The simple reason why Kevin Hart memes took over NBA Twitter, from Stephen Curry to the Grizzlies

Gilbert McGregor

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The simple reason why Kevin Hart memes took over NBA Twitter, from Stephen Curry to the Grizzlies image

The power of NBA Twitter is immeasurable. Couple that with the 24-hour nature of Twitter itself and you have a formula for things taking a life of their own very quickly.

As the month of February came to a close, comedian Kevin Hart became the center of a new Twitter trend in which photos and videos of him were used to react to various situations. Why? We don't know.

And then NBA Twitter got involved.

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How NBA Twitter adopted the Kevin Hart trend

In the lead-up to the Grizzlies' Feb. 28 meeting with the Lakers, the team's official account asked if fans were locked in for the game, sharing a picture of Kevin Hart as … Iron Man?

The account didn't stop there, sharing more images of Hart as the game went on, most notably to react to Ja Morant's massive third quarter and Jaren Jackson Jr.'s ridiculous putback dunk.

And just when you thought it may be something unique to the Grizzlies, Stephen Curry hopped in on the trend in response to a monstrous dunk from teammate Jonathan Kuminga.

Curry went as far as to tag Hart, with whom he shares a longstanding friendship. To be fair, Kuminga's dunk did warrant that type of reaction.

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Why are Kevin Hart memes trending?

No one truly knows. Hart even attempted to ask his followers on Twitter and Instagram, who, to no surprise, responded with even more memes.

Kevin Hart trying to understand why he’s trending pic.twitter.com/DSqYuOopwr

— Carl Thomas’ Turtleneck (@therealkj4) February 27, 2023

The short answer is that, when used properly, reaction memes can be funny. The memes become confusing when a singular person is the subject, but given Hart's standing as an actor and comedian, it makes sense that he played along and took it in stride.

Thanks to NBA Twitter, the memes took a life of their own and can now be associated with highlight plays from the Grizzlies and Warriors.

Gilbert McGregor

Gilbert McGregor Photo

Gilbert McGregor first joined The Sporting News in 2018 as a content producer for Global editions of NBA.com. Before covering the game, McGregor played basketball collegiately at Wake Forest, graduating with a Communication degree in 2016. McGregor began covering the NBA during the 2017-18 season and has been on hand for a number of league events.