The Strangest Pre-Game Rituals in NBA History

I don’t remember exactly when I began eating oatmeal with blueberries for breakfast, or when I first started drinking green tea immediately when I get to work. But somewhere along the way, those rituals went from personal preference to pretty much mandatory—they’re so much a fabric of who I am that I feel my day is completely thrown off if I don’t get to either one.

That could be why it raised so many eyebrows when the NBA put a 90-second time limit between player introductions before the 2012-13 season. Put in place to shorten games, the rule bristled players and empathetic fans alike, who were used to elaborate choreographed pre-game routines like this one by the Thunder’s Jeremy Lamb and Perry Jones.

Speaking of OKC, Kevin Durant—no stranger to a specific pre-game regimen—was quite vocal that he wasn’t a fan of the rule.

“Every player in this league has routines they do with their teammates, rituals they do before the game and before they walk on the floor,” KD said at the time. “The fans like it. The fans enjoy it. You see the fans mimicking the guys who do their stuff before the game.

“To cut that down really don’t make no sense. Why would you do it? I really don’t agree with it, but I don’t make the rules.”

Luckily, the time limit only applied to the period between introductions and the opening tip. And if we’re being honest, 90 seconds would seem more than enough time for Durant to tie his shoes a certain way or for LeBron to toss up the chalk if he feels like it.

Besides, many of the most colorful pre-game rituals take place well before introductions, even sometimes the night before a game. Journeymen and Hall of Famers alike have always had some pretty out-there superstitions for how they eat, dress, or otherwise act to get themselves mentally and physically prepared to play at the highest level.

As such, here is our list of the NBA’s weirdest pre-game rituals. You might have a few favorites we don’t cover here, so feel free to chime in with those. And I’d suggest brewing up a mug of green tea to enjoy while you read, but I fully understand if that’s more my thing than yours.

We’ve already mentioned LeBron’s chalk toss, but as cool as this commercial is, there’s little that’s unique about it. In fact, both Michael Jordan and Kevin Garnett arguably beat him to it. More impressive was his choreographed pre-game routine that he employed during his first tenure with the Cavs. As it turned out, LeBron had a perfectly posed mental image to take with him to Miami. Here’s to hoping that his second go-around in Cleveland paints a rosier picture than the first.

While we’re on the topic of extensively scripted pre-game routines, Shaquille O’Neal’s bowling shtick with Phoenix exceeded LeBron’s in sheer ridiculousness. But without a doubt, his finest hour was during introductions for the 2009 All-Star Game, when he became the world’s biggest Jabbawockee.

Known to be one of the fiercest (and surliest) competitors in the sport, Charles Oakley nonetheless had a soft spot for Knicks superfan Spike Lee. Before every game, Oak would bounce-pass the game ball to Spike, who would inspect it and then dutifully toss it back to him. It was nice to see one of the most notable badasses in the sport loosen his collar a little, though who knows how he’d have reacted if Lee had ever dropped the pass?

While some players are playful with their pre-game rituals, famously intense forward Kevin Garnett gets in the zone by head-butting the stanchion underneath the basket. We haven’t confirmed whether he simultaneously trash-talked the apparatus, but it wouldn’t surprise us if he did.

KG’s former teammate, Rajon Rondo, had a routine in Boston that incorporated the entire starting lineup. According to Jason Terry, Rondo’s ritual—which involved the team chaplain—featured him holding four balls at once during pre-game shootaround. He would then bounce one off the backboard to Garnett, throw a bounce pass to Paul Pierce, and throw an alley-oop all the way up to the scoreboard for Jeff Green to dunk. The only thing missing in our estimation: He should have done it in his Tiger Woods ensemble.

Speaking of Jason Terry, the veteran guard knows a unique pre-game ritual when he sees one. Known for wearing five pairs of socks (!) during games, Jet also owns an authentic pair of shorts of every team in the league. Whichever team he’s playing against the next day, he wears that team’s shorts to bed. I’m not sure if it helps him get into their head, but at the very least he can always get into their shorts—uh, so to speak.

Athletes have special ways of attempting to fix their ultimate tools of the trade (their hands). Baseball player Moisés Alou, for example, had a unique—and kind of gross—way to toughen up the skin on his hands. (Whatever works; he hit 332 career homers.)

Monta Ellis’ version involves the most creative use of hot wax this side of the 50 Shades of Grey novels—or so I’ve heard. Monta believes that peeling hardened wax off his hands leaves them smoother, so he dunks them in a bucket. Considering that he once shot 53 percent over an entire season, much like with Alou, who are we to judge?

DeJuan Blair is an interesting guy—just witness his custom Timberlands featuring Johnny Bravo wearing a Blair jersey. Back with the Spurs, he literally danced to his own beat with a routine that involved a host of team employees. I think you’ll agree that he dances pretty well for a guy with no ACLs in his knees.

Given that Vince Carter predates Dwyane Wade in the NBA by five years, it goes to show that he also did pre-game pull-ups first, hoisting himself by the net to kiss the rim in honor of his grandmother. But Wade put his own spin on it, grasping the rim itself while fittingly doing three pull-ups to match his number. Much like LeBron/Jordan/Garnett with the chalk, there are definitely enough chin-ups to go around.

One of the most memorable things about UNC’s championship run in 2009 was Danny Green’s absurd—and absurdly popular—pre-game jig to House of Pain’s “Jump Around.” In certain ways, the dance obscured the fact that sharp-shooting swingman Green was the best future pro on that team. I don’t know whether he still breaks out his dance moves in the NBA on occasion, but he’s now better known for setting the NBA Finals record for three-pointers and winning the 2014 title with the Spurs. I think we can all agree that that’s a step up.

A couple years ago, Steve Kerr shared an anecdote about having a pre-game meal with Croatian star Toni Kukoč. The Bulls star ordered a veritable feast that included salad, appetizers, pasta, chicken, tiramisu, red wine, and an espresso. Kukoč explained it to Kerr thusly: “In Europe, we eat a lot, we drink a little wine, we have espresso—then we go back to hotel, take a big s***, then we go play.”

When I was at Duke, Shane Battier used to get so anxious before games his first two years that he would lose his lunch into a towel. I didn’t know this at the time, but Battier was inadvertently continuing a tradition pioneered by one of the greatest players of all time: Celtics legend Bill Russell was said to have gotten sick to his stomach before virtually every big game.

“He used to throw up all the time before a game, or at halftime,” fellow Celtics Hall of Famer John Havlicek told George Plimpton in 1968. “A tremendous sound, almost as loud as his laugh. It’s a welcome sound, too, because it means he’s keyed up for the game, and around the locker room, we grin and say, ‘Man, we’re going to be all right tonight.’”

According to Russell’s biography, if Russell wasn’t actually feeling queasy before a game, legendary coach Red Auerbach would not let his players go to the court until he did. Definitely not your typical good-luck charm, but given that Russell won 11 NBA championships and five MVP Awards in 13 seasons, it’s difficult to argue with success.