Five Great Comedies Starring NBA Players
The trailer just dropped for Mr. Throwback, a new mockumentary series starring Happy Endings’ Adam Pally, Saturday Night Live’s Ego Nwodim and… The Golden State Warriors’ Steph Curry?
Produced by David Wain, Mr. Throwback actually looks pretty funny for a show starring an NBA point guard in a prominent role. Come to think of it, there have been more than a few solid comedies featuring pro basketball players, such as…
Marques Johnson in ‘White Men Can’t Jump’
When we think of White Men Can’t Jump, we tend to think of Wesley Snipes, Woody Harrelson, and of course, Jeopardy! champion Rosie Perez.
But it also features former NBA player Marques Johnson as Raymond, an aggrieved victim of Billy and Syd’s hustle. Johnson later revealed that the character was based on real-life basketball player Reggie Harding, who died tragically in 1972.
Michael Jordan in ‘Space Jam’
Space Jam is a ridiculous movie, but it’s easy to undervalue just how good Michael Jordan is in it, especially considering that he was mostly acting opposite dudes in green leotards pretending to be cartoon characters. Jordan was also game to poke fun at his public image, including his short-lived baseball career.
LeBron James in ‘Trainwreck’
Speaking of Space Jam, the star of the god-awful sequel, LeBron James, actually got to show off his comedic talents in Trainwreck. James plays a fictional version of himself who happens to be buddies with Bill Hader’s sports doctor character. Best of all, it wasn’t a two-hour commercial for a streaming service.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in ‘Airplane!’
While this is no doubt the most obvious example of an NBA legend appearing in a classic comedy, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar playing himself playing a pilot named Roger Murdock is one of the best parts of Airplane! And it all began as a meta-joke that likely no one got at the time: the source material for Airplane! 1957’s Zero Hour! co-starred real-life football-player-turned-actor Elroy "Crazylegs" Hirsch.
Incidentally, Abdul-Jabbar only took the job once they paid him enough money to buy a fancy rug he had his eye on.
Every Movie Where Shaq Has a Cameo
Shaquille O'Neal doesn’t have the best track record when it comes to leading roles, as evidenced by Kazaam and Steel. But when he doesn’t have to carry a movie, Shaq usually knocks it out of the park, which I realize is a metaphor from the wrong sport entirely.
Think about it, he’s in Good Burger, The Lego Movie and CB4. And surely he deserves some kind of award for taking a big swing in Tom Green’s Freddy Got Fingered.
He’s also one of the better parts of Adam Sandler’s Jack and Jill, in which he dons a blond wig for a ham commercial.
Then there’s his funny scene Scary Movie 4 where he’s chained up with Dr. Phil by a Jigsaw-like villain.
Which, to be honest, sounds more tortuous than anything in a real Saw movie.
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