No, you’re not reading that incorrectly. ESPN and Marvel are combining forces to create the most ridiculous NBA basketball telecast we’ll ever see.
Honestly, this probably tops the absurdity of the NFL and Nickelodeon’s Spongebob simulcast. That’s how wild this thing sounds.
There’s a whole plot to this thing. Apparently, Marvel’s Avengers have received an “ominous threat” from an invading alien army that is coming to earth to take the planet over, per a release from Marvel.
The Black Panther and Iron Man realize that they’re going to need more help and have to expand the Avengers. So, naturally, they go scout…some NBA players?
They’ll be “scouting” players from the Warriors-Pelicans game including Stephen Curry and Zion Williamson, per The Athletic. Here’s how it works.
The players the Avengers will “scout” Curry, Williamson, Draymond Green, Andrew Wiggins, Brandon Ingram and Lonzo Ball. Players will gain “Marvel Hero” points for every point, rebound, assist, steal and block, losing points for missed field goals, free throws and turnovers. The player with the most “Marvel Hero” points on the winning team will be crowned Marvel Champion.
Look, I know it’s fun to play the game of “which player would you pick to defend the Earth against an alien invasion” game. But, uh, this might be taking it a bit too literally.
It’s like they took the plot of Space Jam, threw the Avengers in there and said “let’s do it, y’all.” Just absurd.
The reactions online were mixed.
If ESPN thinks they can trick me into watching a basketball game by doing AVENGERS meets SPACE JAM, then yes. The answer is yes. https://t.co/fRam2fi21H
— sammy kay (@thatSammyKay) April 23, 2021
https://t.co/IMVnpLNqOl https://t.co/ZvW069wtAr
— Brice Paterik 🌟 (@BricePaterik) April 23, 2021
— 🥂🍷🥃ɥɔıᴚ🥃🍹🍸 (@JustRichHansen) April 23, 2021
I can it now. I’m going to be grumpy this day https://t.co/MRMY0wQ0DZ
— Marcus Thompson (@ThompsonScribe) April 23, 2021
Lots of people called it Disney Space Jam. Which…to be fair…it kind of is.
Does Marvel know about Space Jam? https://t.co/LQhNNEQbY0
— Lesley Ryder (@RyderReally) April 23, 2021
So…..Disney Space Jam, got it
— David Baskerville (@UniqDna) April 23, 2021
Yeah, this is totally wild. Will we all watch it? Probably so. But, I’ve got to be honest. Compared to this? An alien invasion doesn’t sound so bad. We’ll see how it goes though.
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