Eagles' A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith attempt to recreate iconic Dwyane Wade-LeBron James photo, fail miserably

David Suggs

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Eagles' A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith attempt to recreate iconic Dwyane Wade-LeBron James photo, fail miserably image

A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith are admirers of history. The Eagles duo has taken a keen interest to the past, understanding the role it plays in shaping modern-day relations.

The star wideouts showed their commitment to historiography on Sunday, turning back the clock with a celebration over a decade in the making.

You see, Brown and Smith are noted basketball enthusiasts. They're also students of the Internet, coming to sentience along the same timeline as some of social media's greatest memes.

MORE: How Cowboys came up inches short in loss to Eagles

One of those memes: the Dwyane Wade-LeBron James dunk photo. It's a classic image, one that's seared into the heads of countless onlookers of a certain age. Wade bounced a pass to James, who finished with authority, slamming the ball through the hoop with one of his patented right-handed tomahawks.

Brown and Smith showcased their interpretation of the moment during Philadelphia's Week 9 win over Dallas. After bagging yet another touchdown — his fifth of the year — Brown rose the heavens. Smith was right there with him, flicking the golden brown orb into the stratosphere for a rising Brown to hammer it down.

He didn't quite flush it through. In fact, Brown did anything but, struggling to hang onto Smith's effort before fumbling his attempt at the slam. But it certainly took the interwebs by notice.

The problem is, Brown and Smith didn't really complete the move. And they didn't really imitate it either. There's the clear lack of a fluid finish from Brown, a surface problem for sure.

But Smith's lob also deserves to be called into question. Not because it wasn't precise (it undoubtedly was). But it was unnecessary, mainly because that wasn't what Wade did on that particular play.

The dunk in question was not the result of a momentous toss. Rather, it stemmed from one of Wade's signature no-look bounce passes.

Don't believe me? Check it out here:

Now, the mind cannot fathom how one would recreate a bounce pass with a pigskin, so Smith's amendment does make sense. But the second coming of the Wade-James photo could've definitely been crisper than the first.

For what it's worth, perhaps it was good that Brown missed his dunk attempt. If he would've connected, he probably would've been fined for the antics. So, maybe silver linings do exist!

David Suggs

David Suggs Photo

David Suggs is a content producer at The Sporting News. A long-suffering Everton, Wizards and Commanders fan, he has learned to get used to losing over the years. In his free time, he enjoys skateboarding (poorly), listening to the likes of Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye and D’Angelo, and penning short journal entries.