As the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame gets set to enshrine another group of inductees, we turn our attention to a slightly less solemn occasion: This is the introduction of Bleacher Report’s inaugural class in the NBA Meme Hall of Fame.

One day, if there’s a shred of justice left in this world, the memes will one day get their own wing in Springfield, Massachusetts. For now, we’ll have to admire them on the pages of B/R.

Before we get into the inductees themselves, though, a word on what a meme actually is.

Over the years, the definition has sort of evolved. They were originally just static images, often with captions. But Merriam-Webster now defines a meme as: “an amusing or interesting item (such as a captioned picture or video) or genre of items that is spread widely online especially through social media.”

So, brace yourself. You’re about to take a stroll through digital halls lined by the pictures, GIFs and videos that have highlighted, improved or sometimes driven the internet-based conversations about the NBA for years.

In no particular order, these are the members of the NBA Meme Hall of Fame.

We begin with perhaps the most obvious and unavoidable entrant.

“Crying Jordan,” a still from Michael Jordan’s 2009 induction into the Naismith Hall, doesn’t go viral as often as it did in the earlier days of NBA Twitter, but it was once ubiquitous.

The potential applications are almost limitless. Sadness, embarrassment, disappointment, reacting to a loss and more can be represented by this simple, timeless image.

And given the subject is the greatest player in the history of the NBA, it seems fitting that we tip off this auspicious occasion here.

Though not quite as versatile as the still above, this short highlight reel of Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant absolutely dominating their peers is almost guaranteed to draw a chuckle.

And any time you want to emphasize two people teaming up to take over any situation, this video works great.

Applying it to basketball is easy. It made plenty of appearances as Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokić marched to the 2023 NBA Finals. But it transcends the sport, as these things so often do.

From one Shaq meme to another, we now come to a quote from the Big Aristotle that can be used just about any time you’re surprised by someone.

And again, as is the case with all of the greatest NBA memes, this one can easily be used outside the context of basketball.

A breakout performance in a movie or TV show. An unexpected feature on a new single. Becoming familiar with someone’s game often warrants a public apology.

There are a lot of different options to go with for Russell Westbrook. Like Shaq, he might even justify multiple inductions in this first class.

There’s his sneakily eating popcorn on the bench, which can be used to show your excitement to watch something you maybe shouldn’t be excited to watch (like a little internal drama).

There’s his disdain for a reporter’s question he didn’t like, which is pretty easy to apply to any comment or question you’re out on.

But we’re going with Russ’ reaction to a stat he was given by a reporter after a game. “Aaaah, that’s pretty interesting” is versatile. It can be a response to anything you find, well, interesting.

We’ve all been slighted. We maybe didn’t take those slights as competitively as MJ did. But we’ve been slighted.

So, it’s easy to relate to Jordan’s reaction to even the most remote doubt about his greatness or ability to win.

He took that doubt personally and went out and annihilated his opponents. We may not be able to follow through on that second step as consistently, but it’s OK to occasionally take those slights personally.

Sometimes, you just have to accept the truth of a situation. It may annoy you. It may make you angry. It might even get you to shake your head.

But dwelling on a tough truth rarely helps. Realization is often the first step to getting through it.

And nothing represents that internal process quite like this timeline Alonzo Mourning GIF.

Nick “Swaggy P” Young is another player with multiple worthy candidates. His celebration for a three that wound up bouncing out after he turned his back on the hoop is a perfect avatar for any premature celebration.

But we’re going to go with his confusion over his mother saying he was a bit of a clown in his younger days.

We can all relate to somewhat surprising comments from people who know us. Even more to the point, we’ve all been confused by plenty of things in the modern world (sports or otherwise). And that’s not going to stop anytime soon.

Like Swaggy P, J.R. Smith is an NBA character who has given us plenty of moments we can use to express ourselves.

There are his incredible three-point celebrations. There’s the aftermath of his dribbling out the clock on a possession where his team clearly shouldn’t have been dribbling out the clock (though that’s more of a LeBron meme).

But we’re going to go with his classic squint (and there are multiple versions of this one, too). Any time you see or read something online that doesn’t look quite right, it might just warrant this digital closer look.

And let’s face it, the internet gives us plenty of nonsense to squint at.

This look from Doc Rivers captures a lot of the same emotions as the Swaggy P GIF above, but it comes with a bit of a twist.

There’s a hint of disappointment there. And because it’s Doc Rivers, there’s some dad or coach energy coming out.

We’ve all had those moments when a friend or family member had us thinking, “What were you thinking?” And clearly, Doc has, too.

Once again, here’s another player who’s worthy of multiple inclusions.

Jimmy Butler reacting to a stat sheet is spectacular. Tossing one out might be even better. Scoffing at something he just saw in a game has plenty of possible uses, too.

But we’re going with this reaction shot from his Chicago Bulls days that could be used to show your approval of or excitement about just about anything.

As with Jordan, there are tons of potential inclusions for LeBron James.

Consideration was given to his flabbergastion (flabbergastedness?) over Smith wasting a crunch-time possession in a Finals game.

Highlight reels of his lookaway three-point attempt are hilarious. His exasperation over a missed call in a game against the Boston Celtics is another all-timer.

But we’re going with “Lyin’ LeBron” because it’s objectively hilarious, and people get caught in half-truths or flat-out lies all the time.

You don’t even have to think LeBron is lying in the clips and quotes that motivate this response to know it’s funny.

LeBron himself got a laugh out of the meme when Jalen Ramsey brought it up on The Shop.

Who among us doesn’t have a tech-challenged friend or relative? Who among us isn’t occasionally tech-challenged themselves?

Paul Pierce gave us a timeless example of those challenges when, instead of just sending an emoji itself, he posted a screenshot of the rocket emoji in what appeared to be a cryptic reaction to DeAndre Jordan’s free agency.

The eye roll is another classic expression with plenty of potential applications.

And few have delivered one as emphatically as prime James Harden did with the Houston Rockets.

Whenever you want to express just about any level of digital discontent, his sly, sliding-away eye roll is there for you.

Lance Stephenson randomly deciding to blow into LeBron’s ear during a stoppage of play is the more famous meme, but the anomaly of physics on display above is simply too much to ignore (not to mention the fact that it’s hilarious).

Stephenson appears to truly come out of nowhere. He’s like a genie being summoned from a bottle. And, as if that wasn’t enough, his disgust over the call or whatever was on the video board (or both) is exactly the kind of reaction that gets you into the meme Hall of Fame.

DeAndre Jordan has had some spectacular dunks throughout his career. His combination of size and explosiveness is rare, even relative to the super-athletes who populate in the NBA.

And on the night DAJ posterized Brandon Knight, despite all the finishes he’d already authored to that point in his career, even Jordan had to react to how ridiculous his dunk was.

From that day forward, any time something “nasty” happened (in whatever sense of that word you wish to use), Jordan’s reaction has felt appropriate.

We’ve all said goodbye to plenty of literal or figurative foes in our lives. And fortunately, Damian Lillard gave us a cold-blooded video to symbolize those farewells.

When one of the clutchest shot-makers in NBA history hit a series-ending bomb over Russell Westbrook in 2019, he casually waved goodbye to Russ, the Oklahoma City Thunder and an entire round of playoff basketball.

Of course, this isn’t his only iconic reaction to a game-winner. He also has the stare into the camera, but the wave was the extra layer of confidence that pushed that reaction into the Hall.

“What did I just see?” is another thought or reaction common to all of us, and that includes Josh Hart.

In a game against the Houston Rockets, after a frustrated Harden pounded the ball into the ground and took the recoil to the face, Hart was understandably confused. So much so that he had to physically shake it off as he headed to the bench.

Again, we’ve all been there.

This one is a bit of a cheat. It’s not so much a meme itself as it is a source of several individual memes.

But the Naismith Hall has been guilty of a similar offense on multiple occasions. Entire teams have been inducted before.

So, you’ll have to forgive us for getting Chris Andersen’s Birdman dance, LeBron’s mean mugging and Mario Chalmers’ Super Mario dance (among others) all in in one video.

Another wildly relatable reaction, Chris Paul’s fake laugh toward a playful Steve Kerr captured a feeling we’ve all had.

Plenty of people try to lighten the mood when you’re at odds with them, and it often has the opposite of the intended effect.

Clearly, whatever joke Kerr told made CP3 feel better about their conflict.

Kevin Durant brought the reaction to his “Next Chapter” picture on himself by wearing that blank T-shirt.

He basically invited internet users all over the world to treat it like a canvas. You can put whatever team or company logo you want on there.

And just about everyone has had (or will have) a chance to move on from something. KD just gave us a funnier way to announce it.

Though not impossible, this Kobe moment isn’t quite as easy to relate to the everyday lives of people who’ve aged past their days of playing organized, competitive basketball.

But it’s Kobe. And it’s maybe the coldest moment of his legendary career.

There may be nothing that better represents his steely-eyed competitiveness, and that’s enough to get it into the Hall.

It’s hard to pass up the opportunity to jump off a sinking ship (or pretend like you will when you’re about to get fired), and that’s exactly what Magic Johnson did when he was an executive for the Los Angeles Lakers in 2019.

It’s among the funniest send-off videos or GIFs on the internet, even when you extend the forum beyond basketball.

And it’s a heck of a way to send you on your way after perusing the inaugural class of the NBA Meme Hall of Fame.