Cavs Coach’s Comical Challenge of Ref Loved by NBA Fans

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The Cleveland Cavaliers won Game 2 of their first-round series with the Miami Heat on Wednesday night to take a 2-0 lead and their head coach, Kenny Atkinson, won the internet with his funny move while challenging a call made by the officials.
Thankfully NBATV's captured this moment because it was too good. Atkinson was standing next to an official when a questionable call was made and he quickly turned and looked at the ref with a very relatable frustrated look on his face. He then kept the eye contact up, called a timeout, and immediately motioned for official review of the play.
Sit back and enjoy this:
Kenny Atkinson with the greatest challenge in NBA history😭pic.twitter.com/Z5iDqI6gzG
— NBA Memes (@NBAMemes) April 24, 2025
Fans rightfully loved it:
Coach of the year for me🤣 https://t.co/N0JS5wgJpd
— Dan (@YaboiGavril21) April 24, 2025
This was funny af watchin live didn’t think anyone wld notice but internet catches everything https://t.co/CfaZhyWhur
— HimGoSo (@HimSo_2Hunned) April 24, 2025
😂😂😂 COY https://t.co/CPqV7NfKvW
— TyChee “TaiChi” (@tycollardsign) April 24, 2025
Hahahahaha #MyCoach https://t.co/hJG5KixKkH
— Joker 🇩🇿🇵🇸 (@KarimMDN21) April 24, 2025
When someone tells you at the bar; “I think you’ve had enough.” #LetEmKnow #NBAPlayoffs https://t.co/mjThsGRz3n
— MikeAranaShow (@MikeAranaShow) April 24, 2025
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 https://t.co/imqujzjslG
— Andreus (@Way0fdre) April 24, 2025
Game 3 of this series is Saturday afternoon in Miami.
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Andy Nesbitt is the assistant managing editor of audience engagement at Sports Illustrated. He works closely with the Breaking and Trending News team to shape SI’s daily coverage across all sports. A 20-year veteran of the sports media business, he has worked for Fox Sports, For the Win, The Boston Globe and NBC Sports, having joined SI in February 2023. Nesbitt is a golf fanatic who desperately wants to see the Super Bowl played on a Saturday night.
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