Sophia Michaels
The NBA’s HORSE competition got started on Sunday night with a major upset as the betting favorite, Trae Young, fell to Chauncey Billups in the opening round that was, well, slow to get going. The video quality was, unsurprisingly, not very good as it was a DIY stream from phones and iPads, but more disappointing was the lack of creativity, particularly on the part of Trae Young.
Trae had the honors and got off to a hot start, taking an H-O-R to no letter lead on Billups, as Chauncey missed a left handed free throw and behind the backboard shot early.
However, once Trae missed, Chauncey took advantage and tied things up quickly with the second-year All-Star by taking him out of his comfort zone and forcing him into some shots he clearly had not practiced.
From there, the two traded makes and misses, with Young refusing to go away from his beloved left-handed free throw and behind the backboard shot, despite Mark Jones of ESPN egging him on about a tweet that said he would only shoot halfcourt shots. Young never ventured very far back in his driveway, and his failure to execute the few shots he clearly had practiced before the competition led to his downfall.
Ultimately, Billups went back to a bank shot from the top of the key and was able to put away Young for the somewhat shocking upset.
Hopefully the creativity will improve as the competition goes on, but for now, the favorite is out and the elder statesman moves on.
Written by: Uproxx
