Duncan face (dunk'-uhn fas) noun. A look of incredulous, googly-eyed mock surprise that is directed at a referee by a player any (and every) time a call does not go that player's way. Note that the Duncan face can be enhanced by raising the hands in an "I didn't do it!" gesture and should be followed up with a steely-eyed glare.
Usage example: On to my frustration: The Spurs are huge babies. This applies to Popovich, Duncan, and seemingly every other player on the court. Duncan has his Duncan Face everytime he doesn't get a call. [By "Isaac," via TrueHoop.]
Word history: It's impossible to pinpoint exactly when this term was invented, but it's been popular for at least the last three or four seasons, during which time the Duncan face has become a parody of itself. I mean, how can the officials possibly take Duncan -- or any player who utilizes the Duncan face -- seriously anymore? If I was an NBA referee, I would make one call or non-call against a player for each time he used the Duncan face. (This could quite possibly be the reason I am not currently employed as a referee.)
Great Duncan faces throughout history: In addition to the standard or "classic" Duncan face shown above, there are several other Duncan faces that can be used when the situation warrants it:
1. The "Dear God, it hurts!" face. Because that foul could have killed me, man!
2. The "Holy crap ref, you cannot be serious!" face. Because, damn it, you totally would have made the right call if you'd seen what I saw.
3. The "I saw that shit was wrong from the bench!" face. Because I saw that shit all the way from over here.
4. The "I'm gonna make a sarcastic face!" face. Because you, Mr. Referee, are an idiot.
5. The "But I'm Tim Duncan's teammate!" face. Because I really am Tim Duncan's teammate! (Starring Manu Ginobili as himself.)
6. The "Get yer filthy hands off me!" face. Because seriously, ET TU, MANU?! [From Basketbawful reader Phenominal Cosmic Power.]
7. The "Why is my life so damned hard?" sad face. Because you all know I didn't do it, so why do you have to make me cry? [From Black Jesus Disciples.]
8. The "Cheaters really do prosper" goofy grin face. Because it feels sooooo good to cheat and win. [From an anonymous Spurs fan.]
Contribute to the cause! If you know of a Duncan face that I forgot and have photographic evidence to prove it, forward the info to me and I'll use it to update this post...with credit to you, of course.
Labels: bad calls, googly eyes, Manu Ginobili, referees, San Antonio Spurs, Tim Duncan, whining, Word of the Day
25 Comments:
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http://i.cnn.net/si/2004/olympics/2004/basketball/08/27/usa.argentina.ap/p1_duncan.ginobili_ap.jpg
even the broadcasters are raising their hands LOL
The worst part is that it seems to be contagious. The rest of his teamates might not be so lame if they didn't have him there, but we'll never know.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxwd58mzBMM
I hate to throw my boy under the bus, but here's one of Nash, making the face.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2066/2076204319_81aaf1e481_o.jpg
http://sportsmed.starwave.com/i/magazine/new/tim_duncan_scowl.jpg
The "You Want to get Duncanized, Ref?" Face. because you know David Stern will cover my back if you try to pull a Joey Crawford on me.
http://g.photos.cx/092007ct500-67.jpg
Also I'm not sure if this can be classified as a Duncan Face, but I'm just going to use this as an excuse to post this photo. I guess it's the "I'm in the mood for man lovin' face", previously seen on a man love entry with Hedo Turkoglu. Who could blame him, with that sassy leather vest LeBron is wearing.
http://g.photos.cx/duncan_lebron_manlove-08.jpg
I'm much more bothered by the Pistons attitude, where they act like they're all-timers and then whine about the officiating after they fall asleep, get outplayed, and blow the series. And speaking of players and teams that complain to the zebras, this image was inspired by the events of game 1 of Lakers/Nuggets, though as it implies, could apply to the entirety of whatever playoff run the Lakers have. Maybe you could use it, Basketbawful:
http://www.skullknight.net/griffith/lakersimprovement.jpg
Duncan is not perfect, even Jordan wasn't...
As for Jordan - he wasn't perfect. As a matter of fact, some of us, especially me, would argue that MJ, while still great, wasn't all he was cracked up to be. His teammates don't get nearly enough credit, and I personally hold him responsible for a lot of the escalated garbage going on today. He may not have invented some or all of the following, but he certainly made it okay: talking to refs after EACH call, traveling, wipe-aways, isolation, ridiculous fade-aways, and generally f***ing over any team I cheered for (Pacers, Jazz, Trailblazers, and more). I know I'm biased to some extent, but I totally wonder if the game would be much more enjoyable now sans Jordan.
My best guess would be related to picture #6: FIBA basketball. Remember the Athens Olympics, in which the "Dream" Team finished 3rd? How much did Tim Duncan play? I remember it to be roughly 10-15 minutes, or it only felt like that much because he was always in foul trouble. The refereeing in the Olympics was beyond atrocious. Duncan couldn't even sneeze, lest he be called for a foul. Eventually, all that shitty officiating got to him enough that he just started going bonkers whenever a call went against him, thus bringing out the Duncan Face.
I recall that as the first time I saw the Duncan Face. Back then, it was truly legitimate. But now, I think Tim Duncan has simply lost respect for the refs, possibly stemming from residual effects from the Games. Witness his confrontations with Danny Crawford last year. And the fact that it has become a word of the day means that it is an overreaction to what is an actual foul rather than the phony fouls FIBA refs were tagging him with.
I was responding to the dude that said:
"this is pretty wack stuff. Duncan has been one of the classiest champs ever."
lol
As a matter of fact, from what I'm seeing so far tonight, I expect Dallas to be called out tomorrow on here, and I'll get a laugh out of it, because it beats getting pissed off.
So I guess what I'm saying is chill the hell out with the overzealous fandom/stanning and just have a laugh.
Stephanie G- so many inappropriate jokes come to mind. Thus my emotional maturity is exposed.
If you're serious (I think you're kidding, but I can never totally tell in print) - it's the patented move that's only legal for Satan to do whenever he started a drive. He would totally clear out the defender's arm and head the other direction.
I'm totally watching the Hornets just rape the dallas with a pair of Peja 3s. Bye, bye, Mark, Dirk and Jason. Maybe they can go open a new DQ or something.
[Lady Customer] I'd like a blizzard, please.
[Kidd] You want what? Look, I give the orders to women around here...
[Cuban hurries over] Don't mind him. We just picked him up from Baskin Robbins in exchange for some waffle cones. Get this lady a blizzard!
[From the back] Ich bin MVP - ich mache Schneestürme nicht!
[Cuban] That'll be $32.50.
about that jordan thing, i thought i was the only one who's thinking about it. thanks for providing the extra ammo the next time i made an anti-jordan comment to someone. LOL
Duncan gets picked on because a) he really does it a lot, b) he has a VERY expressive face, especially with the deadpan contrast effect, c) he's on the biggest flopping team in the league, he's on the same team as the dirtiest player in the league (Bowen), who rarely gets fouls called on him. If I see Bowen stick his foot under a shooter one more time, I'll puke.
All that said, Timmy is indeed the low post God. And I sounded like one of those Mexican soccer announcers when he hit that three. Scared the crap out of the cats. :)
The flopping and the "Who, me?," reactions are annoying, but at least the Spurs limit their big baby behavior to the court.
I can't stand the way some folks will cry to anyone with a microphone about all the different ways they got screwed by the refs and how it's everybody's fault but theirs. I won't mention names, but you know who you are Phil Jackson, Ray Allen, Big Cactus, Detroit Pistons, etc.
You've got to be kidding me.
This guy has won FOUR CHAMPIONSHIPS.
FOUR.
He's been the MVP for three of them.
So you're saying that he cheated his way into the finals and beat each team by cheating?
How could he cheat?
Does making this so called "Duncan Face" add points to the scoreboard?
Does it slowly but surely deteriorate the opponents brain and make him a vegetable to where he can't play anymore?
He never cheated.
Spurs hating is the oldest thing.
If the spurs were a running team and threw lobs every other play like Denver, everybody would love them.
The "I have more rings than you" face