhi Game Winner is another level, but there's also something sweet about a perfect swish in that moment.

So, does the result of the game matter? No. But preseason or not, that game winner ruled and that's really all I care about.

As a Hawks fan, there was plenty more to be excited about. This pass from Vit Krejci was pretty fucking insane

and their #1 pick Zaccharie Risacher looked MUCH better compared to the last time we saw him play out in Vegas

and at the end of the day, I'm just happy that we're approaching a time in the sports calendar where elite basketball highlights are going to become a nightly occurrence. It's starting to get dark as shit earlier and earlier these days, if you live in a cold-weather city, winter is on the horizon and getting closer by the day. Things are about to be pretty shitty for about 8 months, but at least basketball is back in our lives again to get us through it.