Brian Scalabrine

About

Brian Scalabrine is a NBA player that 'plays' the forward position. He was selected during the second round of the 2001 NBA draft. He has horrible stats and is a non-factor in any game or team he sets foot in. As a joke, NBA fans will typically proclaim how great and amazing his basketball talents are, call him the 'White Mamba,' or propose ridiculous scenarios or trades that could involve Scalabrine.

Origin

2001 NBA Draft & 2002 NBA Finals

The Nets were a championship caliber team at the time and with Scalabrine being drafted, he was sure to have room to improve alongside greats like Jason Kidd. But before the season even started, he managed to injure himself twice, and basically have a free ride to the NBA finals. Both his playoff and regular season averages were severely underwhelming. However, he gradually improved over the years and by his 4th year, he had a respectable 4.5 rebounds per game, 1.6 assists per game, and 6.3 points per game. This was enough to secure him a long 5 year deal with the Boston Celtics.

2008 NBA Playoffs

By this time, the Celtics had figured out that he was a non-factor on their team. His stats abysmal and was not needed on the Celtics. Unfortunately, they were stuck with Scalabrine for 5 years. Knowing better, the Celtics did not play him at all during the finals and the playoffs. So without even laying a foot onto the court or even getting dressed sometimes, Scalabrine walked away as a NBA Champion. It was here that the jokes about him exploded. During his 5 years with the Celtics, he managed to only average an 2.7 points per game.It was during this time that fans also began to sarcastically proclaim how great he was.

Chicago Bulls

During his first year with the Bulls, he played 18 games with the Bulls and averaged 1.1 points and 0.4 rebounds per game. When the Bulls visited the Celtics, the Bulls won in double overtime with no thanks to Scalabrine and his 3 minutes of play. This beginning only served to fuel NBA fans into further proclaiming Scalabrine's 'greatness.' Fans also began calling him the 'White Mamba' as an opposite to Kobe Bryant's 'Black Mamba' nickname. Fans saw Scalabrine as an opposite for his non-factor in games and horrible stats while Bryant is one of the best closers in the NBA with great stats. This inadvertently made Scalabrine one of the most popular players on the Bulls.

Spread

Talk about Brian Scalabrine started with NBA fans as far back as during his time with the Nets, although not exactly justified at the time. However, by the 2008 NBA finals, jokes were being spread on mediums such as the comments section on NBA.com as well as youtube. Over the years, his performance fueled this fire and it spread onto nearly every medium.

Usage & Internet Relevance

Shortly after the trend started spreading, basketball fans started posting about how 'amazing' he is on youtube and nba.com. In any highlight or video that he is in (even if he is being posterized), people would leave comments on his 'greatness' whether they were fans or not. Soon, through the spread of Scalabrine-mania over youtube and nba.com comments, real-life events would happen: chanting Scalabrine mvp and such. These events would be recorded and archived on youtube, blogs, and even the front pages of popular sites like espn.com. While Scalabrine-mania over the web has weakened over the years, it consistently remains present in the comments sections of sites regarding sports or the best.

Images

Related Links

Youtube show based on Brian Scalabrine in NBA 2k12
Brian Scalabrine facebook fan page
Brian Scalabrine for 2012 All-Stars Fanpage
Brian Scalabrine NBA Stats
Brian Scalabrine ESPN page