“Worse Than My Patrick Star Edit”: Luka Doncic’s ‘Hanzo’ Cosplay By SportsCenter Has Larry Nance Reminiscing

Luka Doncic’s heroics in Game 4 of the NBA Finals have spurred quite a few reactions from many different members of the NBA community, including the stars of the league today. Various entities have lauded Doncic’s performance in Game 4 in a number of ways. Even among them, however, the one by Pelicans man Larry Nance Jr. has stood out as perhaps the most amusing of all. 

SportsCenter commemorated the outstanding showing by Luka Doncic in a game that could’ve been the final blow for the Dallas Mavericks. With the star avoiding a clean sweep by willing his team to victory, SC chose to make a rather awkward edit of the four-time All-Star as a hybrid with an Overwatch character, Hanzo. This immediately brought on a humorous reaction from Nance Jr. 

“This is worse than my Patrick Star edit.”

 

This is worse than my Patrick Star edit.. https://t.co/u4I3Cvg9VI

— Larry Nance (@Larrydn22) June 15, 2024

SportsCenter uploaded the picture in question to multiple social platforms after Game 4. The caption read, “Luka goes Hanzo mode on the Celtics to extend the series .”

For those who are unaware, Hanzo is a playable character in the popular video game, Overwatch. As per Overwatchfandom, Hanzo has a “natural aptitude for leadership and possessing an innate understanding of strategy and tactics,” while also being referred to as a ‘Prodigy’.

But ‘Hanzo mode’ here is in reference to a phenomenon gamers experience where they are highly focused and locked in. This state is said to last until gamers can beat a particular level or an opponent in the game.

So, labeling Doncic’s Game 4 performance as going Hanzo mode was absolutely done in good taste, especially considering the 122-84 final score and the 38-point margin at the end of the game.

However, Nance was clearly not too impressed by the edit SportsCenter came up with in the end. It is a bit hard to blame him too much though, especially considering the experience he has with edits in the past.

During the 2017-18 NBA season, Bleacher Report made a ‘Savage Patrick’ edit of Larry Nance Jr. after he emphatically posterized Mason Plumlee. The post immediately went viral and is still considered one of the better NBA memes to this day.

Bleacher Report was known to make such edits not too long ago, much to the joy of fans, and even countless players. And now, it seems as though SportsCenter is trying its hand at the craft as well. 

Now, despite his seemingly unimpressed demeanor, given his jovial nature and dry sense of humor, he is likely just poking fun at the whole situation. That said, it is interesting to imagine what Luka Doncic’s reaction is to this whole situation.