Sundiata Gaines, Thank You

He is no Robbert Horry. You know the guy who lived only for a few moments of the season. The guy you could only count on when the game is on the line. Sundiata Gaines is definitely not him. Horry made those shots in the NBA playoffs.

He is by no means Michael Jordan. Fans of MJ remember only the “made” game winning shots. As far as we are concerned he never missed a single one of those shots. He was infallible, the perfect definition of clutch. Sundiata Gaines is not him by a long shot. Jordan did it all the time.

He is not in any ways Kobe Bryant. Kobe is the cold killer. Ice in his veins. The personification of confidence. He never doubts the success of completing his mission. He is this generations top closer. Sundiata Gaines for sure is not him. Kobe lives for these shots.

Sundiata Gaines is the moment. He is the guy we all pretended to be in the driveway, counting down from five seconds. None of us really ever had a chance to be Michael or Kobe. We didn’t make the shot in the backyard  often enough to be Horry.

In our hearts of hearts we were always that guy who wasn’t expected to make the shot. We were the player that no one wanted to take the shot. We were the guy on the end of the bench who ended up the hero.

Thank you Sundiata Gaines for giving me a visual for all those imaginary games I played by myself as a child. Thank you for helping me remember those moments again. I hope that there are kids out there right now counting down 3….2….1 and pretending they are you.

Fanhouse: Sundiata Gaines Saves the Jazz Day

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