Tyson Chandler was a towering presence on defense. He enjoyed a 20-year-long career in the NBA, earning an All-Star appearance, a DPOY, and a ring. He was known for some dunks, but more so for his ability to block most of what opposing big men cared to bring into the paint.
Chandler won his championship with the Dallas Mavericks, providing a defensive anchor to the team and allowing Dirk Nowitzki to focus on torching the opposition. And during his stint with the Mavs, he had a funny altercation in 2019 with none other than Stephen Curry.
Curry was tossing a shoe to Marreese Speights, who had lost it on a previous play when Chandler hilariously showed off his blocking prowess by swatting it out of the air. The fact frustrated Curry, but it became incredibly popular at the time, and a video of it has again gone viral on Reddit, with fans making several jokes about the situation.
“DPoY for a reason. Shoe-swats per 36 is literally untouchable.”
“You can’t teach those instincts.”
“One of the best defensive plays of all time.”
“Get that weak shoe out of here.”
“That moment is simultaneously super intense and intensely comical. Loved it.”
“What kind of call was Steph expecing there?? Sole-tending?”
“Shoe-ting foul. Two free throws.”
“I mean come on, who throws a shoe?”
“Blocks don’t get better than that, Tyson was special.”
“That’s the kind of energy I want on my team!”
“‘Get that shoe out of here’ is one of the all time GOAT calls.”
“Genuinely one of my favorite plays ever, in no small part because of the reactions of the announcers, players, and fans.”
While there are several moments in NBA history that fans remember, highlight dunks and amazing blocks, it plays like this that gain cult-classic status in the lore of the game. Curry may not have been too thrilled with it at the time, but he’s had a long and successful enough career that he probably has a laugh about it now, just like everyone else that remembers it.
