Hello everyone! The 2016-2017 NBA season is already well under way, but tonight's matchup against the Miami Heat is my first game of the season. After spending entirely way too much money last season, somebody from the Thunder noticed and I now have half-season tickets! I couldn't go to the pre-season game against the Denver Nuggets as I had to work, and I am notorious for getting off to a slow start with any sports season. As a result, I wasn't feeling the Los Angeles Lakers game this past Sunday even though I really could have (and should have) gone. With no Kobe, I think my laziness was justified. Before each game, I pull out photos for everyone on the team and set them aside in my portfolio binder. For some reason, I didn't have very many photos for this team (Babbitt, Waiters, and Williams was the extent of it), so the logo photo got pretty loaded up as expected. The first guy that came out was Josh Richardson, but I didn't recognize him. As I said before, I only had a few photos, so anyone I didn't know got the logo photo. His signature is kind of neat, although a little loopy, but he signed one for everyone waiting. Udonis Haslem is a guy who's been in the league for a while, and while I did recognize him, I didn't print out a photo for him for whatever reason. He carried around his two bottles of soda or water and picked them up and set them down as he moved through the crowd. I believe mine was the last one he signed because he actually had those bottles in his hand and I was afraid he'd just skip me and keep going. Instead, he stopped to sign for me. It's not much to look at, but I'm glad I got it. Tyler Johnson was nice. Some kids were calling out to him to sign as he came on to the court, but he said he would sign after. True to his word, he did. His signature is pretty small -- that's usually something that shy people do. He didn't seem shy to me, but he also didn't appear overly outgoing, either. I'm not sure where he's from or where he's been, but he kept saying "No doubt, no doubt" whenever a fan asked him a question or said thank you. James Johnson was next, and he was nice. I just found it mildly amusing that he signed right next to Tyler Johnson on my logo photo. Two Johnsons. Right next to each other. Ha. I don't know what to say about Derrick Williams. He signed for a few people and then just sort of gave up and walked off in the middle of it all. He had plenty of time to sign for us, and there weren't even all that many of us there. Who knows. And for some reason, I printed out two Derrick Williams photos that are exactly the same.They are both still unsigned. Luke Babbitt came off not long after and signed one for everyone. Juwan Howard was next. I don't think anyone else was as excited as I was to meet Juwan Howard. I remember watching this guy play when I was a kid. Mr. Howard, if you're somehow reading this, sorry! I don't mean to make you feel old. I asked him if I could get a picture with him, and while he politely declined, citing shyness and that he preferred to just sign autographs, he was very cool about it. This is how you should let fans down -- just be nice about it. I want to try to bring a real photo for him next time. Great guy. Dion Waiters was a guy who, as far as I know, never came out for shootaround when he played for the Thunder. I mean, I only went to about half of all the home games, and I never saw him come out. He was out tonight, which was great. But would he stop to sign? To make a short story even shorter -- yes. He signed one for everyone and even chatted with a few people. See, now THIS is how you leave a team. Stay classy and don't go throwin' shade! Justise Winslow was last off the court (presumably so he wouldn't have to sign many, if any at all). The fangirl behind me was freaking out, saying things like, "I must get Justise Winslow!" and "I'll even settle for a high five!" Meanwhile, I couldn't get past the fact she was wearing Miami Heat pajama pants. In public. Pajama pants. I didn't get him and I think most of us walked away empty-handed. Sorry fangirl. Babbitt 1/1 Haslem 1/1 Howard 1/1 J. Johnson 1/1 T. Johnson 1/1 Richardson 1/1 Waiters 1/1 Williams 0/1 Winslow 0/1 This was not a bad outing. I didn't have high expectations so I'm not at all disappointed. My average number of autographs per outing was roughly four per, so getting 7 is not bad. The next game on the docket is Wednesday versus the Toronto Raptors, thanks to my boss for giving them away and my co-worker for sharing the extra ticket with me. I haven't seen this team play before, so I'm excited! Until next time, J.R.
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