One could argue that Hooper is putting forth a better effort to distract and defend for the Pistons than the players themselves. The Pistons mascot has attempted to implant himself inside the heads of the Brooklyn Nets and Portland Trail Blazers thus far this season, antagonizing its players enough to evoke notable reactions of aggression.
Thanks to the fine physical training of Arnie Kander, Hooper has been able to recover from each transgression against him and comes to play home game after home game. On Wednesday night, he decided to pick on the jovial-looking Joakim Noah.
And ... sometimes people just fall in love:
GIF: Joakim Noah plays rock-paper-scissors with Detroit mascot, @PistonsHooper. http://t.co/64MRyDzq5a pic.twitter.com/UUdU52ZZst
— theScore NBA (@theScoreNBA) March 6, 2014
@JoakimNoah tell the world how much you love this horse... Go ahead
— HOOPER PistonsMascot (@PistonsHooper) March 6, 2014
Now, your mascot thoughts.