Iman Shumpert becomes first ever NBA player to win Dancing With The Stars: We take a look at his journey throughout the show
Former NBA player Iman Shumpert can now add the Mirrorball Trophy to his championship ring. Shumpert became the first ever ex-NBA player to win 'Dancing with the Stars.'
Alongside his dancing partner Daniella Karagach, Shumpert beat out YouTuber JoJo Siwa and her partner Jenna Johnson in the finale to win the 30th season of 'Dancing with the Stars.' Shumpert and Karagach had two perfect scores for the two-round finale, which included a fusion dance of two different dance styles and a freestyle dance.
Iman Shumpert is a legend 🏆
✅ NBA Championship
✅ Dancing With The Stars Winner https://t.co/5kXJjelUGI
In the first round of the finale, Iman Shumpert and Daniella Karagach danced the cha-cha-cha and foxtrot to the tune of the Earth, Wind & Fire's classic, "September." They followed it up with a freestyle dance of Missy Elliott's "Lose Control" and "Bounce" by DJ Clent.
Iman Shumpert joins a shortlist of athletes who have won the dance competition that include Hall of Fame football player Emmitt Smith and two-time Super Bowl champion Hines Ward. Other ex-NBA players who have competed in "Dancing with the Stars" include Clyde Drexler, Rick Fox, Metta Sandiford-Artest, Derek Fisher, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Lamar Odom and Charles Oakley.
The 31-year-old Shumpert last played for the Brooklyn Nets in the 2020-21 NBA season. He also played for the New York Knicks, Sacramento Kings, Houston Rockets and Cleveland Cavaliers, where he won an NBA championship in 2016.
Iman Shumpert's journey to the Finale
Season 30 of "Dancing with the Stars" was a 10-week competition that included 15 pairs of contestants. For the first nine weeks, eleven pairs were eliminated with four pairs moving to the finale. Let's take a look at Iman Shumpert and Daniella Karagach's journey to the Mirrorball Trophy.
Week 1
Team DanIman danced jive to Outkast's "Hey Ya," on the very first week. The duo scored their second-lowest of the competition with 21 points. Thankfully, no pair was eliminated in Week 1.
Week 2
For Week 2, Iman Shumpert and Daniella Karagach improved to 25 points for their performance. They used "U Know What's Up" by Donnell Jones for their rumba routine.
Week 3
Shumpert and Karagach did not do well in Week 3 or Britney Night, but they managed to stay safe and avoid elimination. The pair danced a tango to the tune of Britney Spears' "Piece of Me."
Week 4
For Disney Week, Iman Shumpert and Daniella Karagach foxtrotted their way to 30 and 33 points, respectively. They used the very popular song "Let It Go" by Idina Menzel from the movie "Frozen" for Heroes Night and "Arabian Nights" by Bruce Adler from the "Aladdin" movie for Villains Night.
Week 5
Week 5 was called Grease Night and it was not the best performance of Team DanIman. However, they managed to stay safe by dancing a Viennese waltz to Olivia Newton-John's "Hopelessly Devoted to You."
Week 6
Iman Shumpert and Daniella Karagach got their first perfect score of the competition on Horror Night. The charming duo wowed the audience and judges with their contemporary dance of "I Got 5 on It" by Luniz feat. Michael Marshall used in the 2019 horror film "Us."
Week 7
Week 7 was Queen Night and Team DanIman danced paso doble to the classic hit "Another One Bites the Dust." They got 32 points for their performance and were deemed safe once again.
Week 8
On Janet Jackson Night, Iman Shumpert and Daniella Karagach performed twice. They danced cha-cha-cha to the tune of "Rhythm Nation" and foxtrot for "Again" in the dance-off. Shumpert and Karagach lost the dance-off, but they were still safe and not part of the bottom three.
Week 9
In the semi finals, Team DanIman performed twice and passed with flying colors to the finale. They first danced the tango and redeemed their Week 3 performance with "Telephone" by Martynas. For their second performance of the night, Shumpert and Karagach danced jazz to Kanye West's "Dark Fantasy."
Iman Shumpert and Daniella Karagach dance a redemption Tango to “Telephone” by Martynas on the Dancing with the Stars Semi-Finals! https://t.co/DzZKFlKjV4