Did you see Lamar Jackson fumble? Did you see Cooper Flagg fumble?
In 2016 , Lamar Jackson gave Kentucky fans the gift of a lifetime. After rumbling through the Wildcats' defense all game (and striking a Heisman pose along the way), he had Louisville in the red zone with less than two minutes in a tie game, destined to score. But then, on a scramble, Jackson fumbled the ball. The man who could do no wrong did the most wrong thing he could have done. Kentucky recovered and drove down the field for a game-winning field goal.
The play served as the ultimate comeuppance for the future NFL MVP, and one Big Blue Nation relished for a long time. Strangers would stop each other on the street and ask if they had seen Lamar fumble.
A 20-plus point underdog going into the game, Kentucky had no business keeping it close, but with the aid of that iconic fumble, Big Blue Nation is still talking about the win eight years later.
The reason I'm reflecting so fondly on this legendary gaffe from an otherwise extraordinary player is that we may have witnessed the basketball version of the famous Lamar fumble last Tuesday when Kentucky beat Duke.
With the ball in his hands and a chance to win the game, the future No. 1 overall pick, Cooper Flagg , slipped and fumbled the ball out of bounds, all but sealing Duke's fate and giving the Wildcats a massive upset win. In addition to the uncanny circumstantial similarities (a rival team's biggest star in decades coughing up the ball in crunch time to squander a victory as the heavy favorite), the turnover bore a remarkable visual likeness to the football version, as both Jackson and Flagg tried to hold themselves up as the ball rolled just outside their grasp.
Now that the game is over, we can all admit Flagg is going to be a different level of good. In eight years, Kentucky fans will read a BBNBA update on KSR featuring a crazy highlight from Cooper Flagg on his quest for NBA MVP and will think about that time he fumbled it out of bounds in the Champions Classic way back in 2024 in Mark Pope's first statement victory.
If nothing else, this is a good reason to further bask in one of the most fun wins in a long time during this week off from Kentucky basketball.
