The 16,2023 spectators present at the Accor Arena on Friday for the Euroleague clash between Paris Basketball and Barcelona witnessed a scene as amusing as it was rare. A modern – and funny – version of the duel between David and Goliath. A duel of extremes and unbalanced.
TJ Shorts vs. Fall for the jumpball but it’s more like David vs. Goliath… 😂🏀
While Fall’s waiting for the ball to fall into his lap, TJ Shorts is already on the move to catch it if it bounces! 🏃♂️💥🏀 pic.twitter.com/9PpiLjrJme
— SKWEEK (@skweektv) January 3, 2025
Usually during a basketball jump ball, it is the two tallest players on each team who face each other to recover the ball. This was not the case this time. During the second quarter of the match, TJ Shorts, the pocket playmaker of Paris Basketball and one of the smallest players in the competition (1.75 m), indeed presented himself in front of Youssoupha Fall. The Senegalese pivot of Barça who is one of the tallest players on the old continent since the giant peaks at 2.23 m under the gauge.
An unusual scene then almost 50 centimeters separated the two opponents. The duel therefore seemed unbalanced. But instead of jumping to try the impossible and gobble the ball, Shorts decided to move out of the way when Fall sent the ball into play. A smart and winning choice since it was the Paris Basketball players who regained possession . As in the ancient legend, it was the smaller of the two who won the “fight”.
Unfortunately for Paris Basketball this was not enough to win the match. Led throughout the match and despite a great reaction at the end of the game, Tiago Splitter’s players lost (79-90) and suffered a 4th loss in a row in the Euroleague, the 6th in 7 matches in all competitions.