NBA finals odds might give a good indication of who the sportsbooks think will walk away with the NBA championship, but one thing these odds can’t predict is which NBA stars will go into acting. The players may be talented on the court, but some players have also surprised sports fans and film fans alike by turning their hand to the small or big screens, or both. Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Shaquille O’Neal, Dennis Rodman and other players have all put in respectable performances away from their day job. Below is a look at NBA players who have forayed into acting.
Kareem Abdul Jabbar
Kareem Abdul Jabbar is a legendary player who put in several years with the Milwaukee Bucks and the Los Angeles Lakers on the courts of the NBA. On the small screen he has made guest appearances in “21 Jump Street,” “Man From Atlantis,” “Tales from the Darkside” and “Scrubs.”
However, Jabbar is more remembered for his two big screen appearances, both very different in their style. In a unique fight sequence in “Game of Death” (1978), Bruce Lee’s final fame, Jabbar played an extremely tall adversary and had actually trained in Jeet Kune Do under Bruce Lee himself. In the zany spoof movie “Airplane!” (1980), Jabbar entertained audiences as Roger Murdoch, an airline pilot who bore an uncanny resemblance to the basketball player Kareem Abdul Jabbar.
Dennis Rodman
During his time in the NBA, Dennis Rodman served the Detroit Pistons, the San Antonio Spurs, the Chicago Bulls, the Los Angeles Lakers and the Dallas Mavericks. On the small screen, he’s appeared in an episode of “Trailer Park Boys” and of “American Gangster.” He’s also played himself in “3rd Rock From the Sun” and provided the voiceover for an animated version of himself in “The Simpsons.”
On the big screen, he’s starred alongside “The Muscles From Brussels” Jean Claude Van Damme and Mickey Rourke in 1997 movie “Double Team.” Another foray into the movies has been his appearance in “Simon Sez” (1998), where he starred as Simon, an Interpol agent who undertakes a mission in France to rescue a kidnapped girl and destroy an international arms dealer. Rodman has also had the honor of starring alongside Tom Berenger in “Cutaway,” a 2000 action movie about skydiving.
Shaquille O’ Neal
Perhaps one of the NBA stars to have most notably appeared in front of the cameras has been Shaquille “Shaq” O’Neal, who served the Orlando Magic, the Los Angeles Lakers, the Phoenix Suns, the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Boston Celtics during his NBA playing days. In “Good Burger” (1997), “He Got Game” (1998), “After the Sunset” (2004), “Scary Movie 4” (2006), “The House Bunny” (2008), “Jack and Jill” (2011) and “What Men Want”(2019), he’s appeared has himself. He’s also lent his voice to an animated version of himself in “The Lego Movie” (2014).
When not playing himself, he’s also appeared in the sports drama “Blue Chips” (1994) as Neon Boudeaux; the fantasy comedy “Kazaam” (1996) as the title character, a genie who emerges from a boombox to grant a 12 year old boy three magic wishes; the comedy “The Wash” (2001) as Norman; romantic comedy “Blended” (2013) as Doug; comedy “Grown Ups 2” (2013) as Officer Fluzoo; sports comedy “Uncle Drew” (2018) as Big Fella; and mystery horror comedy “Hubie Halloween” as DJ Aurora.
Michael Jordan
Michael “Air” Jordan has also starred in front of the cameras and has featured in some notable productions. He’s appeared in the music videos of “Give Me You” by Mary J Blige and “Jam” by the late Michael Jackson.
Just like Shaq, Jordan starred in the movie “He Got Game” and played himself. His biggest movie appearance, however, has been in “Space Jam” (1996), a cross between live action, sports comedy and animation, in which he plays a fictional version of himself. The movie came about following the success of two ads that featured Jordan and the cartoon character Bugs Bunny.
LeBron James
LeBron James has lots of different interests outside of basketball. Whereas some of his fellow NBA stars have preferred to get in front of the camera, however, James seems to have been more interested in production roles and has credits as a producer or executive producer on several TV shows.
That hasn’t stopped him doing some acting, though. In 2021, he starred in “Space Jam: A New Legacy.” In this sequel to “Space Jam,” James plays the lead role and, like Jordan in the first movie, stars as a fictional version of himself. He also plays himself in the romantic comedy drama “Trainwreck” (2015).
Playing in the NBA creates lots of opportunities for players, and some like to try new things outside of basketball. Acting is an enjoyable project, and some NBA stars have turned out to be quite good at it. Why not try the movies above and see what you think of them?
