Spurs’ Carter Bryant Goes Viral After Fans Film Him Using Public Bathroom Mid-Game in Loss to Thunder
The NBA Playoffs gave us yet another bizarre viral moment, and this time it had nothing to do with a clutch shot or a controversial call. Carter Bryant, the San Antonio Spurs’ 20-year-old rookie, was caught on a fan’s phone using the public restroom inside Paycom Center during Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals.
The Spurs lost to the Thunder 122-113 to fall behind 2-0 in the series. Hours later, the only thing the basketball internet was talking about was a clip of Bryant walking out of a stall and washing his hands while game sounds drifted in the background. The video, aggregated by Legion Hoops, racked up 4.4 million views by Friday morning.
Yes, this is what we are doing now.
Players almost always use locker-room facilities on game day. The one Bryant was filmed in was the public bathroom for courtside ticket holders, which means it was simply a faster walk than heading back to the locker room. Anyone who has been to a packed arena knows the courtside restroom is the fastest option when the urge hits. Still, the optics of a postseason rotation player in his shorts at the public sink is the kind of moment social media was built to immortalize.
His teammate Julian Champagnie was asked about the clip on Friday and the answer is the correct one. “We should stop recording people in the bathroom,” Champagnie said.
He is right. There is a line and the Paycom Center fans crossed it. NBA players are not zoo exhibits. The bathroom is a hard floor for the average human, never mind a 20-year-old playing in the biggest game of his life. The fact that this became a viral story instead of a quickly forgotten moment of human plumbing tells you everything about where the league’s intersection with social media has landed.
To Bryant’s credit, he handled it the only way he could. He played the rest of Game 2, helped the Spurs scrap back into a competitive third quarter, and let the clip do its thing. He has not commented publicly. He probably should not. The story dies faster if he says nothing and Sunday’s Game 3 in San Antonio turns into the next chapter of this series.
For the Spurs, the much bigger problem is the actual basketball. Victor Wembanyama had a strong Game 2 but the Thunder bench outscored San Antonio’s by a wide margin. Oklahoma City limited the rookie phenom to a really good game instead of the historic ones he has been having. Bryant himself shot poorly. The series shifts back home tied 1-1, and San Antonio still has not solved the OKC defense.
The bathroom video will be the lasting Game 2 highlight on the internet. That is unfortunate. Bryant is a real prospect. The Spurs are deeper than people gave them credit for at the start of the playoffs. They are also in danger of going down 3-1 if they cannot crack the OKC formula in their next two games at the Frost Bank Center.
For now, the lesson is the one Champagnie laid out. If you see a 20-year-old in a bathroom stall, look away. He is just trying to get back to the bench in time.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
