Game of Zones
is a web series made by sports website Bleacher Report, which ran from May 16, 2014 to May 21, 2020. It began as an
Affectionate Parody of
Game of Thrones centered around
NBA basketball. Eventually, the series focused less on blatant
Game of Thrones references and more on the NBA ones. Each team is a different "House" (House Spurs, House Cavs, etc.). It can be seen on
YouTube here, and on Reddit
here
Tropes associated with this series:
- Animal Motifs:
- It seems like anyone who signs with House Warriors are referred to by other Knights as "snakes". This is a reference to the real life nickname fans gave Kevin Durant when he joined the Warriors; Pat Beverly gave a nod to this when he tried to recruit Durant in the Episode 8 of Season 6, and before that in the Season 4 finale, Westbrook referred to him as "the serpent". In Episode 2 of that season, teammate DeMarcus "Boogie" Cousins was also called a snake by Damian Lillard in verse.
- Also in Episode 6-8, Beverly is a dog, a conniving and bloodthirsty beast trying to pick up the Warriors' scraps (Kevin Durant at the twilight of his contract). He tries to convince Durant to join House Clippers through manipulation and false loyalty (i.e. being his "best friend"), and mentions how he could serve as the Clippers' "alpha" should he join them.
- Affectionate Parody: As stated, this is an example of this for Game of Thrones, and NBA basketball. Westeros is Balleros, each team is a separate house, coaches and front office personnel are Lords, etc.
- Always Someone Better: Victor Oladipo to Damian Lillard, at least as far as their bard careers go. The other all-stars note that, while Dame is a good singer for a basketball player/knight, Oladipo is a great singer, period.
- Ambiguously Human: Lonzo Ball was born from an egg, but aside from that (and the fact that he apparently reached adulthood quickly), he looks no different from everyone else.
Kyle Kuzma: Weren't you in a bloody egg last year?
Lonzo Ball: Yeah, but that was like a special magical thing.
- Answer Cut: At LeBron's garden party, James Harden asks if he could borrow the Celtics' Soul Box to make Russ a better teammate, and learns it was destroyed at the end of the last season. As James wonders what the consequences of that will be, the perspective shifts to Kawhi Leonard, no longer a "bloody monster" and instead now a normal, if slightly nerdy and significantly less intimidating, human.
- Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: The "Triple Dirks" cases for why they should be Dirk's successor:
Kristaps Porzingis: Alright, well, I mean, I'm the most experienced...
Luka Doncic: Well, I'm
clearly the face of House Mavericks.
Maxi Kleber: And- and I'm from Dirk's
hometown, so ja... I mean it's hard.
We all have really good cases... - Artistic License – Geography: Although geography is heavily inspired by Game of Thrones, it also includes elements from real life geography.
- Some cities (Sacramento) are mentioned by name while others (such as Phoenix/Phoenicia and Boston/Bostonia) are called by fictionalized versions of the city name.
- House Warriors have a bridge looking suspiciously like the Bay Bridge leading to their castle.
- House Thunder are shown to be Dothraki-esque as a reference to them being from a city in the great plains.
- House Raptors' home court of Tor'Onto is a primitive tundra, covered in snow and ice even in the midst of summer.
- House Suns is situated in an acropolis in the middle of a ravine based on the Grand Canyon.
- House Hornets reside in an overgrown, hive-covered citadel in the middle of a lush, technicolor swamp.
- Assumed Win: As Lord Silver describes the final selected Knight of the Round Ball as "an undersized and often controversial, but incredibly savvy" Point Guard, Kyrie Irving straightens up expectantly, and receives some premature kudos from Kevin Durant, before Silver reveals he's talking about Chris Paul.
- Ax-Crazy: Jimmy Butler. He was a pretty chill Straight Man when first we see him, but one season spent carrying House Timberwolves turned him into an absolute lunatic.
- The Bard:
- Damian Lillard, who is the leader of House Blazers and a singer, a reference to his real-life rap career.
- James Dolan, the lord of House Knicks, also fancies himself one; again, a nod to his real-life house band. Unfortunately for the Knicks, he's also a Dreadful Musician that Can't Take Criticism.
- Batman Gambit: Pat Beverly attempts to get Kevin Durant to join the Clippers by playing with his emotions and insecurities. Durant wants to join House Knicks because they are a large market team, so Beverly notes that he will never live down the possibility of failure there. Beverly knows that Durant wants rings, so he sells the Clippers as a well-run house poised to win soon. And finally, he's well aware of Durant being LeBron's number two, so he gives him the opportunity to join LeBron's rival camp. He failed there, but apparently found a more receptive audience up North...
- Beethoven Was an Alien Spy: A Freeze-Frame Bonus in Wind Horse's book on the Soul Box in "Pick 'n' Roll" reveals that James Naismith (known as "Neigh Smith") was an alchemist and potions maker who invented the game of basketball as a safe way to test his performance-enhancing concoctions. Additionally, Lionel Messi, Michael Phelps, Roger Federer, Derek Jeter, and Wayne Gretzky were the knights who helped expand Balleros.
- Best Friend: DeMar DeRozan to Kyle Lowry. Kyle cites this as his reason not to trade him to House Magic, and is quite heartbroken when Lord Ujiri later sacrifices him in a trade for Kawhi Leonard.
- Black Bead Eyes: Devin Booker has no sclera, just solid black eyes.
- Black Comedy Rape: Kobe Bryant's sexual assault case is referenced in "The Raid on Stables Castle" as a brief "skeletons in the closet" gag.
- Brick Joke:
- For Season 6, LeBron's stage production of "Sea Jam 2".
- The Sun Kings "superhouse" is finally realized in Season 7, when they arrive to help defend the realm against the Dream Team. They get waxed in about 7 seconds.
- Bullying a Dragon: Michael Jordan may be long retired, but LeBron's off-the-cuff boast about being better than him is still enough to get under his skin, and his infamously competitive nature won't let him take it lying down...
- The Cameo:
- In the Philadelphia-centric episode "The Process", several famous Philly celebrities (such as Will Smith, Tina Fey, Danny DeVito and Charlie Day) appear in the crowd shots, as well as the show's creators, who are themselves big Sixers fans.
- Similarly, "The Kings Landing" features several LA-based celebrities (and some other noteworthy personalities) in its crowd shots as well.
- Characterization Marches On:
- As seasons pass and the perception of the real life players changes in the eyes of the fans, their characterization in the show changes with them. For example, compare Kevin Durant and Jimmy Butler at the beginning of season 4, to them by season 6.
- In the early seasons, House Warriors are portrayed as a rough-and-tumble band of Night's Watch-types. By the time they acquire Kevin of Durant at the beginning of season 4, they've become a house of haughty, decadent aristocrats.
- Chekhov's Gunman:
- Michael Jordan, who only appeared in Season 2 as a gag character, ends up becoming the Big Bad of the final season.
- Larry Bird was The Ghost for most of the series and made his physical debut in The Stinger of the Season Six compilation. He appears to Dion Waiters in "A Game of Horse", warning him of the Dream Team's return.
- Chekhov M.I.A.: At the start of "The Mediadel", Shaq briefly mentions that Charles Barkley is currently absent, but the subject is dropped before he can go into any detail. This at first seems like a reference to Chuck going into self-isolation due to the coronavirus outbreak, but Ser Charles, now reverted to his 90's-era appearance and physique, appears at the end of the episode as one of the Dream Team.
- Comically Missing the Point: After House Rockets is raided by the Warriors, they're left a message reading "Your defense is weak AF." James Harden thinks "AF" is the writer's initials and concludes it's from long-retired Adonal Foyle.
- Continuity Nod: There are lots, some in the form of Freeze-Frame Bonus. The horse the Raptors received from the Magic appears in the season 4 and 5 finales for instance. The gifts given to Kobe at his retirement ceremony are all on display in his shrine in "The Raid on Stables Castle", including the skull of the donkey Shaq gave him.
- Cult of Personality: The Kobedicians, a sect of fanatical Kobe worshipers secretly led by Kobe's number one fanling: Kobe himself.
- The Dandy: When not on the court, Russ Westbrook prefers to dress like a foppish fool.
- Darkhorse Victory: Who is the GOAT come the end of the series? Paul Pierce, of all people. Much to LeBron's annoyance.
- Dashing Hispanic: Played for Laughs with James Harden, who inexplicably has a thick Spanish accent.
- Deadpan Snarker: Boogie Cousins, of all people, acts this way while captured by House Blazers, remaining cool and collected while bemusedly mocking them and their attempts to recruit him. It's only when Dame Lillard lets him go to join House Warriors, while claiming that they will only be weakened by him joining them, that he finally loses his temper.
- Dreadful Musician: James Dolan's music is so awful that it kills one of the ravens that was listening to it.
- Dude, Where's My Respect?: After leading the battle against and vanquishing the revived Dream Team, LeBron is rather annoyed that no one heard a thing about it. And come his coronation as the GOAT, people still debate between him and Jordan.
- Everyone Has Standards: While Dirk Nowitzki is a firm believer of loyalty, he completely understands why Porzingis jumped ship from House Knicks.
- Expy: The Spurs play the role of the White Walkers.
- Empty Shell: House Spurs is an entire group of this. Whoever signs with them has their soul and personality taken out of them, spoofing the real Spurs' selfless, fame-shirking team culture.
- The Faceless: Serge Ibaka is always seen with his helmet on.
- Failed Attempt at Drama: Dwyane Wade tries to provide proof of Michael Jordan and the Dream Team's return by unveiling a captured Christian Laettner before the Mediadel. However this reveal is hampered by none of them recognizing Laettner at all.
- Fake Brit: invoked Most of the cast.
- Fake Irish: invoked Most of the Celtics in Season 4, as a pun on their name.
- Fan Community Nickname: invoked In-Universe, basketball fans are known as "fanlings".
- Feet-First Introduction: Kawhi Leonard is shown this way in Season 6 Episode 3, complete with shoes that bear his name.
- Flashback Within a Flashback: Season 4 Episode 7, "Feast of the East", is comprised of a series of these, showing each time another team challenged LeBron's team's mastery of the Eastern Realm going all the way back to 2012.
- Foil: Dirk and LeBron are portrayed as such in Season 6 Episode 5, "Loyalty". Dirk is fiercely loyal to House Mavericks and sees enough potential in his younger teammates to appoint them as his successors. LeBron on the other hand is more concerned with chasing rings, being willing to throw his young core under the bus for a superstar (Anthony Davis). This runs parallel to the 2011 Finals, where Dirk was a One-Man Army who was able to beat LeBron's superstar team.
- Hope Spot: MarShon Brooks had high hopes that being traded to House Suns would be his chance to prove himself and revitalize his career, but is sorely crushed when it turns out they actually wanted Dillon Brooks instead of him, and he is turned away.
- Hordes from the East: House Spurs, meant as a parody of the White Walkers.
- Human Sacrifice: The Raptors' trade of DeMar DeRozan and Jakob Poeltl (and a 1st round pick) to the Spurs is depicted as this. They don't actually die though, they're just transported to their new house in a giant Raptor mascot.note Considering that all members of House Spurs are White Walkers, it's questionable on whether they are still considered as "truly alive" by the time they get to San Antonio.
- Implausible Deniability: Lord Thibs continually insists that Jimmy Butler is quite happy to stay with House Timberwolves, and dismisses his Ax-Crazy behavior as "motivational intensity", even while Jimmy is rampaging through the courtyard, slaughtering other players and shrieking to be traded.
- Important Haircut: Following a pep talk from Kobe, LeBron shaves his head bald in preparation to face the Dream Team.
Kobe: Cut away your distractions. Cut away self-doubt and insecurity. Once you have removed all that does not serve you in battle, you have found your Mamba Form.
LeBron: Um, I'm sorry... I don't think I understand.
Kobe: I'm saying... you need to shave your head.
- Inadvertent Entrance Cue: "Well whoever we're getting back, he'd better be a bloody MONSTER!" In comes Kawhi Leonard.
- Innocuously Important Episode: "Unknown Sorcery", while a season finale episode, counts as this, as LeBron telling the Raptors' horse to tell people that he's better than Jordan kicks off the final season's Myth Arc.
- In Vino Veritas: LeBron gets smashed on wine at the draft lottery and starts roasting the other houses, finishing with a "The Reason You Suck" Speech to all of them when he's called on his behavior.
- It's All About Me:
- Kobe Bryant's reputation as a self-absorbed ballhog is exaggerated here. He refuses to pass the ceremonial torch at his retirement ceremony ("Just get the rebound!"), built a shrine to honor himself, and secretly leads an extremist sect of his fans to harass LeBron. Though he finally does pass the torch to LeBron in "The Long Episode", declaring him to be his true successor and the one destined to "move the game forward".
- Carmelo Anthony, to a degree. The reason why he was kicked out of the Rockets was because he wanted to boost his own stats rather than gel with the other Rockets and conform to their playstyle.
- Latex Perfection: LeBron disguises himself flawlessly as Drake to poison House Raptors. When the real Drake is next seen his face is clearly stitched on, as if LeBron cut it off to make his mask.
- Leaning on the Fourth Wall: Nikola Jokić does this a couple times in "The Long Episode":
- Legion of Doom: The Order of the All-Seeing Eye, a team of haughty, arrogant knights (Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Boogie Cousins, Jimmy Butler, Carmelo Anthony and Draymond Green) who feel that they've been snubbed from the All-Realm team by the Mediadel and want revenge.
- Mundane Made Awesome: Basketball games are treated with the reverence of large-scale battles, and are an important part of Balleros lore. Season Seven reveals that this is because basketball became an alternative to actual war as a form on conquest.
- My Friends... and Zoidberg:
- Rajon Rondo feels like this when hearing about the "Big Three" of Boston, insisting that he was the fourth star of that team.
- Jakob Poeltl is treated as this in Episode 6-3, since the main focus is on the impact the trade has on DeMar and Kyle's friendship.
- Nothing Is Scarier: Kawhi Leonard as a Raptor was never seen from the feet up, and he's referred to as a "monster" later on.*Which was a Call-Back to Kyle Lowry's expectation of what the Raptors got in the trade referenced under Human Sacrifice above. When he is shown in "A Game of Horse", he has returned to being a human due to House Celtics destroying the Spurs' Soul Box.
- Not Hyperbole: When House Lakers' feast is interrupted by the Kobedecians, the Lakers discuss their motives:
Kyle Kuzma: They don't accept
LeBron.
Brandon Ingram: They think he's a soft bitch who can't play defense.
Lord Magic: Watch your tongue, Brandon!Ingram: Wha- well, that's what they
say!
First Kobedecian: (from outside) LEBRON'S A SOFT BITCH!!!
Second Kobedecian: (also from outside) AND HE DOESN'T PLAY DEFENSE!!!
(Rondo does an Aside Glance)Ingram: See?
- Once Done, Never Forgotten: No one will let Kyle Lowry forget that he once traded Terrence Ross for a horse "that does horse-things"*And Serge Ibaka, but Serge was already part of the deal.
- Power Trio: Played for Laughs with the "Triple Dirks", a trio of Europeans from House Mavericks (Luka Doncic, Kristaps Porzingis, and Maxi Kleber) who were each named Dirk's successor because he forgot about anointing them in the first place.
- Putting the Band Back Together: Villainous example in Season 7. Michael Jordan comes out of retirement once more to reunite the Dream Team, using the remains of the Soul Box to restore them all to their primes, in order to get back at LeBron and the whole realm for "turning the game soft".
- Really 700 Years Old: Thon Maker, as a joke on him lying about his age ahead of the draft. He's actually Maester Naismith, thousand-year-old inventor of basketball, kept young by a mystical necklace of peach and basket charms.
- Real-Person Fic: A Web Animation equivalent of one, Game of Zones features fictionalized versions of real NBA players and references real events from the current/past NBA season.
- Recognition Failure:
- Paul George tries to inspire House Pacers before a battle by listing some past Pacer greats, but once he gets past Reggie Miller and Jermaine of Neal, the names stop being recognizable to the crowd. His mention of Rik “The Dunking Dutchman” Smits is met with a confused "Who is Rip Smith?"
- None of the members of the Mediadel have any idea who White Walker!Christian Laettner is supposed to be, confusing him for several other average-looking white 90's basketball players before Dwyane Wade just gives up and says his name outright.
- Red Shirt: Gerald Green is this for House Rockets in "The Raid on Stables Castle", and was recruited by Chris Paul precisely because he was an expendable journeyman, rather than one of their more valuable starters. True to form, he's unceremoniously slaughtered by the Clippers' mascot to illustrate the danger present and is completely forgotten about seconds later.
- Reference Overdosed: The creators are very tapped into the NBA fandom and include many memes that circulate through it. They've also been back-and-forth on Game of Thrones, starting as "Basketball as GoT", then "Basketball as seen by GoT", to a nice even keel of including references to famous scenes as storylines permit.
- Rousing Speech:
- Running Gag: LeBron's hairline.
- Shoot the Messenger: The Dream Team cut up House Raptors' horse and rearrange his parts into the Air Jordan logo to warn the realm of their attack.
- Snub by Omission: When LeBron gets tipsy at the draft lottery and starts roasting the other houses, he refuses to mock House Hornets even when asked to.
- Soul Jar: House Spurs holds the souls of all of their players inside of one. Supposedly, a player will get his back if or when traded.
- Spare a Messenger: LeBron poisoned House Raptors but pointedly spared their horse. As the Raptors lie choking on the ground he instructs the horse to tell people King James rules the East (and that he's better than Michael Jordan).
- Spit Out a Shoe: The Raptor mascot does this when it "eats" DeMar (the shoe in question resembling a Kobe brand).
- Start My Own: After Kyrie Irving is snubbed from becoming a member of the Knights of the Round Ball, he leaves with other like-minded egotistical hotheads to create his own superhouse called the Order of the All-Seeing Eye.
- Stealth Pun:
- The Clippers, as described by Pat Beverly, are "smooth sailing", referring to how well-run they are, but also a play on their namesake.
- The farmer who LeBron visits in the final episode is Jordan Farmar.
- Still Wearing the Old Colors: As the Knights of the Round Ball prepare for battle in Seattle, they don the armor and colors of the vanquished House Sonics.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: After getting drunk at the draft lottery and insulting several of the other houses, LeBron delivers one to all the assembled houses for thinking that acquiring Zion Williamson will magically solve all the fundamental problems that led them there in the first place, and predicts that they'll only drag Zion down until he inevitably leaves for a better house.
- Those Two Guys: Kyle Kuzma and Lonzo Ball were these for House Lakers up until Season 7, but with Lonzo now on House Pelicans this is no longer the case.
- Throw the Dog a Bone:
- The Unpronounceable: Jakob Poeltl. The Raptors settle on "Jake Puddle" while discussing his part in a trade.
- Title Drop: Dropped by Rick Carlisle in "The Long Episode", when he proposes forcing the Dream Team into a long game of zone defense.
- Villain Song: Lord Dolan's "cheer-up song" to the bedridden Ser Kristaps is a gleeful ode to all the terrible decisions he has plagued, and will continue to plague, House Knicks with.
- Visual Pun:
- Very Loosely Based on a True Story: The plot is based on occurring NBA storylines, but takes place in a fantasy setting.
- White-Dwarf Starlet: Carmelo Anthony is convinced that he's still a superstar despite becoming a journeyman in his last few years. This is taken further when he's included in LeBron's production of "Sea Jam 2"... and tries to literally upstage LeBron during his big musical number.
- We ARE Struggling Together: Kyrie Irving explicitly mentions Order of the All-Seeing Eye was formed together purely out of hatred of the Mediadel for spurning them, rather than any sense of true friendship between its members. Indeed, within minutes of its founding, Kevin Durant and Russ Westbrook begin sniping bitterly at each other, and Jimmy Butler predicts that they'll wind up destroying themselves before they can take their revenge on the Mediadel.
- The Worf Effect: The first House to fall to Jordan's revived Dream Team is House Raptors, the defending Realm Champions. They follow up by wiping out the defensive powerhouse Bucks and the reigning MVP, Giannis.
