After finishing with one of the best records in the NBA last season, the Memphis Grizzlies (4-1) are once again off to a hot start to their new campaign.
The Grizzlies are deep with contributors, and they are not afraid to play their young players. Due to injuries suffered by key players Jaren Jackson Jr. and Ziaire Williams, Memphis has already found minutes in the rotation for their rookies Jake LaRavia and David Roddy.
LaRavia has looked particularly impressive, beginning his career shooting 9-for-15 (60.0%) on 3-pointers. He logged nearly 30 minutes during a victory over the Kings on Thursday, and he was interviewed after the game.
The @memgrizz join rookie Jake LaRavia in his postgame interview and the energy is AMAZING! #BigMemphis pic.twitter.com/YGXlu7ufdY
— NBA (@NBA) October 28, 2022
LaRavia began the walk-off interview by himself, but within seconds, he was joined by third-year big man Xavier Tillman. The former Michigan State star stood behind LaRavia like he was his bodyguard.
Shortly after that, veteran guard Tyus Jones joined the party. He exclaimed variations of “yeah rook!” and “shoot the ball, rook!” as LaRavia answered questions from the reporter.
“I got my dogs with my fosho,” said LaRavia, who finished the game with 9 rebounds as well as 1 assist and 1 steal while only missing one attempt from the field.
these dudes 😂 pic.twitter.com/Xh52wVfEg0
— Memphis Grizzlies (@memgrizz) October 28, 2022
When the reporter asked about LaRavia’s rebounding, Tillman began flexing for the camera as Steven Adams and Jaren Jackson Jr. joined. But to end the interview, the group yelled “SIIIUUU!!” like Christiano Ronaldo.
Adams, who was the apparent leader of the celebration, met Ronaldo back in 2016.
Below, you can watch Ronaldo’s version from a post-match interview:
Chief receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster broke out the “Siu!” after a touchdown last week, too.
As it grows in popularity, however, some fans have noticed that Ronaldo may have stopped using the celebration for himself and replaced it with something else.
Either way, it was such a delight to watch Memphis teammates rejoice with LaRavia after the best performance of his NBA career thus far.
SIUUUUUU https://t.co/ysXeRsEXDl
— Jake LaRavia (@jacob_laravia3) October 28, 2022
SIUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU https://t.co/g8l9M1BBx5
— Memphis Grizzlies (@memgrizz) October 28, 2022