Best of April 2025 in Pro Sports
- Danny Piscopio
- May 2
- 3 min read
From March Madness, to the start of baseball season and the NBA playoffs, us sports fans are normally blessed with good weather and good sports all happening in the springtime. No NFL games, but it will have to do for now. Yes, I may be missing some but here are my TOP FIVE sports moments of the month of April.
Aaron Gordon Game-Winning Dunk vs. Clippers
The Denver Nuggets were down 2 games to 1 to the LA Clippers in Los Angeles. Game was tied at 99 with 6 seconds left. Nikola Jokic put up a turnaround, step-back floating 3 pointer that completely missed the net. Aaron Gordon came from the side of the baseline as if it was a regular lob, and dunked it in as time expired. They reviewed the play and confirmed the good basket. The first ever game-winning dunk in NBA playoff history, with the Nuggets backs against the wall, in danger of going down 3-1 in the series, now lead 3-2 with a chance to advance at home Thursday night.
UFC 314 - Volkanovski wins back Featherweight Title; Paddy Pimblett destroys Chandler
After being defeated in his last two fights by Islam Makhachev and Ilia Topuria, Alexander Volkanovski, one of the greatest pound for pound UFC fighters ever, faced off against up-and-comer, Diego Lopes. Volk was dominating early, and looked like his old self. Lopes did knock him down in the 4th, but Volk controlled the pace of the fight, and landed enough shots to capture the unanimous decision for the vacant featherweight belt. Volkanovski is the only 35-year-old or older fighter to win a title under 170 lbs. Paddy Pimblett who is a rising star in the UFC, faced his highest ranked opponent to date, Michael Chandler. Paddy controlled the entire fight, on the feet and the ground. Landing a flying knee and ultimately ended him in a bloody mess on the ground in the 3rd round.
Pacers SEVEN Point Comeback with 40 seconds left to defeat the Bucks
The Bucks had lost to the Pacers last year in the 1st round, and were trying to avoid a third straight 1st round exit. Gary Trent Jr. was hitting crazy 3 point shots towards the end of overtime in Game 5. The score was 118-111. The last three possessions for the Bucks were TWO turnovers from Trent Jr and a heave at the end of OT. The Pacers went 3, steal, layup and one, Bucks turnover out of bounds, layup to win the game. Tyrese Haliburton took Giannis off the dribble and scored the game winning bucket with a few seconds left. I thought for sure the Bucks were going to hold on, but this was the first time ever a team lost up 7 with 40 seconds left or less.
Maryland Game-Winner over Colorado State to Advance to Sweet 16
Derik Queen took an inbounds pass to the low block on the left side and banked in a floating jumper to win the game at the buzzer 72-71. It was Maryland's first appearance in the Sweet 16 since 2016. I may have put this play in my top 5 because I took Maryland to win the tournament in my bracket, and I was sweating that game. But there was also not many game-winners and upsets in this years' tournament, so that was an exciting moment to watch live.
Yankees Hit NINE Home Runs in 20-9 route of the Brewers with Viral Torpedo Bats
Yes, this game technically happened in late-March, but the torpedo bats were being discussed online and in sports media for a few weeks into April. Not every player was using those bats, Aaron Judge wasn't and he hit three of the nine home runs hit that day. The Yankees hit three home runs on three straight pitches to start the game. It was funny how Yankee haters went straight to Twitter to call them "Cheaters!" without even knowing the MLB's bat rules. They didn't break any diameter size rules on the bats. The Yankees hired an MIT professor to design a different style bat for them, and after they made them go viral, other players on different teams started using them. The bats were meant to give a bigger barrel to players who get jammed more often than not, and take wood from different parts of the bat and make it a thicker barrel. It's not a full proof bat, hence why the craze on them died down. Twitter fingers were yelling about how they were going to be banned and it's not even a story anymore. Sport internet gurus overreact to everything I have noticed.
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