In recent times, the “I understand it now” catchphrase has gone viral all over the internet after NBA shooting coach Chris Matthews, aka Lethal Shooter, uploaded a series of videos doing crazy basketball trick shots after saying the catchphrase in his TikTok.
After his video blew up in TikTok, the catchphrase quickly became a viral TikTok trend, with many hopping into it.
While the fitness and basketball influencer Chris Matthews consistently says, “I understand it now,” right before showing off his impressive shooting skills, the first time he said so was back in the June 2024 video.
@lethalshooter Double rim was to easy!! I added the POINT GUARD!!⚔️🤯 -Stay locked in! – #NBA #Viral #Basketball #NBA #RedBull #LethalShooter ♬ original sound – Lethal Shooter
In the original video of Lethal Shooter, he added point guards around the rim as obstacles with only two inches of error margin to go through the hoop. After missing the first shot, he says, “I understand it now,” and then goes on to make successful shot after shot.
The video went viral on the platform, gaining over 18.4 million views and over 2.4 million likes.
Later, he uploaded another video of him trying to shoot gummy bears in a water bottle. In the video, he is successful at first but misses the second time. Then he says, “I understand it now,” and succeeds.
Since then, “I understand it now” has become a viral online trend, with many making their own rendition of the trend.
@lethalshooter I understand it now!🎯 #LethalShooter #iunderstanditnow #VIRAL ♬ original sound – Lethal Shooter
Many TikTok influencers used the viral catchphrase, similar to slang ‘lock-in,’ to show sudden concentration or take things seriously in various contexts, such as comedic flirting, complex gaming, daily mundane chores that require focus, and so on.
A TikTok user, @j.gwpp, added a video saying, “When the school shooter lets of two shots but misses and says, ‘I understand it now.‘” The video has over 4.4 million views and 664k likes as of now.
Chris Matthews never played in the NBA but did play professionally before retirement!
Born on May 25, 1985, in Washington DC, Chris Matthews, aka Lethal Shooter, is a son to parents Jeffrey and Stephanie Winslow.
After seeing his sharpshooting skills, many commented on his videos, asking why he is not in the NBA.
However, Chris Matthews did play basketball professionally prior to becoming the NBA shooting coach and online influencer.
In the movie The Chris Matthews Project, presented by Red Bull, Chris Matthews credited his parents for instilling a passion for basketball by the age of eight. He also mentioned that his father was the one who coined a fancy name, Lethal Shooter, for him.
Chris Matthews played for St. Bonaventure, where he showed impressive shooting skills. Despite that, he did not get drafted by the NBA. So, he chose an international career and played in China, Russia, France, and several other countries.
After playing for seven years, he retired from professional basketball in 2016, citing a collapsed lung as his reason for retirement.
Since then, he has been active as an NBA shooting coach and has trained many players, including Kevin Séraphin and Dwight Howard.
Apart from NBA and WNBA players, Chris Matthews also trains anyone who appreciates basketball and wants to improve their shooting skills.