With the 10th pick in the Basketball Feelings Feelings Draft, Mo Dakhil selects... HEARTBREAK

Mo Dakhil founded The Jump Ball, is an NBA analyst at Bleacher Report, podcasts on The Athletic and is one of the most steadying voices in the NBA media landscape. His 15 years of experience at all levels of the game have something to do with it, anyone who has worked their way from college locker rooms to running tape for Doc Rivers and Gregg Popovich understands patience as muscle versus a fleeting trait, but Mo also strikes me as a genuinely considerate guy, grounded in what small moments can build. Mo’s dad makes recurring appearances on his feed, with the elder Dakhil sharing jokes or occasional incredulity on cooking tips from his son. It’s the kind of glimpse beyond the insular world we’ve created around the already insular world of basketball that reminds you the time we commit to each other through quick tweets and going deep on the minutia of — at times — everything around the game, there’s a deeper feeling at play, a trust and accountability of real lives.

I have been waiting for someone to pick Heartbreak and was thrilled when Mo did, which is a weird feeling out of context to wish on anybody. Mo was working for the Clippers as Head Video Coordinator in their 2013-2014 season and was there when the Clippers would lose a late lead on the road to OKC in Game 5 of the Western Conference Semifinals. It was the only postseason where none of that Clippers roster would go uninjured, their best chance of making it past the second round. They didn’t. They still haven’t. Mo handled the retelling of it straight on, in no uncertain terms. Which is, honestly, the best way to handle heartbreak.

This next pick is a feeling every sports fan has experienced but desperately hopes to avoid — heartbreak. The pain and anguish of losing a game when coming so close are gut-wrenching.

We see it all the time. Fans with their hands on their heads, looking completely stunned, it can even bring tears to the face.

As a fan, heartbreak stays with you. I remember USC losing the national championship to Texas in 2006, not just feeling it that night but the heaviness the next morning. There are so many moments in fandom that come with this heaviness, but there is a level of heartbreak that fans will never experience. 

As a member of a team, these types of losses stay with you almost longer than the wins. I’ve been there more times than I care to remember. One, in particular, will stay with me forever.

To set the scene, we (Los Angeles Clippers) are tied 2-2 in a series against the Oklahoma City Thunder in the second round of the playoffs. Game 5 is in Oklahoma and we are winning. With 49 seconds left, we are holding a seven-point lead. We were 49 seconds away from taking a 3-2 series lead and heading home to Los Angeles. Everything is feeling amazing. 

Then, Kevin Durant hits a three.

We have an empty possession and Durant gets another bucket. In 30 seconds our seven-point lead has shrunk to two! There is a certain amount of fear beginning to overtake the joy I was feeling, like Venom taking over Spiderman. 

With 14 seconds left, Chris Paul uncharacteristically turns the ball over then fouls Russell Westbrook while he’s shooting a three! There are no words to describe the scream of terror I let out in our locker room while breaking down the game. 

We went from having a comfortable lead with 49 seconds left to being down one. To add salt to a new wound, we do not even get a shot attempt off on the ensuing play, but turn it over.

We lost. 

It is a long walk from the court to the visiting locker room in Oklahoma City. I sat there stunned but trying to pull it all together before the guys walked in. Guys started coming in almost one by one, with slumped shoulders, heads down, and just a defeated look on their faces. The only sound in the locker room was from the equipment guys and trainers packing everything up. Other than that, it was just completely silent. We all were experiencing the same feeling, just utter heartbreak. 

I don’t remember what coach Doc Rivers said when he came in for his post-game talk. All I remember was the silence. The silence in the locker room, on the team bus and on the flight home. Even though we had a chance to push this series to seven games, we all knew it was over. 

A fan or a team member never gets over these heartbreaking moments, they just stay with you. It is worse when there is a name to go with it: Wide Right, the Shot, the Catch, the Fumble and so many more. It is a wound that never heals and can be ripped open with a random highlight on SportsCenter. 

Heartbreak goes hand in hand with exhilaration in sports. Your favorite player goes up for the game-winning shot and as the ball is in the air there is a 50/50 chance of pure joy and utter heartbreak. To be a fan of sports you have to embrace the heartbreaking moments because without those the joyous ones are not nearly as joyous.

Just ask Toronto Raptors fans.