The NBA season has long been over for the Los Angeles Clippers. And in case he might have forgotten that one of their players was reminded of that in no uncertain terms recently.
It started innocently enough. Clippers forward Nicolas Batum is back in France and wanted to see what went down while he was sleeping.
Just woke up from my first night in France. What did I miss?
— Nicolas Batum (@nicolas88batum) June 28, 2022
That was a really unfortunate way to ask that question because it left the door wide open for one obvious response.
One fan named Tiffany kicked that door down.
The playoffs https://t.co/m2ScO9qwGJ
— Tiffany (@Amor_Tiffany) June 28, 2022
Fans reacted in a big way to Tiffany’s tweet.
TIFFANY IS RUTHLESS https://t.co/GHX3b2LuBW pic.twitter.com/y2qjJYg6nU
— Clarke County Dawg (@ClarkeCo_Dawg) June 28, 2022
He's trying, Tiffany https://t.co/5QnXID3Qhs
— Michael Dunlap (@DunlapSports) June 28, 2022
Trolling level 💯 https://t.co/CVzZFHO4EJ
— 𖡼 𖤣 ࿐𖥧 😶🌫️ (@backslash__zero) June 28, 2022
Flagrant 6 https://t.co/n447JfnVWW
— ▪ (@AhhourSZN) June 28, 2022
Ma'am woke up and went for the Flagrant 2 😂👏🏻 https://t.co/oQLe45m9R1
— MashedPotatoBaby (@IntlSpaceNathan) June 28, 2022
Girl 🤣 😅 🤣🤣 https://t.co/BjSklDyMDD
— Comfort Agyemfra (@CAgyemfra) June 28, 2022
https://t.co/wOV8BP8RxV pic.twitter.com/zWFu4ahMS4
— joel (@joelsancar) June 28, 2022
Twitter is a ruthless place 😂 https://t.co/mL4f4cU3TX
— Hingle McCringleberry (@KonartistNupe) June 28, 2022
https://t.co/jclG8xo99R pic.twitter.com/ucst56Fvln
— Bula (@Sniperbula33) June 28, 2022
Even Batum felt the need to respond.
That’s rude Tiffany, very rude https://t.co/EhPveDlYbO
— Nicolas Batum (@nicolas88batum) June 28, 2022
Is Batum correct? Was Tiffany being rude here? That’s debatable. But was she being truthful? That’s not.
The Clippers did indeed miss the playoffs. Los Angeles did qualify for the play-in tournament but didn’t go any further than that, losing 109-104 to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first game and 105-101 to the Memphis Grizzlies in the second.
Normally, “What did I miss?” is a harmless question. But for a professional athlete, there’s some risk involved. Batum found that out the hard way, thanks to one fan who did not miss her opportunity. For an athlete whose team just missed the playoffs, though, it’s an opportunity for trolling. Usually, someone’s going to take advantage of that opportunity.