King's Landing basketball court: Best Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon memes, reactions

Kyle Irving

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King's Landing basketball court: Best Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon memes, reactions image

The "Game of Thrones" hype is back with "House of the Dragon" returning for a second season.

Game of Thrones Twitter (or X) has been among the liveliest segments on the internet for years, with memes running wild before, during, and after each live episode on Sundays.

Just one day after one of the most pivotal episodes of the House of the Dragon series, the internet found out that the real King's Landing — located in Dubrovnik, Croatia, where scenes from Westeros' capital city are shot — has a basketball court along the city wall.

There is more of an overlap than you would think between Game of Thrones and NBA Twitter, the latter being another extremely active segment of the internet.

Those with an interest in both topics had a field day creating timely memes, putting Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon characters in hilarious basketball scenarios over a tweet that is sitting at 32 million views (and counting) at the time of writing.

Before we make Queen Rhaenrya and King Aegon II check ball to decide who wears the crown for the realm, learn more about the King's Landing court below.

King's Landing basketball court, explained

One day after House of the Dragon Season 2's biggest episode yet, Kendra Middleton from "98.5 The Sports Hub" posted a viral picture on X to reveal that King's Landing has a basketball court along the city walls.

King's Landing is the fictional capital city of the continent "Westeros," where the King of the Realm rules the world from the Iron Throne. In plain terms, it's like the Washington, D.C. of Game of Thrones.

In real life, King's Landing is actually located in Dubrovnik, Croatia, where scenes of the capital city are shot for the show.

The "King's Landing" basketball court has become "one of the most photographed courts in the world," according to FIBA's Equipment and Venue-ran site. It is an architectural landmark that overlooks the entire city on one side and the Adriatic Sea on the other.

Fans of both Game of Thrones and basketball wasted no time imagining their favorite characters playing a game of pickup in the downtime of fighting for their next King or Queen.

(Warning: Some memes contain House of the Dragon Season 2 spoilers)

King's Landing basketball court: House of the Dragon and Game of Thrones memes

Those who watched Aemond and his dragon Vhagar pull his now-signature sneak attack to take down Rhaenys and her dragon Meleys at the Battle of Rook's Rest in the last HOTD episode will appreciate the comparison to LeBron James' not-so-deceiving 3-point shot.

That same move also got Aemond and Vhagar a comparison to Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal — a fitting comparison since Vhagar is the biggest claimed dragon in the realm.

Ser Criston Cole's history of trying to place himself alongside any queen earned him the Patrick Ewing treatment for likely trying to show off in front of the city's finest women.

Since House of the Dragon is still fairly new, the Game of Thrones callbacks were even better.

One user used LeBron James dunking on Isaiah Thomas as a comparison to getting Tyrion Lannister on a switch...

...while others compared Rudy Gobert guarding Luka Doncic on an island to "The Mountain" trying to defend in space.

Ser Jorah Mormont's unwavering love for Queen Daenerys Targaryen was compared to Jordan Poole's viral video.

Jaime Lannister's literal lack of a right hand was clearly front and center on the team's scouting report.

And why not cap it off with Caitlin Clark hitting a game-winner that calls to mind Queen Daenerys beating out Queen Cersei for the Iron Throne.

Kyle Irving

Kyle Irving Photo

You read that wrong – not Kyrie Irving. From Boston, graduated from the University of New Hampshire. Sixth season as a content producer for NBA.com's Global editions. Covering the NBA Draft has become his annual "dream come true" moment on the job. Irving has a soft spot for pass-first point guards, with Rajon Rondo and Steve Nash being two of his favorite players of all time.