5 weird NBA facts that you never saw coming
Facts about the early days of the NBA and popular players throughout history have become increasingly popular thanks to the rise in social media usage. From fast facts about the lives of Hall of Famers to stories passed down from players of yesterday, there is still plenty that goes unreported.
While paparazzi members often catch behind-the-scenes photos, there's a lot that goes on behind the scenes that many fans aren't aware of.
This has only increased with the number of international stars around the league, with fans taking an interest in Nikola Jokic's passion for horses last season. While insights like Jokic's love for horses and Jimmy Butler's love of country music are well known, there are still plenty of weird and fun NBA facts.
Here's a look at the five weirdest NBA facts that you never saw coming, featuring some of the league's biggest stars. In some cases, the facts are puzzling, while in other cases they're downright jaw-dropping.
Let's take a look at five NBA facts you probably don't know.
Five weird NBA facts many fans probably never saw coming
#5, LeBron James and the fountain of youth
As LeBron James prepares to enter year 21, ESPN's Kendrick Perkins continues to make headlines for his hot takes behind the desk. While the two men are at very different stages of their lives, and their professional careers, James is only one month younger than Kendrick Perkins.
James was born on Dec. 30, 1984, while Perkins was born on Nov. 10, 1984, with both men a part of the same draft class. Perkins retired from the NBA in 2018, playing in 782 career games, whereas LeBron James has played in 1,421 games.
#4, Lance and Lantz Stephenson
NBA fans may remember Lance Stephenson for his stint with the Indiana Pacers alongside Paul George. While Stephenson made a name for himself with the Pacers, his entertaining play combined with his hilarious on-court antics earned him plenty of attention throughout his career.
A fun NBA fact that many fans may not know, however, is that Lance Stephenson has a brother named Lantz. According to PlayersBio.com, Lantz Stephenson is considerably younger than his brother Lance and is currently playing high school basketball for Coronado High.
He's set to graduate in 2025 and has already received two offers to play collegiate basketball.
#3, Manute Bol once killed a lion with a spear
When Manute Bol joined the NBA, he made a name for himself as one of the league's tallest players ever. Standing at 7-foot-6, Bol landed on the NBA's all-time leaderboard for blocks per game during his career. What many fans don't know, however, is that Bol killed a lion with a spear.
To make the feat more impressive, Bol did so long before he was a towering NBA star. At just 15, he was tasked with killing a lion with a spear while watching over his family's cattle in Sudan. While other NBA players have come from around the world, no other reports have emerged of a player killing a lion with a spear.
#2, Gilbert Arenas' cheating ban
Gilbert Arenas' career was marred by controversy; however, what many fans likely don't know is that Arenas was banned from Xbox Live years back. According to a report from MTV in 2007, Arenas touted himself as a "pretty good" Halo player, alleging he beat pros.
When fans and other gamers dug into his stats, it appeared that his record was padded, with other teams quitting to give him the win. The stats led to allegations that he was cheating and boosting his win percentage, earning him a ban on Halo and the Xbox Live network.
#1, Bradley Beal's unlikely chaperone
Fans know Bradley Beal as the high-motor scoring machine; however, an NBA fact many fans likely don't know is that Beal had an unlikely chaperone as a kid. According to the Washington Post, Beal's mother worked at a school where American rapper Nelly, who was a kid at the time, was a standout athlete.
With Beal as a young aspiring athlete and his mother's connection, Nelly used to walk Beal to school as a kid. Nelly, at one point, was a co-owner of the Charlotte Hornets, making for quite the connection once Beal landed with the Washington Wizards.
While the lives of the NBA's biggest stars continue to become more and more public with social media, there's still quite a bit that fans don't know. From teenage Manute Bol killing a lion to Bradley Beal's connection to one of the biggest pop stars of the early 2000s, fun NBA facts about players are likely to continue to surface.
With that in mind, it will be interesting to see what the future holds. Ten, or even 20 years down the line, a number of fun NBA facts will likely surface regarding stars like Jayson Tatum and Luka Doncic.