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    by admin in NBA | Comments Off on When Basketball Players Became Actor; List of NBA Stars who appeared in Movies

    So many NBA players did acting in the movies but not so many played a major role. Most of them were confined to cameos or guest appearances but few of them were fortunate enough to get a leading role or at least a substantial role in the movie. There are some movies in which NBA stars performed a major role.

    Michael Jordan (Space Jam)

    Space Jam, an animated sports comedy movie, featured Michael Jordan and the cast of the Looney Tunes. Michael Jordan played the role of a fictional version of himself, a NBA superstar who retires from basketball to start a baseball career. He agrees to help the Looney Tunes who were challenged by the Nerdlucks/the gigantic monsters for a basketball game.

    Dennis Rodman (Double Team, Simon Sez, Cutaway)

    After retirement from professional basketball, Dennis Rodman concentrated on his acting career. In 1996, he made his feature film debut in Double Team, along side action hero, Jean-Claude Van Damme. Two years later, he starred in an action-comedy movie, Simon Sez and in 2000; he acted in a skydiving based action movie called, Cutaway.

    Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (The Game of Death, Airplane)

    Besides playing basketball professionally, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar started to do movies as well. In 1978, he appeared in a Bruce Lee starring movie The Game of Death, playing the character called Hakim, the last and the most dangerous guardian. Then, he played co-pilot Roger Murdock in a satirical comedy movie Airplane, released in 1980.

    Shaquille O’Neal (Blue Chips, Kazeem, Steel)

    Shaquille O’Neal acted in three movies Blue Chips, Kazeem and Steel. The Blue Chips was a 1994 drama movie about basketball, another real life NBA player Anfernee Hardaway also had a role in the movie. Kazeem was a comedy movie; in which Shaquille played the title character Kazeem, a genie who grants three wishes of a boy. Steel was a superhero movie; Shaquille played John Henry Irons, a weapons designer and the superhero character Steel.

    Julius Erving (The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh)

    The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh featured Julius Erving as Moses Guthrie, a highly paid basketball star of a struggling team who is not liked by his teammates.

    Ray Allen (He Got Game)

    Ray Allen starred in 1998 sports drama movie He Got Game as high school basketball phenomenon Jesus Shuttlesworth. Ray Allen was praised for his performance and acclaimed by critics as well.

    Malik Sealy (Eddie)

    Malik Sealy had a major role in the 1996 comedy movie Eddie, playing Stacey Patton, a talented basketball player. The movie was a modest success but the performances of real NBA players Malik Sealy and Dwyane Schintzius were highly appraised.

    Gheorghe Muresan (My Giant)

    NBA player Gheorghe Muresan appeared in a comedy drama movie My Giant along with Hollywood actor Billy Crystal, Muresan played the character of Maximus Zamfirescu, a tall Romanian man who is insisted by Sammy Kamin(Billy Crystal) to become a movie actor.

    Wilt Chamberlain (Conan the Destroyer)

    Wilt Chamberlain played a villainess warrior, named Bombaata in the 1984 movie Conan the Destroyer, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. The movie did a modest business in the US box office, but internationally, the film was a success.

    Bo Kimble (Heaven is a Playground)

    Bo Kimble appeared in a 1991 sports drama movie Heaven is a Playground, playing the role of a teen-aged boy named Mathew Lockhart. The movie was about an inner-city basketball coach and a lawyer who try to save a group of high school boys from crime by giving them scholarships and teaching them basketball.

    Darius Miles (The Perfect Score)

    Darius Miles had a role in a teen heist movie The Perfect Score, released in 2004. He performed the character of a school basketball star Desmond Rhodes, basically the movie revolves around six high school students who depend on SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test) to get a college admission. The movie was not liked by the critics and performed quite poorly at the box office.

    Allan Houston (Black and White)

    Allan Houston acted in 1999 movie Black and White and played Dean Carter, a college basketball player who becomes a street criminal.

    Bernard King (Fast Break)

    In 1979, Bernard King appeared in a basketball based comedy film “Fast Break” where he played the character called “Hustler”.

    Kevin Durant (Thunderstruck)

    Kevin Durant made his big screen debut in ‘Thunderstruck’, released on August 24, 2012. Durant portrayed himself in the movie.

    LeBron James (Trainwreck)

    LeBron James appeared in 2015 comedy movie “Trainwreck.” He plays a version of himself in the movie.




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