{"id":"shanghai-sharks","name":"Shanghai Sharks","summary":"The Shanghai Sharks meme is an NBA Twitter running joke where slumping American basketball players are sarcastically pictured getting signed by the Chinese CBA team of the same name. The gag went viral around Ben Simmons in 2021 and peaked with Dillon Brooks after the Memphis Grizzlies lost to the Lakers in the 2023 playoffs.","tags":["shanghai sharks meme","nba twitter","dillon brooks meme","ben simmons shanghai sharks","cba","get ready to learn chinese buddy"],"howToUse":[],"imageCount":7,"nsfw":false,"images":[{"url":"https://fcdtoybbbn2ccxbp.public.blob.vercel-storage.com/images/shanghai-sharks/shanghai-sharks-shanghai-sharks-jersey-logo-banner.webp","caption":"The Shanghai Sharks brand imagery — jerseys, logo, and uniform — used as the central visual in the 'Shanghai Sharks' NBA meme.","width":1920,"height":1075,"nsfw":false},{"url":"https://fcdtoybbbn2ccxbp.public.blob.vercel-storage.com/images/shanghai-sharks/shanghai-sharks-steven-lebron-dwight-cba-tweet.webp","caption":"An early tweet playfully imagining an NBA player's Chinese Basketball Association career, referenced as an origin point for jokes about the Shanghai Sharks.","width":680,"height":469,"nsfw":false},{"url":"https://fcdtoybbbn2ccxbp.public.blob.vercel-storage.com/images/shanghai-sharks/shanghai-sharks-timme-kispert-sharks-2025-tweet.webp","caption":"A joke tweet using an iconic Shaq and Kobe photo to poke fun at NBA prospects allegedly heading to the Shanghai Sharks.","width":680,"height":629,"nsfw":false},{"url":"https://fcdtoybbbn2ccxbp.public.blob.vercel-storage.com/images/shanghai-sharks/shanghai-sharks-draymond-green-sharks-tweet.webp","caption":"A viral tweet that helped popularize the running gag of NBA players being 'sent' to the Shanghai Sharks.","width":680,"height":480,"nsfw":false},{"url":"https://fcdtoybbbn2ccxbp.public.blob.vercel-storage.com/images/shanghai-sharks/shanghai-sharks-wikipedia-sharks-roster-simmons-edit.webp","caption":"An edited Wikipedia screenshot inserting Ben Simmons onto the Shanghai Sharks roster, an early example of the meme's fake-roster format.","width":680,"height":1472,"nsfw":false},{"url":"https://fcdtoybbbn2ccxbp.public.blob.vercel-storage.com/images/shanghai-sharks/shanghai-sharks-goldieonsports-simmons-reaction-tweet.webp","caption":"A viral reaction tweet spreading the joke that Ben Simmons had been added to the Shanghai Sharks roster on Wikipedia.","width":680,"height":746,"nsfw":false},{"url":"https://fcdtoybbbn2ccxbp.public.blob.vercel-storage.com/images/shanghai-sharks/shanghai-sharks-nbamemes-dillon-brooks-sharks-tweet.webp","caption":"An NBA Memes tweet applying the Shanghai Sharks joke to Dillon Brooks after his 2023 playoff struggles.","width":680,"height":659,"nsfw":false}],"historyUrl":"https://fcdtoybbbn2ccxbp.public.blob.vercel-storage.com/images/shanghai-sharks/history.md","related":["cream-abdul-jabbar","flightreacts-look-at-curry-man","basketball","draymond-green-talking-to-kevin-durant","get-ready-to-learn-chinese-buddy","kevin-durant","lebron-james","lebron-glazing","sophie-cunningham-pointing","stephen-curry","the-warriors-blew-a-3-1-lead","utah-jazz-fan-hair"],"popularityRank":1381,"license":"Meme images and history: templates, screenshots, photos and fan edits, many of copyrighted material or real people. Explicit and offensive memes and images are included and flagged nsfw. Check you have the right to use an image before publishing."}