SI: The wackiest stories of a hard-to-believe season

Fri Apr 21, 2006 6:28 am

NBA antics
The wackiest stories of a hard-to-believe season

As we did last season, it's time for our second annual look at the wild, wacky and bizarre in the NBA -- the stories you might have missed but that should have spawned dozens of blog posts. Let's get right to it.

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-Carmelo Anthony founded a personal charity foundation with the acronym "HOOD."

-We learned that Michael Jordan's Gatorade outtakes might be even better than the commercials.

-After signing a $90 million contract, Michael Redd bought his father a church.

-Jarron "The Lesser" Collins missed the start of training camp in Utah while suffering from "severe sunburn."

-Bobcats center Melvin Ely was robbed for his jewelry late one night after leaving a strip club. Days later, while Ely was visiting a pawn shop to look for said jewelry, the assailant came walking in, saw Ely, then turned and ran.

-The night before training camp began, Julius Hodge slept on the floor of the Nuggets' practice gym.

-Cuttino Mobley rode a bike back and forth between the Clippers' practice facility and hotel during training camp.

-During his NBA debut, Johan Petro accidentally removed his jersey along with his warmups while checking in.

-According to the Toronto Star, former Raptors center Keon Clark fired up "a generous helping of his favorite recreational vehicle playing in a charity golf tournament in the same foursome as Glen Grunwald, then the Raptors' general manager."

-Before the Kings' home opener against Detroit, a video was shown of Detroit that featured abandoned buildings and burned-out cars. The Pistons won 102-88.

-Damon "Basketball" Jones refused to speak to the Cleveland press for several weeks, announcing he was on a "revolt" against the media.

-Hornets players Rasual Butler and J.R. Smith appeared as potential suitors in a music video for hardcore female rapper Trina.

-Darius Miles was whistled for a defensive three-seconds violation after stopping to tie his shorts while standing underneath the basket.

-Larry Bird announced his association with a line of wines called "Legends."

-Ron Artest had the name of his record label, "Tru Warier," shaved into his hair. He reported that he received a "homey discount" on the haircut.

-Lakers rookie Andrew Bynum spoke to the media but forgot to remove his mouthguard.

-Vince Carter paid to have a life-sized bronze statue of himself erected at his former high school.

-When asked what it was going to take to get the Heat to play like he envisioned they would, Pat Riley said, "It's 525,600 minutes."

-Damon "Basketball" Jones became the first U.S. player to endorse Li Ning shoes, one of the biggest brands in China.

-Then-Sonics forward Reggie Evans missed the start of the second half of a game because he was detained after being unable to provide a urine sample for a halftime drug test.

-Following an overtime win against the Raptors, Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas admitted he was tired because he was up late the night before playing video games.

-Lakers coach Phil Jackson said that starting power forward Kwame Brown is "a pu--y."

-After playing poorly in a win over Washington, Pacers center David Harrison broke a picture of himself hanging in a hallway of Conseco Field House.

-Dallas owner Mark Cuban invested in a toilet seat that utilizes "retractable wands."

-After getting involved in an altercation in a Utah bar, Jazz point guard Deron Williams told police his name was "Torrey Ellis."

-Shaquille O'Neal admitted that two of his aliases when checking into hotels on the road are "Donovan Perot" and "Vladimire Mandingo."

-In an NBA.com celebrity fantasy basketball league, TNT analyst Kenny Smith finished 1-21 for the season, eight games behind Pamela Anderson in the loss column.

-Tracy McGrady named his second son Laymen Lamar McGrady.

-The New York Daily News reported that Jerome James was suspended indefinitely because he was in no shape to practice with the Knicks on the morning of Jan. 1 after spending the night celebrating.

-Sonics coach Bob Hill banned players from talking to each other during practice.

-After a close loss to the Denver Nuggets, Bulls GM John Paxson chased the referees into their locker room.

-Former Cavs lottery pick Dajuan Wagner had his colon removed.

-Pistons guard Carlos Delfino announced that he'll wear American pants, but he prefers European shirts.

-Jason Williams cut his finger putting a weight on a weight rack.

-Cavs guard Ira Newble spent eight days in the hospital with an ingrown hair in his nose.

-To help lighten the mood in the Miami Heat locker room, Pat Riley performed a 15-minute dance routine to the DoobieBrothers' Listen to the Music.

-Darko Milicic showed up for his first practice with the Orlando Magic with a sunburn, explaining that he had fallen asleep on the beach.

-The Philadelphia 76ers announced a program to allow fans to swap guns for tickets.

-Hawks forward Al Harrington mentioned that he once sang a duet of Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better with Rosie O'Donnell on her eponymous television show.

-Reserve Spurs forward Fabricio Oberto, who just moved to America from Argentina, won the team's NCAA pool after picking teams randomly with no knowledge of any of the teams.

-Rasheed Wallace almost missed the start of a recent game after forgetting to set his clock forward one hour for Daylight Savings Time.