Even NFL teams are making fun of D’Angelo Russell now

A running joke on social media has extended all the way to the Atlanta Falcons poking fun at D’Angelo Russell on Sunday.

One of the best running jokes on Lakers and NBA Twitter in recent years has been centered around D’Angelo Russell getting shots up.

There isn’t a single origin point for the meme except that it came from the 2023 NBA playoffs. During the Western Conference Finals against the Nuggets, D’Lo stayed after the game multiple times to get shots up as he struggled during games, including after Game 1 and Game 3.

The jokes, though, started soon after, probably because D’Lo performed so poorly even after this. And while a lot of accounts and people made jokes, no one has carried the joke further than Twitter/X user C.J. Toledano.

There have been occasions when professional accounts would chime in, too, like Slamball did when they returned as a league in the summer of 2023.

But the joke reached new heights on Sunday. Following the Atlanta Falcon’s win over the Cowboys, they took to Twitter and threw a random jab at D’Lo by photoshopping him into the back of a celebration photo.

Honestly, 10/10 work. It’s a bit of a niche tweet unless you’re involved in NBA Twitter. But if you are, it’s an absolutely hilarious tweet.

To his credit, D’Lo seemed to take it in stride, responding to the tweet on Monday afternoon.

Does this mean the joke is going to take off to another level? I sure hope so! It’s such a simple and silly meme that I chuckle at each time.

Especially because D’Lo doesn’t seem to be taking offense to it, I hope more teams and leagues start making this joke.

You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude.