Did you know that the NBA has been around for about 70 years? And in that span of time, a lot of crazy and things have happened on the court. That’s why we rounded up 13 facts that you definitely didn’t know about your favorite NBA players. #1 will seriously make your jaw drop to the floor and stay there for a few minutes.
Kobe Bryant’s parents co-sign his first contract
When Kobe Bryant was drafted by the Charlotte Hornets, he was still not technically a legal adult at that specific time. Therefore, his parents had to co-sign his contract on his behalf, until Bryant turned 18 later that year. Now-a-days, this isn’t an issue for a rookie, as you have to be at least a year removed from high school to be eligible for the draft. He owes them a serious gourmet food gift basket or maybe a wicked new sports cars.
Kobe Bryants Parents Co Sign His First Contract
Charles Barkley was cut twice in high school
Michael Jordan was actually cut from the varsity basketball team his freshman year, wow, what a mistake. But the same happened to Charles Barkley. In fact, Barkley was cut his freshman AND sophomore years in high school. With time, he did actually make the team, and ended up having a successful high school career. By the time graduation rolled around, he got a scholarship with Auburn University in Alabama. Pretty impressive.
Charles Barkley was cut twice in high school
Air Jordans banned
The Air Jordans were created in 1985 and were quite literally the most popular sneaker EVER. Former Commissioner David Stern was not a fan of the new sneakers because the colors clashed with the Bulls uniform! That’s laughable. So he actually fined Jordan $5,000 for every game he played while wearing them. Of course, Jordan didn’t really care because it was Nike who paid the fines for him – which is considered a small price to pay for Jordan to wear their brand.
Air Jordans Banned
Shaq made only 1 three-point shot ever
Shaqille O’Neal has made over 11,196 buckets but surprisingly, only ONE was a three-pointer. That’s pretty shocking considering how talented he is! In 1996, the Orlando Magic played against the Milwaukee Bucks and the Magic in-bounded the ball with only a mere two seconds left. Shaq got the ball from way beyond the top of the arc and shot putted it in for literally one of the ugliest bank shots ever seen. Shaq has attempted 22 three-point attempts, but has only made one of them.
Shaq Made Only 1 Three Point Shot Ever
Josh Howard’s had his legs broken and reset
Josh Howard may be bow-leggedness but that never stopped him from going on to become a professional NBA athlete. However, when he was a child, he did have his legs broken and reset to fix the bow-leggedness, but his legs do still suffer a case of bow-leggedness.
Josh Howards Had His Legs Broken And Reset
LeBron James eats and writes left-handed
LeBron James is an NBA legend on and off the court, come on, we all know that. The man’s as ambidextrous as one can get. While LeBron may shoot with the right hand, he eats and writes with his left. LeBron clearly shoots with his right-hand, which is hard enough for a defender to handle but if LeBron shot with his left hand, defenders would seriously be doomed. Left-handed players are extremely rare, meaning they have a distinct advantage against defenders who are more used to guarding right-handed players. So that’s a tip for all you wanna-be NBA players, learn how to shoot with your left hand and you’ll be swarming with offers from teams.
Lebron James Eats And Writes Left Handed
NBA dancers earn $50-$150 per game
Typically cheerleaders consider their ‘careers’ as a part-time job and they’re usually paid about $50-$150 per game. However, they are also paid for the amount of hours they practice, which can often rack up to, well, a lot. There are some teams out there that pay their cheerleaders more, like the Knicks, their dancers earn about $28,000 per year. If I had any dancing talent, this would be a pretty easy way to make money.
Nba Dancers Earn 50 150 Per Game
Short VS Tall
Back in the 1987-1988 season, the shortest player and the tallest player in the NBA were actually on the same team. Pretty ironic. Manute Bol and Muggsy Bogues were great players and both had incredible personalities, all this made them exceedingly like-able. Manute was 7’7” but, he was also an underrated three-point shooter, while Muggsy was an underrated shot-blocker for his size.
Short Vs Tall
Salary cap
In the NBA, quite often, the salary fluctuates and athletes make a maximum salary of $20 million. Which is just staggering, I mean, that’s a boat load of money. However, if you play in the WNBA, the max salary is a measly $101,500 dollars. There are many who would say this drastic pay difference is because the NBA has a much larger revenue but personally, it sounds like a load of ****. With that being said, I admire every female in the WNBA and only hope that the glass ceiling will shatter soon enough.
Salary Caps
Metta World Peace applied for a job at Circuit City
Before Metta World Peace started his rookie season in 1999, he actually tried to get a part-time job at Circuit City somewhere in the suburbs of Chicago. Peace thought he could use some extra cash and equipment by working at Circuit City after he was drafted by the Chicago Bulls. However Circuit City didn’t hire him and they’re now out of business – we’re not saying the two events are connected but it is rather ironic.
Metta World Peace Applied For A Job At Circuit City
License and registration
Back in March of 2003, Qyntel Woods was pulled over by the police for speeding and marijuana. The former Portland Trailblazer didn’t have any form of ID on his person at the time. So, he actually offered his basketball card and two credit cards as a supplement. (Excuse me, I am laughing hysterically right now, this is a good one.) As you can imagine, that did not go well with the police officers. Woods was fined $1,096 dollars for driving without a license and speeding, which he pleaded no contest to. He won’t be buying new sports cars anytime soon.
License And Registration
Richard Hamilton got the name Rip from ripped diapers
While Rip is a pretty awesome nickname, the story behind it is rather odd. I don’t think anyone will ever really know why Richard Hamilton’s father kept ripping his diapers when Richard was a baby. Maybe he was just too strong and the diapers couldn’t handle it? Whatever the speculation behind the story, it’s a pretty good one.
Richard Hamilton got the name Rip from ripped diapers
Nothing is stopping Paul Pierce
The scene is a late night back in 200 at a night club, the Buzz Club, in the theater district of Boston. Tale as old as time, wrong place wrong time. A fight broke out and Paul Pierce tried to stop it – he was then stabbed 11 times while trying to separate it. Pierce was lucky, his former teammate, Tony Battie rushed Pierce to the nearest hospital, thus saving his life. But that story actually carries on to this amazing fact, and you just won’t believe it. Despite being stabbed 11 times (once more, 11 times), Paul Pierce still played every single game in the 2000-2001 season. Just let that sink in.
Nothing is stopping Paul Pierce
