Roy Williams Dances Into Locker Room
North Carolina basketball head coach Roy Williams dances into the locker room and celebrates with his players following a 76-72 win over over Duke in 2016. Source.
This celebration GIF is perfect for celebrating a big win, entering a room in style, dancing with your team, feeling victorious, or finally getting the result you wanted.
The instant meme came after No. 8 North Carolina defeated No. 17 Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium on March 5, 2016. The victory gave the Tar Heels the ACC regular-season title outright and the No. 1 seed in the ACC Tournament, giving Williams and his players plenty to celebrate.
The moment also captures the intensity of the North Carolina-Duke rivalry. UNC had lost the teams’ first meeting of the season in Chapel Hill before responding with the road victory at Duke, and Williams described the feeling in the locker room afterward as “wonderful.”
Roy Williams’ locker room dances have become iconic among UNC basketball fans, taking on a life of their own as reaction GIFs and memes. Clips of the North Carolina coach celebrating regularly resurface on social media whenever fans have a big win or something worth celebrating.
Roy Williams was known for joining his players in postgame celebrations throughout his UNC career. His dancing became a memorable part of his personality, including this 2016 shimmy after beating Duke and other celebrations where the longtime coach occasionally broke out moves like the dab.
Williams’ celebrations offered a fun contrast to the veteran coach seen pacing the sideline during games. He ultimately won three national championships during his 18 seasons as North Carolina’s head coach, while spontaneous moments like this helped show the enthusiasm and connection with his players that accompanied those accomplishments.
College basketball GIFs capture the emotion surrounding rivalry games and major victories, with locker room celebrations often showing a different side of coaches and players after the pressure of a game is finally over.
