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NBC Cameraperson's Attempt to Follow Thunder Players Off Court Did Not Go Well

Oklahoma City notched a huge road win over Denver.
Thunder players make their way off the court after a victory against the Nuggets.
Thunder players make their way off the court after a victory against the Nuggets. | NBA on NBC

The Oklahoma City Thunder went on the road and authored a statement victory over the Denver Nuggets on Sunday. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander outperformed Nikola Jokic in what could very well be a preview of the Western Conference finals and Oklahoma City left town with a 121-111 victory.

The triumph was shown nationally on NBC, with all the bells and whistles that come with that presentation. One thing the broadcasting team was unable to show, however, was how the winning Thunder made their way off the court and back to the locker room.

That attempt was thwarted by not one, but two security guards who prevented the cameraperson from getting that shot.

Here's how it played out on television:

Body language experts agree that those guys did not want any unauthorized look at happy members of OKC walking away. The "no, bro" message also points to this. Viewers instead had to settle for an on-court interview with Kenrich Wiliams.

Even those bummed out that they did not get the perspective shot of players walking down a hallway have to acknowledge the strong hustle and energy from security who played until the final whistle—and beyond.


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Kyle Koster
KYLE KOSTER

Kyle Koster is an assistant managing editor at Sports Illustrated covering the intersection of sports and media. He was formerly the editor in chief of The Big Lead, where he worked from 2011 to '24. Koster also did turns at the Chicago Sun-Times, where he created the Sports Pros(e) blog, and at Woven Digital.

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