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What NBA players have you met on a personal level?

Discussion in 'NBA Dish' started by rocketfan21, Aug 24, 2013.

  1. Houston22

    Houston22 Member

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    on what level can you meet them other then personal?
     
  2. RV6

    RV6 Contributing Member

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    I thought the OP was looking for something more than the usual meet and greet in a basketball setting. Maybe youve met them at a party, and had a conversation with them, or your kids go to the same school, so you see them often. Maybe you were their caddie or attended high school with them, etc.


    If it's just about meeting them, then it makes sense to merge this thread with others in the past, that way we can have all these experiences in one place.
     
  3. Lurch

    Lurch Live Wilder.

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    My mom rode in an elevator for 12 floors with some player she, "knew looked familiar," around the beginning of the playoffs in San Antonio at the Omni Hotel.

    Once her and her friend got to the lobby they asked the guy working valet and he said it was Tracy McGrady and he had been staying in a suite since the Spurs picked him up.
     
  4. oelman44

    oelman44 Member

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    I met Greg Smith at Raisin Canes last year, before the season started. He seemed pretty surprised that somebody recognized him, and was eating with one other dude. Didn't get any pics or autographs though. Also saw Kyle Lowry at the airport once.

    A bunch of NBA guys also train at my school during the late summer, so after pre-season football practices I would see Chuck Hayes, Michael Redd, Rashard Lewis and some other players playing in our gym.

    I met Craig Biggio at my little brothers little league game in like 2006.
     
  5. Merla08

    Merla08 Member

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    I'm really good friends with Emeka Okafor. Known him for years. Whenever he's in town, we usually go out for dinner, or have some drinks. All his family lives here as well.

    When I lived in San Antonio, this girl I know dated Robert Horry, so he would always come out with us. He even invited us to his house.

    While Patrick Patterson was still a Rocket, I met him a few times out, exchanged numbers, even play Xbox live with him whenever we're both on.

    When I was in college at The University of Miami, my neighbor was Jimmy Graham. Yeah, he's not an NBA player, but it was still cool to be friends with someone before they made it big.

    As for athletes I've met just once... the entire Detroit Pistons championship team in Miami at a club. Half of the Denver Nuggets team 2 years ago during the playoffs when I was visiting Los Angeles. Tim Hardaway sat next to us at a Heat game. Bobby Sura was dating a friend of mine, so I'd see him out a few times. Mutombo and Dorsey were together at a club some years back. Parsons, Budd, Royce White, Jones were together at Avenue last year. Meet Scola, Blake Griffin at Roak. Maurice Taylor used to live next door to me during his first year here. Met Sam Cassel after a Rockets/ Wizards game. I've also met the World Series Astros roster, Drayton, the coaches,etc. I'm sure I've met a few others as well, can't remember the rest.
     
  6. Deji McGever

    Deji McGever יליד טקסני

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    I've been fortunate to meet a lot of famous people in general, and I've generally been reserved...I never wanted to be that annoying fan who bothers them for an autograph, but if they wanted to talk I did.

    -Years ago I was with a female co-worker in Houston at the Richmond Arms, and Robert Reid walked in with his hot Scottish girlfriend. My companion was a huge Rockets fan and introduced herself to him and they invited us to drink with them. I was 22 at the time so I was pretty shy. He was super nice to us.

    -Years later in LA I met a lot of player's wives and old friends and Rockets staff because I bought myself a seat behind the Rockets bench whenever they played the Clippers or Lakers. Back then I caught a lot of team gossip, some of which I used to pass on to Clutch privately if anything was of interest, the biggest was that Hakeem was in his last year as a Rocket. People there generally thought I was someone's friend or had some connection to the team, especially since I was usually alone.

    -Sam Cassell was a regular at my favorite Japanese restaurant in Beverly Hills. He said that when he was a Rocket he always went there when he was in LA, and as a Clipper he went all the time. I told him I was a Rockets fan, but he never seemed too interested in anything other than polite small talk about food. Japanese food was something he apparently had a passion for.

    -I brought cookies for Calvin Murphy once at a Lakers game. They wouldn't let me on the floor, but he waved back and shouted "thanks."

    -After a really good game of kicking the Clippers' ass, Cuttino Mobley threw me his headband on the way off the floor at the end of a game. It smelled a bit like coconut and my girlfriend's cat peed on it. I was furious.

    -I once was shopping in Beverly Hills and saw a guy that looked like Rick Fox talking to the same girlfriend. He walked away when I got there and I said, "That guy looks like Rick Fox." She said, "It was Rick Fox. And he hit on me...he's totally a player." She was all giggly about it too...it only increased my Laker hate :)

    -When I worked at UCLA it was right around the time Shaq first came ot the Lakers from Orlando. I think he had a doctor at the Medical Center because Shaq sightings were a regular event on South Campus. He was pretty hard to miss in a crowd, but I never approached him.

    -And in Vegas I saw Jordan and Oakley drinking and partying (with a large group of people, mostly hot girls), and I saw Magic Johnson a few times but never had the nerve to approach any of them, especially Charles Oakley who was one intimidating dude.

    -I once met a bouncer at a Russian club who looked like Mario Elie. I told him and he laughed and said "I KNOW Mario Elie, and I'm much better looking than he is." It turned out he played with him in the CBA and we talked about basketball in general.


    -But my favorite story of all, is I was looking for a doctor to perform LASIK on my nearsighted eyes. I went to one doctor in Beverly Hills that was way more expensive than all the rest I had seen, and he said I wasn't a good candidate for LASIK, but that I should get another procedure instead that was considerably more plainful but liklier to correct my astigmatism. It made me trust him more than the others but I still wasn't convinced I wanted to go through with it. On the way out I noticed he had a photo of Kurt Rambis on his wall, in his coke bottle glasses, personalized and autographed.

    "So you're a Lakers fan?" I asked him.

    "Nope," he said. "He was a patient."

    "Wait," I said, "Rambis doesn't wear glasses any more?"

    The doc laughed and said, "Nope, not any more!"

    "What was his prescription?" I asked.

    "He was like -10 in both eyes," he said.

    I signed up that day and got lasered a week later. I figured if a doctor could get Kurt Rambis out of glasses, he was more than good enough for me.
     
  7. dmenacela

    dmenacela Contributing Member

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    I agree with this. I am bothered that everyone is posting just who they met. Unless the OP meant just that then it's a very poorly worded thread title.

    On that note, I've met Chris Mullin at a rodeo store in Dallas. Very random but he took his picture with me.
     
  8. Merla08

    Merla08 Member

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    [​IMG]
    Okafor

    [​IMG]
    Cassell

    [​IMG]
    Dez Bryant

    [​IMG]
    X-Pac / 123 Kid from WWF

    [​IMG]
    Andy Pettitte

    [​IMG]
    Jeff Bagwell from way back lol

    [​IMG]
    Biggio

    [​IMG]
    Brad Lidge

    [​IMG]
    Darko Milicic

    [​IMG]
    Eddie Jones

    [​IMG]
    Okafor

    [​IMG]
    Mankind from WWF

    [​IMG]
    Mike James
     
  9. RV6

    RV6 Contributing Member

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    Who is that behind darko? Looks like tmac.
     
  10. Crashlanded19

    Crashlanded19 Member

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    I've played pickup ball with Luther head on numerous occasions...during the summer..and sometimes during the season...he's at 24 hr fitness midtown..he's there at least 3 times a week...he's a very humble dude

    I met Joey Dorsey..Chris Douglas-Roberts..and D Rose..at Dave & Busters last summer...they were all rocking their Memphis gear..cool guys...d rose was slightly limping so i think it was after the big injury
     
  11. Pipe

    Pipe Contributing Member

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    John Thompson and Alonzo Mourning had the seats directly behind me for the Rockets/Knicks finals games at the Summit (thank goodness they were not in front of me - I wouldn't have been able to see anything). They were there to support Patrick Ewing and we would chat some during the timeouts. Coach was loud, messy, funny and incredibly profane. Zo was quiet, impeccably dressed, and very polite - a real gentleman.
     
  12. mdoggnic

    mdoggnic Contributing Member

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    The Rockets used to have training camp in Galveston in the mid 90's. This is from '94 at my high school(Ball High).

     
  13. icecreamman

    icecreamman Member

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    I met Patrick Beverley on the way to walking to my college graduation. He congratulated me on graduating. But I didn't realize it was him until I walked into the building.
     
  14. DaDakota

    DaDakota If you want to know, just ask!

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    Played basketball back in the day with:

    Rodney McCray, John Lucas, Allen Levell, Calvin Murphy.

    Have met Robert Horry, Robert Reid and sat next to Otis Thorpe at Austin Toros games for 2 years.

    DD
     
  15. DirtyDizzil

    DirtyDizzil Member

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    Met Daryl Morey at memorial city mall, he was just sitting on the bench outside of the apple store, waiting for his daughter to finish shopping. Really nice guy and was cool about taking a pictures with him.
     
  16. samtaylor

    samtaylor Member

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    Talked with Shane Battier on the phone while interning for Sports Radio 610.
     
  17. eslate22

    eslate22 Member

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    when i was in college in San Antonio... a group of us were at a bar where ginobili was at and as he was walking by, my friend "flopped" right into him... manu gave us a dirty look and next thing we know we are being escorted out of the bar by SAPD
     
  18. seeingredtx

    seeingredtx Enlightened

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    Don't really post here, cause ya know every thing I would say has been said or would have been said by the time I post. Have been reading Clutchfans for many years and just recently decided to make an account. However I wanted to tell you my time with the Dream. Back about 15 years ago while in high school, I worked for a Pool company that serviced most up the rich athletes or big time people. Some examples of houses I went to was Jeff Bagwell, swoops, Rudy T, Biggio, Shawn Kemp, The Real Jet... many but my most memorable had to be The Dreams. He had a beautiful property with many fountains and pools and with his main entrance he had a room with all the trophies. But also he had his Prayer fountains one on either side of the entrance to his house. Well it was known that you do not touch those AT ALL. Long story short new guy comes with me and I am up front on his main big fountains, those had to be just right. Kids were always playing in them. The new guy not only drains the prayer fountians but uses acid and some strong dangerous cleaner to get all up in there. I will say I had never been so scared in all my life. The Dream turned into something else. he was seeing red.

    I will say that Bagwell always having p*rn stars at his place was pretty cool. Shawn Kemps place was robbed 10 mins before I showed up one time. Bagwell was by far the coolest dude. Would bring beer out and always have Chicks at his place. Rudy T was always drinking and swoops always had beautiful women at her place also. Was tipped 100 bucks but the crazy lady in the benz that ran over her husband then backed over him and over again. Showed up to their place with Police everywhere and they said don't think they will be doing any swimming.
     
  19. jbasket

    jbasket Member

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    I attended an event in nyc with VIP access, and got to meet a decent amount of people, and had good conversations with them. Mostly NFL guys, olympians, actors, etc.

    But for basketball, I met John Starks. Didn't bring up '94 ;)
     
  20. CantBeRight

    CantBeRight Member

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    I think I saw Tmac once at a gym.
     

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