Let Me Explain: The Fall
Ah - we knew it was coming. The Infamous trip. My “Shaqtin’ Moment”. The Stumble at The Mecca. Whatever you want to call it, you’ve seen it, I know you have. And that’s fine. I love it.
“What the hell happened here?” is a question I have been asked so many times. So I think you deserve to hear it from the guy who made the blunder; and has seen the GIF in his twitter feed thousands upon thousands of times.
But first, we need a little back story.
Throughout my years as a hooper, I’ve been known as an athletic guy - mainly, “a bouncy white guy”. I’ve always utilized my athleticism and loved when I was given the nickname “Slam Dekker” in high school. Soon that name would be on @BadgerMBB’s twitter account nightly, and then into the Toyota Center where the PA Announcer would yell it on every Slam Dunk.
Fast-forward to November 2nd, 2016. My second year with the Rockets and only my 5th game of that season. I was a newly added addition to the 2nd-unit rotation and quickly gained the reputation of a guy coming off the bench to bring a spark and not be afraid to attack. Every night I wanted to give Mike D’Antoni a reason to keep me in the lineup - and I was having a whole lotta fun.
My first game at Madison Square Garden. So many great moments in this historic building. All day I thought about how I could impact the game and make an impression or have a memorable moment. Boy did I. The Knicks (and every team) knew my scouting report. “Force Dekker to hit his first 3. If he does, respect it. If not, he’s attacking every time.” I’m not dumb. I knew this. But Carmelo Anthony wasn’t dumb either…
My first touch of the game, I attack Melo off the Right Wing and gather to dunk on him. Before I knew it, I was sideways in midair and then on my ass. I hear “That shit’s not happening here tonight Dekk!’ from the future Hall Of Famer. Message received. After a review, the foul is called a flagrant and I hit 1 of 2 Free Throws. But I’m pissed off- but also kind of happy. Melo acknowledged that he knew I was on the court. And he’s talking shit to me, this is awesome. I also wanted to prove him wrong, and I wasn’t going to stop attacking until I did.
Minutes later our second unit is making a run. Playing fast, hitting threes, getting stops. On the defensive end we are in our usual switching defense, and I’m switched onto Justin Holiday. Beard is on my matchup, Carmelo, and forces a tough jumpshot from the top-of-the-key. It’s a long miss and Holiday lunges for the ball, giving me a split second to cut him off and intercept the loose ball.
All I see ahead of me is an open court. My favorite - let’s show The Garden what I got.
I also see Courtney Lee. And this is where it all goes downhill, literally.
Remembering Melo’s words and my hunger to dunk on someone, I see this as my chance. Courtney is streaking down the left side of the court, and I notice he’s getting his steps perfectly gathered to contest me at the rim. This made me even more excited. I have a chance to make a real big highlight here. One for the ages.
If you rewatch the clip, you’ll see my eyes light up and look at Courtney; but in that split second, my brain and feet were absolutely not on the same page. I was trying to get my steps PERFECT but my brain and legs were going wayyyy too fast to execute a natural bodily function that I’ve done a million times. The moment my left foot clipped my right heel I knew it was going to be catastrophic. I did everything in my power to regain balance and that just made things worse. Like a newborn doe on ice, I went into full breakdown mode.
First my feet, then the balance, then the ball, then my knees, and then the Jeers and Boos. The basketball hit me in the nose so hard I swore it was broke. I couldn’t feel my face. My ears were ringing and I just blew my chance at a highlight play. I tried to play it off cool but I knew it wasn’t going away when the Knicks fans were still cheering my name minutes later.
Timeout on the court. We get to the bench and Coach D’Antoni is about to draw up a play. As he takes his seat he stops, looks at my right knee (which is now bleeding from sliding on the ground) and just LOSES it. He can’t contain his laughter. The whole team follows suit and just bursts into laughter. Little did they know, but this was exactly what I needed. I was a young player, putting so much pressure on myself to play well and they made me feel like “it’s all good”.
We go on to win. I brushed off my blunder and played a nice game; got retribution with a baseline dunk in the second half, (Thank God) and got a little fake ovation from the Knicks fans, which brought a huge smile to my face.
After the game, I had no idea what to expect when I checked my phone. 500+ texts. 1,500+ tweets, and I’m trending for my epic collapse. The only way I knew how to respond was to laugh at myself and join in on the fun. I had nothing to be embarrassed about, and still don’t. I was doing what I love, in the World’s Most Famous Arena, playing for the Houston Rockets. I had no time to be embarrassed.
My teammates wouldn’t let it go too easily. The next morning on our flight home, Trevor Ariza and Bobby Brown watched the clip on loop the entire flight. Laughing hysterically every time. It never got old to them, and still to this day they feel the exact same way. But that’s what teammates are for. You spend more time with them than your own family, and if you can’t take fun-loving jokes from them, you’re in for a long career.
So there you have it. The story of The Great Fall of 2016. It is still as funny to me as it is to all the people who tweet it at me everyday. Hopefully it makes a little more sense to you now. No matter how many great plays or great dunks I had the following 3 years in the NBA and now past 2 years overseas, the Fall will be the overwhelming response to each one. But that’s what twitter is for. If you can’t chuckle at yourself once in a while, you’re living life the wrong way. Find the positives in every blunder, brush it off, and get back to work.
Everyone screws up. Just maybe not at MSG on national television…
Hope this gave you a laugh. Go watch the clip again.
Much Love!
