subject: Nba Stars Who Have Acted [print this page] Last June, Jimmy Kimmel hosted a special early edition of his hit late night television program on ABC. It followed directly after the Miami Heat beat the Oklahoma City Thunder in a succinct five game series. Thanks to the primetime spot, Kimmel and his writers were under an unusual amount of pressure to put together a memorably and hysterical show, and they delivered. In fact, the episode was responsible for one of the best segments the show's writers have yet to concont: A sketch featuring legendary British thespian Gary Oldman missing jumpers on a basketball court. After missing, he hilariously excoriated basketball stars who have attempted to do his job of acting. Many sports stars have stroked their egos by trying to translate their athletic skills to the silver screen. These transitions are usually rather unsuccessful. Here are five NBA legends that tried their hands at acting.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
The Los Angeles seven foot plus star has a few films and television shows on his resume. But while he may have been the center on the basketball court, he was never the center of the story of anything he was featured in. His most famous role came in the hilarious disaster film spoof "Airplane," in which he played himself, but posed as airplane pilot Roger Murdock ("Roger, Roger!").
Ray Allen
Not all sports stars who have acted have done so poorly. Back in his first few seasons with the Milwaukee Bucks, sharpshooter Ray Allen was picked to play a high school basketball prodigy in Spike Lee's 1998 film "He Got Game." Allen's shot has long been raved by sports writers. But New York Magazine's proclamation of his "somberly effective minimalist performance," was the kind of press his fellow athletes have rarely received.
Kevin Durant
Kevin Durant may have narrowly lost the MVP trophy and the championship (not so narrowly) to best friend/rival Lebron James, but Durant one upped the Heat star in 2012 in one respect: He got his own starring role. In "Thunderstruck," Durant stars as himself in a story in which he accidentally switches talents with a young fan of his. The three time scoring champion rarely misses on the court, but the measly 20% rating on critic aggregate rottentomatoes.com suggests that he may not be so precise off of it.
Michael Jordan
In 1996, the NBA teamed with Warner Bros. studio to create a family film starring stars of the league and characters from the classic children's show "Looney Tunes." Starring along the likes of Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck were Patrick Ewing, Larry Bird and Charles Barkley. But the star of the film was number 23 himself Michael Jordan. And just as he did so often in real life, Jordan won the game for his looney squad.
Shaquille O'Neal
Finally, the most embarrassing entry on the list. Over the course of his basketball career, Shaq accumulated four championships, two scoring titles and a trophy for most valuable player. Over the course of his short film career, the legendary big man accumulated two Razzie nominations. Films like "Kazaam" and "Steel" are laughable classics, but for all of the wrong reasons.
Gary Oldman is right: He can't hit a free throw for the life of him. But he's also right that some sports stars should stick to their trade as well.
