Jameer Nelson Smacks Teammate

A friend just directed my attention to a great video he came across on YouTube.  There’s such a thing as getting caught up in the moment during an intense part of a game or getting carried away with your celebrating, but at what point does a teammate get pissed off?  I understand Jameer Nelson is a starter and one of the most important players on the Orlando Magic, but does that mean he gets to smack the bench players in the mouth when he gets excited?  Fast forward to about the 50-second mark in this video if you’re interested in seeing Jameer Nelson smack his own teammate in the mouth after hitting back-to-back three pointers in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals.

The best part is Nelson just carries on like he didn’t even do it.  No extension of the hand to indicate it was a mistake.  No “my bad” type moment between teammates.  It seems as though he’s either too in the zone to realize, or he’s taking the stance of, “I’m a superstar, you’re a bench player, you got smacked in the mouth — deal with it.”  The shots were no question huge, and they helped prevent the Magic from being swept.  While I’m sure he was going for the hand and missed, would it kill him to acknowledge that he just clubbed his own teammate? I know, I don’t understand what it’s like to hit a big three in an NBA game. In any event, this is one of those clips I find myself watching over and over again.

Video Credit: YouTube user rudythetech