1.

I like to call this photo “The assassination of Bigby Williams”. I know it sounds like the title of a book that you had to read in middle school, but what it actually is is a dunk that happened during pregame scrimmage. Before this image happened, Bigby was WORKING Jax in every way you can think of. I tweeted it. A mere 3mins later Jalen Adams threw an alley oop to Jax on the baseline, Bigby was there in good positioning. Both players jumped, but Jax just kept going up as Bigby started to descend (I think the look on Bigby’s face lets you know all that you need to know). Now the photo isn’t good as far as technically speaking. The subjects are out of focus, shutter speed is low so the image isn’t as sharp as it should be, has a low depth of field, etc… I don’t care, there’s so much going on here. The way that Michael Ruffin & Greivis Vasquez are staring at this poster in action is glorious, it turns this simple photo into a renaissance painting, officers in the background discussing if this crime should be reported, & of course the look of realization on Bigby’s face makes this photo one of my most memorable.

2.

Is it a bird? A plane? No, it’s AIR MELLI! When working out pregame Melli trains in the post with Coach Brandon (Bottom middle). Now, I know what some of you may be thinking “Brandon doesn’t seem that tall, why is he guarding Melli in the post?” It’s to practice mismatches if the opportunity presents itself. This drill can get pretty intense as they keep score, a point for Melli if he scores & a point for Brandon if he misses. Before this pic, Melli missed a post jumper & a post hook. After missing those 2 shots Melli made an aggressive move to the middle beating Coach Brandon and dunking the ball. I feel this pic is actually highlighted by Brandon’s smile, proud of the move that Melli put on him.

3.

This photo has a lot of drama to it in my opinion. The crowd colored bright red & orange due to the flames shooting up from the starting line up being announced while Zion stands just close enough in the foreground to avoid the flames changing his color in the photo. He looks at the big screen, while using his crutch to stand, as his teammate’s names are announced. Every time I see this picture I see a 19 yr old kid so very close to his dream of playing in the NBA but forced to be an onlooker due to injury. I’d love to know what kind of thoughts & emotions a player has during a moment like this.

4.

With all of the drama surrounding the Anthony Davis trade sending Brandon Ingram & Lonzo Ball to New Orleans many tried to depict the young duo as being disappointed to land in their new destination. Every photo I take that I have of these two smiling brings me joy as it breaks down those false narratives. In this photo Lonzo, Brandon, & Josh Hart (not pictured) are working out with Fred Vinson in a 3pt shooting drill/competition. From start to finish all 3 had big smiles on as they joked and played the whole way through while completing the drill.

5.

Here we have Jrue Holiday just before he starts his pregame workout as Derrick Favors slightly obstructs the foreground catching a pass to work on his mid range jumpers while Jrue’s hands move to pull up his hoodie (as seen in the featured image). I think that having Favors in the foreground adds a ton of activity to this image, without him the image lacks a certain “training” feel. Lastly, I bleached the image in post, softening the colors & lessening the contrast to add a bit more of a gritty feel to further exaggerate the training/hard working vibe.