The New York Knicks frittered away a 17-point lead in the fourth quarter of Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Indiana Pacers. They sent the city into mourning, recrimination, disbelief, and finger-pointing. And no, it wasn’t Julius Randle or good, old-fashioned pathetic defense that took the brunt of the blame, but was the rapper-turned-podcaster Joe Budden.
The Knicks were cruising with just under three minutes left, up by 14; it felt like Madison Square Garden was getting ready to party. And then Aaron Nesmith showed up and thought this would be a good time to summon his inner Steph Curry and start raining 3s, making six in five minutes and pouring in a career-high 30 points.
When the Knicks thought it couldn’t improve, Tyrese Haliburton arrived with a buzzer-beating dagger to force overtime. He scored 31 points and 11 assists, officially completing one of the most improbable comebacks in N.B.A. playoff history. Teams leading by 14 points or more with less than 2:50 remaining had been 977-0 in the playoffs,
But in the post-game chat, the discussion quickly veered from X’s and O’s to … Joe Budden’s seat location. The podcaster sat courtside, chronicling the highs and eventual lows of the game on Twitter. Knicks fans didn’t take much longer to draw the lines and revive the latest curse story launched into New York sports lore: The Joe Budden Curse.
The takedown on Twitter was swift and severe. One fan bluntly wrote: “Joe… just stay home, bro.” Another added, “Lmao, this is worse than the Drake curse at this point, Joe.” A third laid the digital hammer down: “Yea, you might need to chill goin to the games Joe Gaaaah Damn.”
Budden wasn’t about to go down like a chump. In his typical mix of sarcasm and swagger, he clapped back against the mob in his mentions, tweeting, “They in my mentions cursing me out as I suited up lmao Pacers still sweet foh.”
I mean, celebrities aren’t new to being blamed for sports outcomes. Drake, Lil B, and even Jessica Simpson have been criticized for being “bad luck.” Now, Joe Budden is destined to become another accidental hexer. Whether the curse is real or just a Twitter-fueled meme is yet to be seen. If the Knicks lose Game 2, he might want to have a seat on his couch for the rest of the series.
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