The rise of ‘too small,’ the NBA’s biggest little celebration

IT WAS THE first pre-season game, but part of Patrick Beverley’s game was in mid-season form.

It was October 6, the day of Beverley’s debut with the Sixers after signing a one-year contract for this season, when the antagonistic point guard rose – or rather lowered – to the height after a bucket early in the third quarter.

Beverley drove the lane, faking the ball after recovering his dribble on the left block, and pivoted in a nice jump hook over 6-foot-6 Boston Celtics wing Jaylen Brown. Taking one step in her jog back down to the ground, Beverley bent down and extended her left arm toward the ground, her hand parallel to the ground. He looked at his hand, for effect, as it remained about 18 inches from the hardwood as Beverley crossed the Lucky the Leprechaun logo at midcourt.

At 6-foot-2 and 180 pounds, Beverley is often the smallest player on the court. But Beverley fires off the “too small” taunt, usually with a grunt, perfectly – and regularly.

“Man, I’m so lost in basketball, sometimes I don’t even know when it comes out,” Beverley told ESPN. “I think it’s just something that happens [of] the emotion there. A big blow or something. Like, you know, if someone wants to do the shimmy after a 3 or a no-look 3 or whatever, I think this is one of those plays. »

Back in Boston, Beverley’s gesture meant more than just a one-time hit: it was a continuation of basketball’s most frequent and hilarious taunt: when a very tall man hits another very tall man, crouches and extends his hand towards the approaching court. Sometimes there is a cry to emphasize it — It’s too small ! Sometimes this is not the case.

In either case, “too small” has become a staple celebration for NBA players, busted by 6-foot guards at least as often as by 7-foot goliaths. And its infiltration extends far beyond basketball. Atlanta Braves superstar Ronald Acuña Jr. and his teammates adopted it, absurdly celebrating hits with the gesture. Acuña even showed up to this year’s All-Star Game wearing a custom chain featuring a gaudy pendant of himself leaning over with his hand just above his ankles.

Perhaps most appropriately, it was used as an end zone celebration in the NFL. Minnesota Vikings star receiver Justin Jefferson was fined $10,927 last month for unsportsmanlike conduct after celebrating a touchdown against the Carolina Panthers with his own undersized crouch.

He has even infiltrated Hollywood.

“It’s just something to have fun,” Beverley said. “Nothing more.”

Some of the NBA’s best “too small” provocateurs might disagree – each bringing their own twist, tactics and philosophy to what has become one of the league’s most eye-catching celebrations.

RUSSELL WESTBROOK’S EYES lit up when he saw a skinny rookie guard defending him on the right wing. It was midway through the second quarter of a road game on Jan. 13, 2018, and the reigning MVP had Charlotte Hornets lottery pick Malik Monk at his mercy.

Westbrook gestured with his left thumb across the court, telling two of his Oklahoma City Thunder teammates to move aside. He wanted to play one-on-one, like a bully.

Once they did, he turned around and went to work, backing Monk up with three dribbles to get to a spot just above the block. Westbrook got Monk to bite on a pump fake, initiated contact that the rookie tried to avoid and shook off a 14-foot and-1.

After the whistle, Westbrook stepped past the 3-point line, shouting toward no one in particular in the sleepy late-afternoon crowd inside Charlotte’s Spectrum Center. Suddenly, Westbrook brought his right hand parallel to the ground and held it just below his waist.

“It’s too small !” Westbrook shouted.

Westbrook slapped his right wrist and repeated, “He’s too small!” — before exchanging high-fives with a few teammates and heading to the free-throw line.

In this spontaneous moment, a basketball celebration phenomenon was born. “Too short” taunts have become commonplace throughout the NBA and have spread to all levels of the game, occurring comically in on-court confrontations between players less than 5 feet tall who impersonate the stars that they watch on television.

The original inspiration? Simply pointing out the obvious.

“I’m probably strong enough for my position. There are rarely nights where the people playing my position guard me. That doesn’t happen. So when they do, I’m going to punish them,” Westbrook told the LA Clippers. ” media day in October, a smug smile bursting across his face as he sat and mimed rocking a baby, the predecessor to “too small.”

“And when I punish them, I let them know.”

“Too small” – and variations of the taunt – is displayed by players of all sizes and shapes across the league.

Seven-footer Giannis Antetokounmpo, absurdly, is one of many players who have adopted the “too small” gesture. He frequently celebrates his drives to the basket by holding his hand parallel to the ground, usually at hip level, as he begins to step back on defense. Sometimes, for emphasis, Antetokounmpo incorporates a forward lean to lower his hand below the knee.

Kevin Durant, a nearly 7-footer, has his own version of the taunt. On occasion, usually after passing a jumper over a defender not tall enough to bother him, Durant will pinch his fingers about an inch apart.

Zion Williamson, one of the league’s most explosive jumpers despite being 6-6 and 284 pounds, mixes in “too small” with his more frequent one-arm flex of his bicep muscle.

A big man might point “too small” toward the opposing bench after punishing a post guard on a switch — a message that the defensive strategy was seen as a form of disrespect.

“Sometimes I do it just to get my teammates or the crowd involved,” Williamson told ESPN. “Because all those little moments of energy, they play a role later in the game.”

SOMETIMES, MOTIVATION This is pure pettiness.

Think Patrick Beverley again: The longtime prickly guard declared himself “too short” after an and-1 against Chris Paul in a December game last season, stooping so low that his hand right was less than a foot from the ground.

Beverley and Paul have had plenty of trouble over the years — pushing, shoving, elbowing and bickering — so Beverley taking the opportunity to taunt the 6-foot Paul wasn’t necessarily a surprise. But the moment had come; the bucket pulled Beverley’s Los Angeles Lakers to within…24 points.

Beverley also had plenty of premeditated motivation for perhaps his most memorable “too small” taunt, which occurred during his return to Crypto.com Arena weeks after being dumped by the Lakers at the trade deadline. trades. Beverley, who had signed with the Chicago Bulls on the buyout market, pivoted in the lane and hit a floater over 6-9, 250-pound LeBron James for a dagger bucket with just over a minute left in Chicago’s victory.

Crouching Beverley already had his right hand at knee level before the ball crossed the net, lowering his hand inches from the purple paint in the lane. Finally, emphasizing the insult, Beverley hit the ground.

Revenge came a few nights later when the Lakers visited the Bulls in Chicago.

Austin Reaves hit a floating dagger over Beverley, giving the Lakers a 14 lead with less than three minutes to play, and immediately bent down with his hand parallel to the ground, holding the “too small” pose during the first steps of his backpedaling.

“It wasn’t something I thought I would do the whole game,” Reaves said after the victory, “but I felt [it was the] right time, right situation.”

Message delivered – and it was well received in the Lakers locker room.

“AR always had my back. Always,” James said after the match with a big smile.

In the 2022 playoffs, Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant only had to wait one possession to get back at Beverley for a “too small” taunt. Beverley held the pose after beating Morant during the critical period of Game 5 of their first-round series.

Seconds later, 6-3, 175-pound Morant made a similar move after scoring in the lane. Morant’s bucket fell to D’Angelo Russell, who traded with Beverley on a screen, but it was clear which player Morant had in mind when he lowered his hand.

Morant participated in a similar sequence with New Orleans Pelicans 6-foot guard Jose Alvarado in a November game last season, getting hit with the “too small” on defense and then immediately returning the favor at the other end of the field.

“If I ever get hit, more than likely I’m going to be back in a situation where most of the time you’re going to get the same thing on the next play, but just a little bit lower,” Morant said. last season. “Yeah, just a little lower.”

Among the too-little scoffers and the too-little scoffers, Alvarado occupies a high place in both cases. Like Beverley, “Grand Theft Alvarado” has a tendency to get under his opponents’ skin, which likely explains why he is frequently reminded of his size after an opponent finishes on him. It also makes things even sweeter when Alvarado has the opportunity to give back.

“It’s all about having fun with the game,” Alvarado told ESPN. “It’s never about disrespect. It’s about the flow of the game.

“And you’re too small sometimes. That’s how it is.”

ESPN’s Baxter Holmes, Andrew Lopez and Dave McMenamin contributed to this report.