What NBA players have you met on a personal level?

Hakeem Olajuwon
Marcus Camby

Mike James
<a href="http://s293.photobucket.com/user/lcahmed/media/Facebook/Mobile%20Uploads/329727_10150400333152020_1362817342_o.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm61/lcahmed/Facebook/Mobile%20Uploads/329727_10150400333152020_1362817342_o.jpg" border="0" alt="Mike James

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John Lucas III

 

I worked with Dwight jones.

 

I used to live right by the Best Buy at Bunker Hill and I-10. On Black Friday in 2007, I stopped by the store after all the early morning madness had subsided just to see if there was anything worth looking at. I was in the video game section when I got that feeling you get when someone is standing right behind you. I turned around and all I could see was a wall of blue. Yao Ming is literally a foot behind me decked out in a matching track suit.

Naturally, I'm simultaneously starstruck and weirded out (dude's way up in my personal space) and all I can manage is to stupidly spit out something like, "Hey, Yao, how's it going?" At this time he finally seemed to notice that there was a person in front of him. He just looks down at me, grunts with a disapproving look on his face, and moves on down the aisle.

In retrospect, it's pretty funny, but at the time I was pretty disappointed that I encountered Yao Ming, looked stupid, and he was really standoffish. Also, I seem to remember he was buying RCA cables for a PS3 and I wanted to tell him to just buy the damned HDMI cable. You can afford it, man! Anyway, pics or it didn't happen.

 

I passed by Bob Sura at Memorial Park while he was running the other way once. We made eye contact. I've assumed us being good friends since then.

 

I met Ariza. I asked him to autograph my Ariza jersey and he missed

 

Hakeem Olajuwon, Luther Head, and Arian Foster.

But I have met or shook hands with these players- d Rose, Zach Randolph, tony Allen, Jordan hill, Marcus camby, Chris Anderson, back up pg for spurs, and Maybe some others that I can recall ATM.

 

rockets:
dream
clyde
ralph
cassell
mario
horry
reid
leavell
jim peterson
calvin murphy
OT
rudy
tmac
buck johnson
bob sura
wiggins
purvis
david wood
kenny
barkley
sleepy
cuttino
walt wizard
glen rice
carlos rogers
charles oakley

non-rockets:
keith van horn
jason kidd
tim hardaway
shareef abdur-rahim
ansu sesay
donyell marshall
clifford rozier
chris mullin
dennis johnson
shaq
MJ
kareem
westbrook
rick fox
mahmoud abdul-rauf
priest lauderdale
wesley matthews
earl boykins
derek harper

 

my aunt was married to CD in the 90's. i got to go into the locker room a few times when i was a kid.

met all the guys on the championship squad.

 

I met Jason Collins. He's a real nice guy, very friendly, and he takes a hands on approach with all his fans!

 

Hohoho! I see what you did there! :grin: Repped!

 

Met Hakeem about 10-12 years ago (can't remember the exact year and date) at Gallery Furniture. I talked to him for about 15 minutes about the rockets and muslims. I was in middle school at the time, and I didn't own a phone or anything, well I wanted one but wasn't allowed one until highschool, haha. Or else, I would have definitely gotten a photo with him. Hakeem was super nice and humble. God bless The Dream, and our Dreams to come, I hope.

 

I unfortunately have practically zero stories like this to share, I guess I don't get out enough.

I went to Bullard's basketball camp, chatted with him for a few seconds there and got some stuff signed.

Um...once I got to be one of those kids who greet the starters and get a ball from them. I got a ball from Juaquin Hawkins and he said hi.

That's about all I've got.

 

Awhile back I worked at the airport (Bush), and got to meet quite a few Rockets coming and going. The most interesting was Yao when he was injured. He came through in a wheelchair, and he was about as tall as I am while sitting in a wheelchair. Super nice guy. He had to get patted down coming through the checkpoint. The guy that had to pat him down nearly needed a ladder. Clyde also had a store in the airport and was there alot, also a very cool guy. Mutombo is also freaking huge. You really don't realize just how freakishly huge these guys are until you see them in person around a bunch of normal people.

Saw Jeff Van Gundy a few times at the airport, too, he is a very cool guy.

I saw Aaron Brooks come through the airport the night he was shipped off to to Phoenix. He looked completely shell shocked, you could tell he was devastated. I'll never forget that.

I saw Tmac at the hospital back in 2009. I tried to say hey to him but he just acted like I wasn't there. He was off in his own world, it's never a good thing when you're at the hospital.

 

When I used to live in Denver, I would get courtside seats from my boss or friends when the ButtNuggets played the Rockets and Pacers.

I've chatted with Cuttino countless times and he recognized me every time he played at the Pepsi center because I always sat in the same spot and rocked his jersey. A few times he actually said what's up to me before the games, and HE KNEW MY NAME!!! Sounds like nothing special, but it was cool to me. Being that Rockets fans were rare in Denver, I have at least 5 jerseys signed by him, along with some game-worn shoes (autographed to me) and a few posters. I always wanted him to get Chuck to come over, but the best he did for me was Walt Williams and Jimmy Jackson, both of which were cool.

As I've said in many threads, I have a relationship with NeNe and his in-laws. I've been to Thanksgiving with him, not because I'm his homie from way back when, but because his sister in-law is one of my very good friends from undergrad. The perk of being cool with NeNe is that I get to hear a lot of trades or rumors before they happen, and I know personal things about a couple dozen NBA players that are interesting, unbelievable, or highly dysfunctional. :grin: You wouldn't believe how much some guys hate one another in the league...

Also, in undergrad, I lived two doors down from Jason Smith. We became friends quickly because of basketball, and we still talk at least once a month or so. He's a great guy, and I think he'll eventually be a solid 12/10 guy or more. Again, I get cool info from him that I would never know otherwise. He was my first "big" interview before I was officially hired by the Denver Post. Having access to my friend, who happened to be an NBA prospect at the time, opened some professional doors for me. Now, I'm no longer a writer....but I miss it.

Since being in Phoenix for a few years:

-I met Sebastain Telfair at a BestBuy. Most fans don't recognize the role players in the league, but I knew who he was and got his autograph. He was actually surprised that someone knew who he was in PHX. Cool guy, great handles...

-Chris Gatling: Don't judge me...Recently, Gatman plead guilty to squatting in a house that he didn't own and also for trying to sell it. I coach AAU Club Basketball for high school and middle school, and I knew Chris through his basketball programs out here. He was a decent enough guy at first. My assistant coach and I were invited to a few parties at this same house. Now, Chris is largely known as a scumbag out here, which is accurate. He helped sponsor a dozen or so teams out here through his name, and when the money came, he stole it and disappeared. Luckily, I didn't lose much, but you don't steal from kids and families.

I'm jealous of you guys that have met Hakeem!

 

Horry
Cassell
Cato
Elie
Dream
Franchise
Melo
Billups
Al Harrington
Ty Lawson
C. Brewer
Cheryl Swoopes-if that counts
Myron Sims - old school Suns/Globetrotters
Curly Neal - Globetrotters
Dwight Jones - old school laker
Scott Hastings
Scott Brooks
George Karl
Rudy T

...I think that's it.

 

I've played 5 on 5 and talked to Rashard Lewis on a few occassions. He works out up at Lifetime at City Center, which is where I used to work, and occassionally plays pick up with the guys up there for fun. He's a cool dude.

 

I asked Karl Malone to be on my squad at 24 hour fitness on a random pick up game day in Austin in 2007. He said "No".

 

I wouldn't be able to say anything nice to that demon.

 

Y'all met all these players on a personal level?


Or did the OP just mean, which players have you met?