Stacey King singing a small part of the chorus of Lionel Richie’s 1983 hit “All Night Long” whenever Otto Porter (who doesn’t even look that much like Richie but whatever) does something particularly exciting is one of the best things going on in the NBA right now. But he has to be singing it. If he just says the words without the little melody then it’s not cool at all. King’s singing talent combined with him dredging up forgotten centers of the past and using their names by saying “IRRELEVANT BIGMAN FROM ANCIENT TIMES would be proud” whenever Robin Lopez makes a shot (exciting or not) means that I’m enjoying Bulls broadcasts more than ever, even if Neil Funk isn’t around all the time anymore.
Most Bulls games need fun little things like that to make them more exciting. Not this one. How many overtimes were there? I’m not good with big numbers. It was a lot, and each successive one upped the intensity to higher and higher levels until the commentators for both teams were just screaming at the top of their lungs in lieu of actual commentary. The fans in the arena definitely got their money’s worth, and if you were watching at home, so did you. Unless you’re one of those one-eyed pirates who streams their NBA games, in which case you didn’t get your money’s worth because you didn’t pay any money because you’re a dirty pirate, but I’m sure all of my viewers are above such piratical behavior. Right? Right.
Of course, with so many overtimes, this high-scoring performance for Porter deserves at least one asterisk. Maybe two. Not nearly as many asterisks as Trae Young gets, but still. I use this comparison all the time in these situations, but is particularly apt here: did Wilt need an overtime or several to get his 100? No. So why did Porter need them to score only 31?
This is an apt question because I’m pretty sure, like 95 percent confidence level here, that Porter is Chamberlain’s grandson.