Roy Hibbert and the Indiana Pacers have viewed themselves as outsiders trying to knock off the heavily-favored Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference finals. They definitely have that “us against the world” mentality, and nobody exemplifies that attitude more than Hibbert.
Hibbert went for 24 points and 11 rebounds in the Pacers’ 91-77 win over the Heat on Saturday, and after the game he took the opportunity to blast the media for supposedly disrespecting him and his team.
One media member asked Hibbert why he finished so low in Defensive Player of the Year voting, and he gave a profane response.
“You finished only 10th in [Defensive] Player of the Year voting. How do you think that’s possible when you alter so many shots?” he was asked.
“I mean, you know what? Cuz y’all motherf—ers don’t watch us play throughout the year, to tell you the truth,” Hibbert said. “Alright? So that’s fine, you know. I’m going to be real with you, and I don’t care if I get fined. We play, we’re not on TV all the time. Reporters are the ones that are voting. It is what it is. And if I don’t make it, that’s fine. I’m still going to do what I have to do.”
While I appreciated the fire Hibbert showed in that response, some say that his point is inaccurate. Their evidence is that his teammate Paul George won Most Improved Player, which is also voted on by the media. But I disagree, because it’s easy to see George’s ascendance just by looking at his stats, whereas you need to really watch them play to see Hibbert’s full defensive value.
Hibbert also had another questionable moment in his press conference. The Pacers center said “no homo” after one comment. “No homo” is a street saying people use when they recognize they said something that could be interpreted as homosexual, so they say “no homo” to clarify that that’s not how it was intended. “Pause” is a phrase that means the same thing, and we have seen other NBA players use that expression, too.
You can hear his comment in the video below:
