The month of May was filled with awesome highlights from many of the world’s biggest sports leagues. At the same time, stadiums all over the globe moved towards full attendance for the first time in two years, bringing energy back into the stands.
With the swell of new fans came a ton of crazy highlights — here’s 11 of our favorites!
1. UCL
Chelsea won their second Champions League Final off of this first half goal from midfielder Kai Havertz. The Blues shut out Manchester City for their third straight win against Pep Guardiola’s club.
Azpilicueta ➡️ Mendy ➡️ Chilwell ➡️ Mount ➡️ Havertz
Chelsea carved open Manchester City with four touches to score the title-winning goal in last night’s #UCLFinal. Goal of the tournament contender?
*Timo Werner’s decoy run was amazing *Chef’s kiss* pic.twitter.com/9BDTIGauID
— SuperSport 🏆 (@SuperSportTV) May 30, 2021
2. PGA Championship
Phil Mickelson hit a physics-defying bunker shot on the way to becoming the oldest golfer to ever win the PGA Championship…
“OH MY GRACIOUS!”
PHIL JUST DID THAT. pic.twitter.com/wA3hu2cNxG
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) May 23, 2021
3. Boxing
Canelo Alvarez landed a crushing right hook on Billy Joe Saunders to win their middleweight bout (and send Saunders to the hospital). If you don’t enjoy bone-crunching punches, look away…
The Canelo uppercut that sealed it, in 𝑺𝒍𝒐𝒘 𝑴𝒐. 💥#CaneloSaunders pic.twitter.com/12CMu1xKOG
— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) May 10, 2021
4. NBA
The NBA’s stars got cheeky with their passing during the end of the regular season and beginning of the playoffs. LeBron James made a mid-air behind-the-back assist look easy…
This LeBron pass 🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/NrPhAGcqKK
— Complex Sports (@ComplexSports) May 30, 2021
James Harden hit Jeff Green with a bounce pass from across the court…
This Harden bounce pass 😳
Beard is officially back pic.twitter.com/zPmTiFEZuO
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) May 13, 2021
Trae Young saved the ball from going out of bounds with a cheeky behind-the-back…
HOW TRAE?! pic.twitter.com/46igH1N8BT
— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) May 12, 2021
and Facundo Campazzo got in on the action with this underhand dime.
This Campazzo dime to AG 😯 pic.twitter.com/8nuMe8fZz4
— Bleacher Report NBA (@BR_NBA) May 11, 2021
5. Bundesliga
Whatever they feed soccer players in Germany must give them strange powers, as evidenced by this head-scratcher of a goal.
Hands down, the strangest goal of the weekend. 🦅😳
Ajdin Hrustic’s first #Bundesliga goal was one to remember…🤯 pic.twitter.com/wQZWYMKzBZ
— Bundesliga English (@Bundesliga_EN) May 11, 2021
6. El Mago
Want to see what master base running looks like? Well look no further than Javier “El Mago” Baez, who made the Chicago Cubs look like a little league team in the infield during what should have been a routine out.
One of the wildest MLB plays you’ll see 😳
(via @MLB) pic.twitter.com/7lX5FnFUXC
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) May 27, 2021
Some background music really adds to the comedy of the situation…
The Benny Hill music was a genius touch! pic.twitter.com/zyriuk1vGf
— 𝚂𝚒𝚖𝚘𝚗 𝙸𝚛𝚘𝚗𝚖𝚘𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚛 (@SimonIronmonger) May 30, 2021
7. NHL
The NHL got in on the action with a duo of awe-inspiring goals. First, it was Conor Garland’s slicing self-assist…
That is actually unreal. Goodness. https://t.co/rSdAmORVpd pic.twitter.com/oWD1VbnSbV
— NHL (@NHL) May 9, 2021
Not to be outdone by this amazing wrap-around from Marty Necas.
What sorcery by Marty Necas!!! pic.twitter.com/4985ws6vwT
— Carolina Hurricanes (@Canes) May 26, 2021
8. NBA (again)
I know we already did the NBA, but this block by Rudy Gobert on Ja Morant, one of the best dunkers in the league, deserves its own spot.
RUDY GOBERT
I love the fact Ja Morant tested him. What a block by the DPOY pic.twitter.com/XgbuA3KI29
— Kevin O’Connor (@KevinOConnorNBA) May 27, 2021
Here’s another effortless swat by Gobert on Morant, just to make it abundantly clear why he’s the league’s presumed Defensive Player of the Year.
Rudy is donating $1,000 to @StreetsMemphis for every blocked shot tonight.
He’s got two already. pic.twitter.com/TBHxI4Qrvu
— utahjazz (@utahjazz) May 30, 2021
9. NBA (again x2)
I know, I know. But this league produces enough dazzling clips for two of these monthly articles. This particular highlight, a stunningly deep three pointer, is brought to you by a real-life magician who goes by the name Luka Doncic.
Sheesh, Luka 🤯 pic.twitter.com/mEmVseEfpO
— NBA TV (@NBATV) May 26, 2021
10. Gymnastics
American Simone Biles continued a long career of gravity-defying displays by becoming the first woman ever to land a Yurchenko double pike during a competition.
#SimoneBiles made history on Sunday becoming the first woman to ever land a Yurchenko double pike in a competition. 🏅pic.twitter.com/UKisVdWb4x
— WSC Sports (@WSC_Sports) May 24, 2021
11. Baseball Catches
Rounding out our top 11 are some of the best catches in baseball from May. Nothing gets a stadium going like a stolen home run, like this one from Brewers outfielder Jackie Bradley Jr…
JBJ!! 😱
He climbs the wall to take away a home run from Ozzie Albies .#ThisIsMyCrew pic.twitter.com/Wy922j6mvU
— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) May 16, 2021
The Rays’ Kevin Kiermaier had a run-saving snag of his own, stopping a crushed ball from Andrew Benintendi before it could leave the field…
Air defense system pic.twitter.com/wvrJbwJLW9
— Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) May 26, 2021
Clint Frazier on the Yankees looked like he flew on this diving snag…
CLINT FRAZIER WENT SUPERMAN MODE 😱 #SCtop10 pic.twitter.com/SKfotTEkV9
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) May 8, 2021
And the University of Georgia’s Josh McCallister did his best major league impression with this wild catch.
HOW DID HE CATCH THIS? 😳@BaseballUGA #SCtop10 pic.twitter.com/O3un4r2Cm6
— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) May 9, 2021
*Bonus*
Watching professionals is fun, but true talent comes in all shapes and sizes. In this month’s bonus, check out Hansel Emmanuel, an inspirational one-handed hooper from the Dominican Republic who has some serious bounce.
Another angle of “One armed hooper” Hansel Emmanuel’s poster on a 7 footer @TheTB5Reports #WWTS pic.twitter.com/0tt0DoIOCL
— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) May 8, 2021
Hansel Emmanuel will never stop being Amazing! He made it look EASY today in Indy 🤯 @UAassociation 🎥:@brealstudios pic.twitter.com/pl6dxWf73K
— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) May 31, 2021
That’s all for this month’s highlights. What did we get right, and what did we miss? Let us know in the comments below. And for last month’s highlights, make sure to check out the best moments of April .
About WSC Sports
WSC Sports’ proprietary AI technology platform automates the creation and distribution of highlights for over 150 leagues and broadcast partners across the globe, including the NBA, NHL, ESPN, YouTubeTV, Bundesliga, FIBA, FanDuel and Bleacher Report.
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