Synopsis: in a game between the Heat and the Thunder, Kevin Durant is slashing through the lane, and is thinking about throwing down a boomshakalaka. Amidst his drive, Dwyane Wade breaks off his cover to challenge Durant, and when Durant takes off, he is met with a Mutombo-like rejection at the rim. Instantaneously, Kevin Durant snaps awake because IT WAS ALL JUST A DREAM.
But the dream was real enough to inspire Kevin Durant to embark on a Gatorade-sponsored training montage, where he does every single lift and exercise he possibly can do, while pounding Gatorade products in between.
Eventually, an actual Heat/Thunder game is taking place, and there’s two minutes left, and the Heat are up by two. Kevin Durant has the ball and is bringing it up the court, and is thinking about rectifying a dreamed reality. He cuts and slashes into the lane, and is thinking boomshakalaka. Dwyane Wade sees what’s going on, and breaks off his man, and goes to challenge Durant. Both men go up, but this time, all the Gatorade-sponsored training has paid off, and Kevin Durant takes Dwyane Wade to poster city.
But then Dwyane Wade snaps awake because THAT WAS JUST A DREAM TOO.
Why So Stupid? Sure, it’s easy to just say it’s stupid due to the Inception-like multi-layer dreaming scenario. But what I find stupid is in the context of the commercial. At 0:39 seconds, the scenario is revealed, and I mentioned it above: it’s two minutes left, with the Heat up by two. Kevin Durant dunking the ball, despite it being all up in Dwyane Wade’s face, is still worth just two points. The result of the posterization is still now a tied game between the Heat and Thunder, with probably somewhere around 1:50 worth of time left in the game, which in professional sport can end up feeling like a goddamn eternity sometimes. So that being said, what on earth about the resulting situation is such a nightmare that Wade wakes up in sudden cold sweats?
Does Wade fear tie games? Does he have nightmares about allowing the opposition to tie the game? Or is he just maniacally afraid of the superficial shame that comes along with getting dunked on? Getting dunked on is a part of basketball, and the “reality” of the terror was that the game was tied, but there was still plenty of time for Wade to get an opportunity to redeem himself. But apparently, that doesn’t really matter because Wade’s frail ego is clearly mortified at the thought of getting dunked on.
That’s what’s so stupid about this commercial to me. That Wade’s ego supersedes the importance of the game to the team. Who cares of Kevin Durant dunks on you and ties up the game? He wasn’t in mid-air for two straight minutes before throwing down, not to mention that would have been a massive shot-clock violation too. The Heat could easily have come back and won the game.
Also bonus stupid: Why is Wade dreaming about defense anyway? He’s not exactly known for being a stalwart defender, like Scottie Pippen, Dikembe Mutombo or Ben Wallace. Shouldn’t he be dreaming about dunking on Dwight Howard or Kevin Garnett or something instead of being the one getting dunked on?
