Clippers' Cheeky Cancún Ad Trolls Mavs Before Game 5 Clash

The Los Angeles Clippers are no strangers to a little playoff trolling, and ahead of their pivotal Game 5 clash with the Dallas Mavericks, they delivered a cheeky punch with a savage arena advertisement.

As the Mavs arrived at Crypto.com Arena for Wednesday night’s game, they were greeted by a massive Skyscanner ad plastered on the side of the building. The tongue-in-cheek advertisement featured a flight offering direct from Dallas to Cancún, a notorious vacation destination for NBA teams once their postseason hopes are dashed.

The Clippers’ playful jab was a not-so-subtle hint that the Mavericks may want to start researching flights and hotels in the Mexican beach town if they fail to secure a crucial win in Game 5. With the best-of-seven series currently knotted at 2-2, neither team can afford to lose ground in the hard-fought opening round.

Of course, Cancún holds a special place in NBA lore as the preferred offseason getaway for teams swept out of the playoffs. The infamous “One, two, three… Cancún!” chant, coined by Nick Van Exel after the Los Angeles Lakers were eliminated by the Houston Rockets in 1995, has become a running joke and a stinging insult in basketball circles.

More recently, Charles Barkley jokingly suggested the New Orleans Pelicans should book their Cancún trips after falling behind 3-2 in their first-round series against the Phoenix Suns last season.

While the Clippers’ advertisement was clearly meant in good fun, it also serves as a reminder of the high stakes and intense pressure that come with every postseason game. A loss for either team on Wednesday would put them in a precarious 3-2 hole, leaving them just one defeat away from packing their bags for an earlier-than-expected summer vacation.

Regardless of the outcome, the Mavericks will have a chance to respond with some creative trolling of their own when the series shifts to the American Airlines Center for Game 6 on Friday night. A little back-and-forth banter only adds to the excitement and drama of the playoffs, provided it stays within the boundaries of good-natured ribbing.

At the end of the day, both teams know that the only way to truly avoid an unwanted Cancún trip is to keep winning games and advancing through the bracket. The Clippers’ cheeky advertisement may have drawn some laughs, but it’s the team that emerges victorious from this hard-fought series that will get the last laugh – and the right to keep their playoff dreams alive a little while longer.