Blurry street scene with palm trees and green text reading 'RARE PAUSIN INCOMING'

Rare Pausin

2021viral videodeclining

Published November 13, 2026

Rare Pausin, also known as Rare Pausin Animation Incoming, is a July 2021 TikTok bait-and-switch format where uploaders promise rare NBA 2K dunk footage but cut to a Grand Theft Auto V knockout or similar video-game hit synced to a beat drop. The gag spread after TikToker @rollinopps posted an actual rare 2K21 dunk set to Bizzy Banks' 'Outro.' By late July, Subway Surfers and Gang Beasts edits using the same audio reached millions of views.

bait and switch memes tiktok sound trends basketball memes gaming tonal whiplash memes

Overview

Each video opens with on-screen text reading 'RARE PAUSIN ANIMATION INCOMING' and footage that looks like it belongs in NBA 2K21. Partway through, the clip cuts to a fist hitting someone in the face, a flailing Gang Beasts character, or a Subway Surfers hoverboard swap, timed to the beat drop in 'Outro' by Bizzy Banks2. The shaky-cam effect and distorted yelling in the audio sell the punchline on impact.

The joke works because Pausin is a real NBA 2K21 dunk animation named after a 2K YouTuber and streamer1. Viewers who know 2K expect a basketball payoff and get a GTA V beatdown, a Gang Beasts tumble, or something stranger instead. Variations use non-game media too, with Grand Theft Auto V knockouts showing up frequently across the trend3.

Origin & Background

Platform
TikTok (NBA 2K / YouTube origin)
Creator
@lllv0nlll
Date
2021

A Pausin is a dunk animation in NBA 2K21 named after the YouTuber and streamer Pausin, who posted a tutorial on April 14, 2021, explaining how he discovered the move while playing the game1. On June 9, 2021, TikToker @antiquon posted an IRL recreation of a Pausin dunk that reached over 1.4 million views within a month4.

Rare Pausin itself started on July 7, 2021, when TikToker @rollinopps uploaded a clip of a genuine rare dunk in 2K21 set to a sound combining Bizzy Banks' 'Outro' with layered male yelling and distorted audio, with the dunk landing exactly on the beat drop2. His video reached roughly 271,000 views in three weeks3.

How It Spread

The audio from @rollinopps' post became a trending sound on TikTok that month7. On July 21, 2021, TikToker @lllv0nlll posted the first known bait-and-switch version: on-screen text reading 'RARE PAUSIN ANIMATION INCOMING' over GTA V footage of a street knockout, with the character's fist hitting the victim on the beat drop. That post hit over 180,000 views in five days3.

Creators ran the same audio over unrelated games for the rest of July. TikToker @xevvls posted a Gang Beasts version on July 24. On July 28, @user1z38lpq892loser uploaded a Subway Surfers edit that got over 2.4 million views in a single day5.

By then, the trend was swapping in any media where something hits something else, and the phrase 'rare Pausin' drifted into slang for juking or faking someone out6.

Timeline

2021-04-14

YouTuber Pausin posts a tutorial video on how to perform the Pausin dunk in NBA 2K21, naming the move[1].

2021-06-09

TikToker @antiquon posts an IRL recreation of a Pausin dunk that reaches over 1.4 million views within a month[4].

2021-07-07

TikToker @rollinopps posts a rare 2K21 dunk set to 'Outro' by Bizzy Banks, establishing the audio that the meme format runs on[2].

2021-07-21

TikToker @lllv0nlll posts the first known bait-and-switch version with GTA V knockout footage under the 'RARE PAUSIN ANIMATION INCOMING' caption[3].

2021-07-24

TikToker @xevvls posts a Gang Beasts version of the format[3].

2021-07-28

TikToker @user1z38lpq892loser posts a Subway Surfers edit that reaches over 2.4 million views in a day[5].

How to Use This Meme

Caption your video 'RARE PAUSIN ANIMATION INCOMING' and open on footage that looks like NBA 2K gameplay, a basketball highlight, or any setup implying a dunk is coming. Common convention is to cut at the beat drop in the @rollinopps audio to a punch, tackle, or physics-engine collision from an unrelated game, with the hit landing on the sound effect. Grand Theft Auto V knockouts are a typical choice, but creators often substitute Gang Beasts, Subway Surfers, or non-game clips.

Frequently Asked Questions