Fansided

Ranking the new NBA hashtags

By Niccolo Hilgendorf

Oct 26, 2016; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Detroit Pistons head coach Stan Van Gundy gestures as he speaks to his players during a 109-91 loss to Toronto Raptors at Air Canada Centre. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 26, 2016; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Detroit Pistons head coach Stan Van Gundy gestures as he speaks to his players during a 109-91 loss to Toronto Raptors at Air Canada Centre. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports /
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Oct 28, 2016; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Louis Williams (23) is fouled by Utah Jazz guard Shelvin Mack (8) in the fourth quarter at Vivint Smart Home Arena. The Utah Jazz defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 96-89. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Swinger-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 28, 2016; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Louis Williams (23) is fouled by Utah Jazz guard Shelvin Mack (8) in the fourth quarter at Vivint Smart Home Arena. The Utah Jazz defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 96-89. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Swinger-USA TODAY Sports /

Tier 2: Trying way to hard

13. #BrooklynGrit

12.#TakeNote

11. #MadeInPHILA

10. #DCFamily

9. #HEATIsOn

We have arrived at the second-highest tier, but that doesn’t mean it gets much prettier. What do all these hashtags have in common? Answer: they’re all way too much. I’m not happy about putting these teams in the second-highest tier, but I can’t in good conscience rank any of them below the likes of #WeArePHX either, so here they stay.

My biggest complaint here is #BrooklynGrit. First of all, it feels like plagiarism. All things grit and grind belong to the Grizzlies, and it feels a bit like our friends the Nets are making a subtle move to steal the label. The main problem, however, is that there is nothing gritty about the Brooklyn Nets. In fact, fantasy players stack their lineups with players from the opposing team every time a Brooklyn game is on the slate. But let’s give the Nets some credit, they did win their home opener against the Pacers the other night, which put them in the win column after two losses. If they can win 40 games this season, I will issue a public apology and forever retire from hashtag analysis.

Somewhere in Salt Lake City the marketing team held a meeting to decide on a hashtag for the team that was short enough to type quickly and really, really clever. They came up with #TakeNote, which makes use of the double meaning of the word note and alludes to their team name, which happens to be a music genre. They should have just stuck with #Jazz and saved the rest of us the secondhand embarrassment.

Is it good when something is #MadeInPHILA? They made 19 and 18 wins the last two seasons, which was good for lottery picks but can’t have been much fun for the fans. Was Sixers General Manger Sam Hinkie’s super-tanking strategy #MadeInPHILA too? Let’s not be too hard on the Sixers, some good things have come of their losing ways. Most notable is Joel Embiid, who is back at full strength and already showing flashes of greatness.

#HEATIsOn and #DCFamily sit atop this tier due to the simple fact that their hashtags are less bad than the rest. I would say more about it, but on the next slide finally are the good ones and I’m too anxious to get there already.

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