Weird and random facts you may not have known about the NBA and it's players.

[monkeypox]

Random Facts:

The first minority player in the NBA entered the league in 1947, an American born (Ogden, Utah) Japanese player that was drafted by the Knicks.

A.C. Green isn't actually a virgin, he's a "born again virgin" which meant he chose to not have premarital sex after he was baptized.

Kwame Brown has scars on his forearm from cigarrette burns given to him by his abusive father.

Bill Walton used to have a severe stuttering problem. He also once threw his shoe at the basketball during a game.

Add more if you got them.

[BigTicket]

For 3 years from 2004-2007 Marquis Daniels was the highest paid player in the '03 draft class, ahead of Lebron, Wade, Melo, Bosh etc.

[ACCBaller1403]

He also once threw his shoe at the basketball during a game.

Explain please. Not sure what you mean here.

Random NBA fact: James Worthy was arrested for soliciting prostitution during the Lakers' series with the Rockets. He actually was released and played in the game the next day though Sam Perkins started in his spot.

[Micku]

The first minority player in the NBA entered the league in 1947, an American born (Ogden, Utah) Japanese player that was drafted by the Knicks.

Wasn't America still hateful of Japanese back then? How the hell did he get in? Anyway, good for him.


A.C. Green isn't actually a virgin, he's a "born again virgin" which meant he chose to not have premarital sex after he was baptized.

Homies over hoes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DV2U3yLSDvQ


Kwame Brown has scars on his forearm from cigarrette burns given to him by his abusive father.

:(

No wonder why he sucks.

I kid, I kid. Still sucks though.


Bill Walton used to have a severe stuttering problem. He also once threw his shoe at the basketball during a game.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OM3Z_Kskl_U

Walton would've hit Bush.

I don't have any random info!

[bisk]

Josh Howard

[Mikaiel]

A.C. Green isn't actually a virgin, he's a "born again virgin" which meant he chose to not have premarital sex after he was baptized.


Are you sure about that ? Link ?

[Tainted Sword]

Maybe Kwame's abusive past has something to do with him not responding well to Jordan's tough love?

[InspiredLebowski]

[quote=bisk]Josh Howard

[wozzler]

Reggie too. Not sure if they were broken but I know he had to wear braces through much of childhood.


for some reason its really easy for me to imagine reggie with leg braces, lol.

[monkeypox]

Are you sure about that ? Link ?

Chick Hearn actually talked about it in a couple of interviews I've heard so I don't have a link. He thought people were unfairly making a big deal about it and making fun of AC.

I tried to google the Walton shoe thing but I couldn't find it, but this was also from Chick Hearn, when asked about the craziest thing he's ever seen during a game. Bill Walton lost his shoe during and game and bent down to put it back on, someone threw up a shot (it may have been a free throw) and Bill Walton decided to take his shoe and throw it at the ball. Someone else has to have heard about this, I don't think I'm going crazy.

[Meticode]

First player suspended for biting another player
Wayne "Tree" Rollins, Atlanta, April 24, 1983
Boston was leading the deciding game of its 1983 playoff series with Atlanta when Tree Rollins elbowed Danny Ainge. The feisty Celtics guard responded by tackling the 7-foot-1 Hawks center.

As the two struggled on the floor, Rollins sank his teeth into one of Ainge's fingers, opening a gash that required five stitches. The NBA handed Rollins a five-game suspension, one game for each stitch. The next day's headline in Boston read: "Tree Bites Man."

First player sued because of a dog bite
Tracy McGrady, Houston, January 2005
When McGrady returned to play in Orlando for the first time since an off-season trade to Houston, reporters wanted to ask him about his dog, Max. The Rockets guard had just been sued by a man who claimed that he lost the tip of his nose when McGrady's Rottweiler attacked him on Aug. 25, 2004, at the player's Florida mansion.

Fred Chamberlin, who was employed by McGrady at the time as a home maintenance engineer, said he was attacked on the second floor of the house after climbing a flight of stairs. When Max jumped him, the 57-year-old Chamberlin fell backward down the stairs, leaving him with a ringing in his ears. McGrady admitted that Max is a "very vicious dog," but said that he is usually nice. "I feel terrible," McGrady said. "I didn't think he had it in him."

Most bizarre excuse for missing a season opener
Burned corneas: Charles Barkley, Phoenix, November 1994
Barkley missed the opening game of the 1994-95 season with one of the most unbelievable ailments of all time. Apparently the stage lights at an Eric Clapton concert he attended were too bright, causing him to rub his eyes. A nasty chemical reaction occurred due to the hand lotion Barkley had been using, and he burned the first layer of his corneas.

Most preposterous use of a basketball card
For personal identification: Qyntel Woods, Portland, 2002
In March 2002, Woods was stopped by police for speeding. As he rolled down the window of his Cadillac Escalade, marijuana fumes poured out.

The police searched the vehicle and found a small amount of grass. When the Trail Blazers rookie was asked for his driver's license and proof of insurance, he had neither. Instead, he handed the officers his basketball card as identification. He was charged with marijuana possession and driving without a license and no proof of insurance.

Qyntel Woods
Qyntel Woods' stock dropped because of off-the-court issues.

Woods provided proof of insurance in July to lift the suspension, but his license was suspended again on July 28 when he failed to appear at his court hearing.

Seven months later, Woods was stopped again by the same police officer for failing to use his turn signals. In a bad case of d

[Kobe24]

Chick Hearn actually talked about it in a couple of interviews I've heard so I don't have a link. He thought people were unfairly making a big deal about it and making fun of AC.

I tried to google the Walton shoe thing but I couldn't find it, but this was also from Chick Hearn, when asked about the craziest thing he's ever seen during a game. Bill Walton lost his shoe during and game and bent down to put it back on, someone threw up a shot (it may have been a free throw) and Bill Walton decided to take his shoe and throw it at the ball. Someone else has to have heard about this, I don't think I'm going crazy.

I actually saw the footage. Don't remember where but don't worry, you're not crazy.

[H2whoa]

Allen Iverson enjoys drawing in his spare time

[StroShow4]

charlie villanueva has three older brothers all named robert.

[Lone Laker]

Luke Walton's stalker, Stacy Elizabeth Beshear, was recently arrested. She's pretty ugly, but hey, it's Luke Walton...

[fos]

Random Facts:

The first minority player in the NBA entered the league in 1947, an American born (Ogden, Utah) Japanese player that was drafted by the Knicks.

A.C. Green isn't actually a virgin, he's a "born again virgin" which meant he chose to not have premarital sex after he was baptized.

Kwame Brown has scars on his forearm from cigarrette burns given to him by his abusive father.

Bill Walton used to have a severe stuttering problem. He also once threw his shoe at the basketball during a game.

Add more if you got them.

Those were cigar burns and they were from Michael Jordan. Get your facts straight :)

[OldSchoolBBall]

Bill Walton throwing his shoe at the ball is at 3:52-3:55 here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFmxxpHMee8

His shoe had come off and he was trying to get it back on during play, but got so frustrated that he ended up throwing it to block a shot. :oldlol: He got a technical for that iirc.

[Maniak]

Bill Walton throwing his shoe at the ball is at 3:52-3:55 here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFmxxpHMee8

His shoe had come off and he was trying to get it back on during play, but got so frustrated that he ended up throwing it to block a shot. :oldlol: He got a technical for that iirc.
:roll: :roll: :roll: Thats amusing

[Doranku]

charlie villanueva has three older brothers all named robert.

LOL WTF? :oldlol: :oldlol: :oldlol:

[strifed169]

Luke Walton's stalker, Stacy Elizabeth Beshear, was recently arrested. She's pretty ugly, but hey, it's Luke Walton...

i nearly died of a burst of laughter blowing my nose reading this

[monkeypox]

Ha cool. lots of stuff I never knew about. Here's some more random stuff:

DJ Mbenga as a youth was a political prisoner in Congo and was almost executed. His father was on the wrong side of a regime change and his whole family was put away. His father was able to negotiate freedom for his sons, but Mbenga's father never made it out. To this day, Mbenga refuses to talk about what happened to his father after he left.

As a youth, Mychal Thompson used to hunt sharks in the bahamas, diving with a hand held harpoon.

Nba referees are surprisingly autonomous from the league and David Stern. Every game is reviewed by off duty referee's to tally up mistakes. (They actually have a secret website that gives them access to video of every game.) Refs that gather too many errors may be fined and suspended privately by the ref organization. The highest rated referees of the year are allowed to call playoff games.

When Tracy McGrady was a relative unknown high school player, he dunked on a kid so hard that it killed him... 12 years later. Not really, but you can read the story here: http://sports.espn.go.com/espnmag/story?id=3471118

Both LA teams are named after types of ships.

All jersey sale revenue is split among the teams and players in a pre-arrainged ratio, regardless of who's jersey sells the most.

In the interest of fairness there is a maximum number of times a given team can be on national television for regular season games. There is no minimum however.

At one point the Lakers had four players who were children of former NBA Players. Kobe Bryant, Luke Walton, Coby Carl, and Brian Cook.

Kevin Love is the son of a former Laker.

Luke Walton has a cassette tape of Chick Hearn pretending to call a finals game in which Luke makes the buzzer beater to win the championship for the Lakers. He received the tape as a gift when he was a child. Coincidentally he would later go on to crush Laker fan dreams by not getting traded and laying big fat turds all over the court, for which he is grossly overcompensated.

In 1978 the Boston Celtics franchise was traded for the franchise that would eventually become the Los Angeles Clippers. Because of the conditions of the swap, Donald Sterling was left paying retired Celtics, including John Havlicek, well in to the 80's. This trade was engineered by a young NBA lawyer by the name of David Stern.

[shrempf_on_rice]

Hakeem Olajuwon decided to auction off his championship rings instead due to his Muslim religion forbidding him to keep them. Sad really

[stephanieg]

Rondo enjoys skating:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3550/3358808149_cd8218e533_o.jpg

Duncan won championships using dark, forbidden powers:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3655/3358808169_8926738b4b_o.jpg
Rick Barry was pretty muscular:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3558/3358808119_6d4c56babb_o.jpg

Ray Allen is stacked like pancakes:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3232/3091510842_c01c876b55_o.jpg

[Quata]

As a child, Shaq fell from a tree while imitating Spider-Man and fractured both of his wrists.

Guess thats why he went to go for the nickname superman....

[halffttime]

michael jordan's first words was "greatness"...

[Mamba]

everytime an NBA player dunks, theres an invisible chuck norris round-house kicking them propelling them closer to the ring.

[t-rex]

Ray Allen doesn't have a 6-pack. He actually has an 8-pack!

[Micku]

Shaq's first point in the NBA was a fadeaway jumpshot.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhs-xK7Lvms

[1~Gibson~1]

Big Z was a point guard at the beg. of his career



Deshawn fell/failed in this pic
http://www.nancarrow-webdesk.com/warehouse/storage2/2008-w17/img.201932_t.jpg

[MMM]

Hakeem Olajuwon decided to auction off his championship rings instead due to his Muslim religion forbidding him to keep them. Sad really

what is sad about that?

[Toizumi]

what is sad about that?

Well, it shows respect for his religion and he did it out of free will offcourse. But you play for that championship all season long and than you can't keep the ring, probably because it contained gold..? (muslim men aren't allowed to wear gold).

Nice thread btw!

[Mamba]

probably because it contained gold..? (muslim men aren't allowed to wear gold).

Nice thread btw!
this is true but the problem is, that alot of muslims are not going by this rule anymore. especially famous ones. look at busta rhymes and akon.

although i am proud of hakeem, islam is a beautiful religion if u actually follow the quaran properly which these days is unheard of.

[Toizumi]

this is true but the problem is, that alot of muslims are not going by this rule anymore. especially famous ones. look at busta rhymes and akon.

although i am proud of hakeem, islam is a beautiful religion if u actually follow the quaran properly which these days is unheard of.

true, a lot of muslims make up their own rules nowadays: they smoke, drink and wear gold (ok I do to but I'm not a muslim) but can't come anywhere near pork because it's haraam. :confusedshrug:

But back to the OP, a random fact, which actually surprised me:
Scott Skiles was once arrested and charged with felony possession of cocaine and misdemeanor possession of marijuana. The cocaine charge was dropped when Skiles pleaded guilty to the marijuana possession.

[ZeN]

true, a lot of muslims make up their own rules nowadays: they smoke, drink and wear gold (ok I do to but I'm not a muslim) but can't come anywhere near pork because it's haraam. :confusedshrug:

But back to the OP, a random fact, which actually surprised me:
Scott Skiles was once arrested and charged with felony possession of cocaine and misdemeanor possession of marijuana. The cocaine charge was dropped when Skiles pleaded guilty to the marijuana possession.


So its the Coke that has Skiles all riled up!:oldlol:

[TheWitness]

Big Z was a point guard at the beg. of his career



Deshawn fell/failed in this pic
http://www.nancarrow-webdesk.com/warehouse/storage2/2008-w17/img.201932_t.jpg


Look at deshawns facial reaction,,,

[The Magic Man]

Worst display of gratitude after a trade
Scottie Pippen, Houston, 1999
Charles Barkley wanted to win badly, so badly that in January 1999 he deferred part of his salary so the Rockets could acquire veteran Scottie Pippen from the Chicago Bulls.

Charles Barkley and Scottie Pippen
Barkley and Pippen looked better on paper.

Unfortunately, the Rockets didn't prosper with Pippen, exiting in the first round of the playoffs. After the season, Pippen said Barkley didn't show him the desire to win and made disparaging remarks about his "sorry fat butt." Three days later, Houston put Pippen on a plane to Portland.




That whole ordeal was hilarious. I remember the back and forth interviews those two did about one another. Something like Barkley demanding an apology from Pip. Pip saying he wouldn't apologise if he had a gun to his head. Then Bark said something like Thats Cool cus I carry a gun. :oldlol: Ah, good times.

[Shaquille O'Neal]

Both LA teams are named after types of ships.



While that may be true, I don't think the "Land of 1000 Lakes" Minnesota Lakers were originally name after a ship...

[monkeypox]

While that may be true, I don't think the "Land of 1000 Lakes" Minnesota Lakers were originally name after a ship...

Actually they were as a Laker was a name referring to freighters specifically in the great lakes.

[Stringer Bell]

Lamar Odom went to 3 different high schools in his senior year and was accused of having another person take his SATs for him.

Dennis Rodman was 5'11 when he graduated high school.

Scottie Pippen was 6'1 when he began college (and was an equipment manager at first, not a player).

Sam Cassell is ugly.

[Brujesino]

Sam Cassell is ugly.


:eek:

[Stringer Bell]

Danny Ainge was a major league shortstop for the Blue Jays, and also an all-state quarterback in high school.

[krazy19]

charlie villanueva has three older brothers all named robert.

:oldlol: :oldlol:

[Jasper]

Mike Redd's dad is a minister.

When Mike reup'ed with Milwaukee - he bought his dad a New church.

[iTruWarrior]

Mcgrady was caught jacking off to his 41 point performance

http://www.theonion.com/content/news_briefs/houston_rockets_catch_tracy

[big baller]

Hakeem Olajuwon decided to auction off his championship rings instead due to his Muslim religion forbidding him to keep them. Sad really


:wtf: :wtf:

Never heard that before...and even if it is gold, he didn't need to wear em, could of just framed them. Although Hakeem is a great person, always helping people. I have a great amount of respect for him.

[halffttime]

joey graham gets kris humphries to wash his back for him in the shower.

[1987_Lakers]

- Danny Ainge is the only person to be a high school first team All-American in football, basketball, and baseball.

- The 1986-87 Lakers had four players that were drafted first overall. (Kareem, Magic, Worthy, & Mychal Thompson)

- Demery was wearing a Michael Jordan T-shirt at the time of his arrest for the murder of James R. Jordan. (Michael Jordan's dad)

- Scottie Pippen was picked on constantly by Charles Oakley during his rookie year.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0f1EsUVCIU

[xtn5021]

Mcgrady was caught jacking off to his 41 point performance

http://www.theonion.com/content/news_briefs/houston_rockets_catch_tracyBS... its from the onion... lol

[vex]

Actually they were as a Laker was a name referring to freighters specifically in the great lakes.

Actually, that is incorrect. Based off of Minnesota being the Land of 10,000 Lakes.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Angeles_Lakers#cite_ref-The_Nicknames_1-1

[Bodin]

That is really sad about James Felton. I wonder where he would've been today if he had gotten his **** together. Any chance someone has a clip of the dunk?

EDIT: someone mentioned it is here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wus3jnPXfDU#
around 3:22

can someone confirm this?

[OldSchoolBBall]

- Danny Ainge is the only person to be a high school first team All-American in football, basketball, and baseball.


Wow, is this true? Very impressive if so.

[A. Blackmon]

These statements should at least have a link.

[1987_Lakers]

Wow, is this true? Very impressive if so.

According to wiki it's true.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danny_Ainge

Talented in multiple sports, Ainge starred in high school on his football team and led North Eugene High School to back-to-back state basketball championships in 1976-77, earning all-state honors both years; he was considered one of the top prep football recruits in the state of Oregon. As a junior he was named to the 1977 Parade Magazine High School All-America team. Danny Ainge is the only person to be a high school first team All-American in football, basketball, and baseball.

[halffttime]

That is really sad about James Felton. I wonder where he would've been today if he had gotten his **** together. Any chance someone has a clip of the dunk?

EDIT: someone mentioned it is here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wus3jnPXfDU#
around 3:22

can someone confirm this?

no, thats not the dunk of death.. i read on espn, mcgrady stole the ball, slowed down a bit until felton was under the rim, then took off one foot, switched the ball from his right hand to the left hand for a windmill type dunk.. and there were also other factors in felton's life that lead to his suicide..

[MiseryCityTexas]

Explain please. Not sure what you mean here.

Random NBA fact: James Worthy was arrested for soliciting prostitution during the Lakers' series with the Rockets. He actually was released and played in the game the next day though Sam Perkins started in his spot.

this is not a rare fact at all. everyone in houston knew that james worthy used to be on the hillcroft strip paying for pu$$y back in the late 80s all the time. its just a rare fact now since it happened so long ago.:roll:

[MiseryCityTexas]

this is true but the problem is, that alot of muslims are not going by this rule anymore. especially famous ones. look at busta rhymes and akon.

although i am proud of hakeem, islam is a beautiful religion if u actually follow the quaran properly which these days is unheard of.


alot of hip hop rappers are muslim, and they still smoke weed.:no:

[monkeypox]

I would have put links, but a bunch of the stuff I heard during interviews. Also thought it would be better if people searched for what they thought interesting on their own, but I guess the joke posts do muddy the water a bit. If anyone wants a link, I would be happy to oblige. Anyways:

The thing about the Lakers name. On local radio they had a segment where they asked, I think it was Jeannie Buss, the origin of the name. The most common story is that they're named after the great lakes, or a reference to people who lived along the lakes, who were called "lakers". On the show it was said that they were actually named for the large freighters that traverse the great lakes. This is a common misconception.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Los_Angeles_Lakers

"The franchise was re-christened the "Lakers" in reference to a type of cargo ship used on the Mississippi River and the Great Lakes."


DJ Mbenga has a blackbelt in Judo and speaks 5 languages.

Pau Gasol was on his way to medical school before he decided on a career in basketball.

Rep for everyone who posts something interesting!

[East_Stone_Ya]

That Charles Barkley, Karl Malone and John Stockton were cut during the 1984 Olympic trials by Bobby Knight.

Magic went to the finals 9 times

In 2004, "Da Bull" (Bulls mascot) was arrested for selling marijuana

Bill Walton has attended more than 650 Grateful Dead concerts

In 1980, Spencer Haywood admitted to planning to kill his coach


Magic Johnson admitted to Maravich

[step_back]

Luol deng has a brother called "DENG DENG"

[mattevans11]

the top three picks of the 1992 draft were all on the heat roster at the same time.

[utahjazzrock]

I dont know if he still does this, but Tim Duncan-starting in college would always wear his practice shorts backwards.

Gerald Green has 9 1/2 fingers.

[Q.E.C]

Yao Ming is half death in his left ear.

[1987_Lakers]

[QUOTE=East_Stone_Ya]That Charles Barkley, Karl Malone and John Stockton were cut during the 1984 Olympic trials by Bobby Knight.

Magic went to the finals 9 times

In 2004, "Da Bull" (Bulls mascot) was arrested for selling marijuana

Bill Walton has attended more than 650 Grateful Dead concerts

In 1980, Spencer Haywood admitted to planning to kill his coach


Magic Johnson admitted to Maravich

[monkeypox]

Manute Bol's grandfather had 58 wives.

Nene Hilarios birth name was Maybyner Rodney Hilario but was legally changed to nene, which is portugese for "baby".

In the early 60's Bill Russell broke the unspoken rule of NBA players living in black neighborhoods, and chose to buy a house in a rich white one. Residents put together a petition to block the move but he did it anyways. Vandals broke in to his house and ransacked it, including writing the N-word on the walls, breaking his trophies and photographs, and defecating in his bed.

Jerry West wears a replica of his Laker Championship ring because the real one was stolen from him in a mugging one night in the Greatwestern Forum parking lot.

Can't give out any more reps for 24 hours, I'll eventually get everyone.

[e-LIMON-ators]

Yao Ming is half death in his left ear.

:eek: That's scary, what is he in his other ear?

[stephanieg]

Yinka Dare played 110 games and only recorded 4 assists. He had 96 turn overs though. He has the record for most minutes played consecutively without an assist.

January 2nd, 2009 was the first day in NBA history that all 15 teams played.

[monkeypox]

Alright, all rep given out.

Final random facts I can think of. Lamar Odom's father was addicted to Heroin and his mother died when he was young. (Sorry a lot of mine are depressing, but those stick in my mind for some reason, it humanizes the players I guess.)

During part of the 1994 Documentary "Hoop Dreams" the film crew follows one of the kids backstage at a McDonals all American game to show a candid view in one of the player's dorms. In the dorm you can see high school era Jalen Rose, Juwan Howard, and Chris Webber just hanging out. Pretty cool to see.

One of the legends about Wilt Chamberlain was that he could dunk from the freethrow line without taking a running start.

Dj Mbenga, while on the Mavericks, got suspended for running in to the stands to defend coach Avery Johnsons wife.

A young Ron Artest supposedly got in to a scuffle with Jordan during an off-season pick up game and fractured two of Jordans ribs. Despite this Jordan said Artest was his favorite Bull while playing there.

While already in the NBA he also applied for a job a circuit city just to get the employee discount.

The oft mentioned "kobe throwing shaq under the bus" incident was actually added to the report 3 months after the report was finished, and was part of a secretly recorded conversation that took place in a hallway outside of the official police interview.

Devean George was once a member of the Harlem Globetrotters, one of the few things he had in common with Wilt Chamberlain.

In 1999 Michael Jordan cut his finger with a cigar cutter, and can no longer properly bend his right index finger. You can see the finger sticking out in any picture where he's gripping a golf club.

The Red Hot Chili Peppers have two songs about the Lakers on their debut album.

The End

[monkeypox]

Hah, sorry to bump this old thread, just remembered something random:

Gilbert Arenas was caught cheating at Halo. He's known to be a big video game fan and even sponsors his own halo clan. When Halo 3 came out Arenas published his gamertag online and people were impressed since it seemed like he had an incredible record in the game. That was till someone noticed that all the games lasted a few seconds and were against the same people. Arenas eventually admitted to cheating, but didn't think it was a big deal because he was only driving up his ranking and not cheating to beat people.

Vlad Divac at one point was a ten pack a day chain smoker and smoked cigarettes for the vast majority of his career.

When Karl Malone was drafted by the Jazz he was asked to sit in a car/float for an SLC parade on his birthday. He was touched that so many people in town came out to see him and celebrate his day. It wasn't until later that he discovered that the parade was not in fact for him, but was for SLC's Pioneer day and was planned well before he was even drafted.

[sulsuvtut27]

[QUOTE=East_Stone_Ya]That Charles Barkley, Karl Malone and John Stockton were cut during the 1984 Olympic trials by Bobby Knight.

Magic went to the finals 9 times

In 2004, "Da Bull" (Bulls mascot) was arrested for selling marijuana

Bill Walton has attended more than 650 Grateful Dead concerts

In 1980, Spencer Haywood admitted to planning to kill his coach


Magic Johnson admitted to Maravich

[barkleynash]

Ha cool. lots of stuff I never knew about. Here's some more random stuff:

DJ Mbenga as a youth was a political prisoner in Congo and was almost executed. His father was on the wrong side of a regime change and his whole family was put away. His father was able to negotiate freedom for his sons, but Mbenga's father never made it out. To this day, Mbenga refuses to talk about what happened to his father after he left.

As a youth, Mychal Thompson used to hunt sharks in the bahamas, diving with a hand held harpoon.

Nba referees are surprisingly autonomous from the league and David Stern. Every game is reviewed by off duty referee's to tally up mistakes. (They actually have a secret website that gives them access to video of every game.) Refs that gather too many errors may be fined and suspended privately by the ref organization. The highest rated referees of the year are allowed to call playoff games.

When Tracy McGrady was a relative unknown high school player, he dunked on a kid so hard that it killed him... 12 years later. Not really, but you can read the story here: http://sports.espn.go.com/espnmag/story?id=3471118

Both LA teams are named after types of ships.

All jersey sale revenue is split among the teams and players in a pre-arrainged ratio, regardless of who's jersey sells the most.

In the interest of fairness there is a maximum number of times a given team can be on national television for regular season games. There is no minimum however.

At one point the Lakers had four players who were children of former NBA Players. Kobe Bryant, Luke Walton, Coby Carl, and Brian Cook.

Kevin Love is the son of a former Laker.

Luke Walton has a cassette tape of Chick Hearn pretending to call a finals game in which Luke makes the buzzer beater to win the championship for the Lakers. He received the tape as a gift when he was a child. Coincidentally he would later go on to crush Laker fan dreams by not getting traded and laying big fat turds all over the court, for which he is grossly overcompensated.

In 1978 the Boston Celtics franchise was traded for the franchise that would eventually become the Los Angeles Clippers. Because of the conditions of the swap, Donald Sterling was left paying retired Celtics, including John Havlicek, well in to the 80's. This trade was engineered by a young NBA lawyer by the name of David Stern.

Mbenga also has a martial arts background. He'd be a scary dude to mess with!

[Toizumi]

I dont know if he still does this, but Tim Duncan-starting in college would always wear his practice shorts backwards.

Gerald Green has 9 1/2 fingers.

Never saw that, it's on his shooting hand too..

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_CLZsSNTmeF4/Rq6qRVespuI/AAAAAAAAAEI/n9uao1c0pF4/s320/Green.bmp

[loot]

While Arenas has six toes on each foot, Kwame Brown has no hands.

Kobe Bryant has 310 ish members living on his scrotum.

[Aidan]

Kevin Love's uncle is Mike Love, of Beach Boys fame.

Charlie 'Helicopter' Hentz once broke two backboards in one games.

[monkeypox]

Just decided to bump this for kicks.

Yao ming's parents were both basketball players. They were encouraged by the government to pair up so as to create a tall child for China. When born chinese scientists determined that he would grow up tall by using a method that involves measuring an infants *****. From then on it was decided that he would become a basketball player, and he was placed in various government programs to support his growth in to an elite center.

Yao Mings favorite restaurant in China is Tony Roma's.

Before he was in the NBA Yao once served as a counselor at a Michael Jordan basketball camp. During one of the legendary late night counselor games, Jordan scored a three in Yao's face and taunted him by saying "can you do that?" The very next possession Yao sunk a three.

Carmello Anthony claims that he kicked his bronze medal from the olympics in to a lake.

Brian Shaw lost most of his family in a single car crash. A car containing his mother, father, sister and niece crashed while they were driving to visit Brian. The only survivor of the crash was his niece Brianna, who was named after him.

Latrell Spreewell is reportedly a bookish nerd off the court, who loves technology.

[flipogb]

Quote:
Originally Posted by monkeypox
Random Facts:

The first minority player in the NBA entered the league in 1947, an American born (Ogden, Utah) Japanese player that was drafted by the Knicks.

A.C. Green isn't actually a virgin, he's a "born again virgin" which meant he chose to not have premarital sex after he was baptized.

Kwame Brown has scars on his forearm from cigarrette burns given to him by his abusive father.

Bill Walton used to have a severe stuttering problem. He also once threw his shoe at the basketball during a game.

Add more if you got them.

Those were cigar burns and they were from Michael Jordan. Get your facts straight :)



I thought that was the same thing?lol