What’re professional team sports without a good shoving match? Basketball star Kyrie Irving got into one recently — though not on the court, but with a humanoid robot.
In a video shared by the Dallas Mavericks social media page, a Unitree G1 android shows off its slick karate moves in front of the team, before Irving approaches and squares it up. The diminutive 4’2″ robot displays better survival instincts than most humans and nervously skitters away from the imposing athlete, who is two feet taller.
But it was to no avail. Irving shoves it in the chest, and the robot stumbles with human-like agility — or lack thereof — before falling flat on its back. Onlookers howl in laughter as it lies paralyzed on the ground, utterly motionless.
“My apologies, I thought I could push him a little harder,” Irving says, while the robot’s operators attend to it like courtside medics. “My bad.”
Maybe next time he can shoot hoops with one instead.
Back falls are no joke. Irving and the others try to lift the bot back on its feet, but it remains unresponsive, its limbs flopping around. Later, Irving comes back to check on it one last time, but it’s still out cold.
The Unitree G1 has become a cultural sensation with its surprising spryness and cute stature, with influencers using them for all kinds of slapstick stunts and “GONE WRONG!” videos. Some have become their own mini-celebrities, like “Jake the Rizzbot,” which is known for slinging Gen-Z slang and coming out as gay, whatever that means for a robot.
One way Unitree bots often shows off their adroitness is by performing martial arts moves, a trend that other robotics companies have eagerly jumped on (with some interesting iterations.) The flipside is that they also make tempting punching-bags for humans. No doubt that it’s hilarious to see them ragdoll on the ground after getting laid out, but they can only take so much abuse. The owners of Jake the Rizzbot, for instance, are currently suing the popular streamer IShowSpeed for allegedly wrecking their little celebrity after he punched it in the face, pinned it to a couch, and threw it to the ground during a stream.
As it stands, it’s unclear what condition the Mavericks robot is in after Irving made it eat pavement. But we hope it’s okay — if not for its sake, then for our own.
“Skynet will remember that,” a commenter joked.
More on robots: Amazing Video Shows Tesla Optimus Teleoperator Taking Off Headset, Causing Robot to Stumble and Collapse