NBA AM: NBA Player Superstitions

NBA Player Superstitions

Athletes are creatures of habit. Almost all of them have a specific set of rituals they perform on game days, which include eating certain foods at certain times, taking naps of certain lengths, and getting to the arena and completing certain warm-ups in a certain order. You’ve got to be automatic to be a successful basketball player, and these little bits of routine help make that possible.

Sometimes, players cross over from routine and quirky superstition to borderline OCD. But if those players are great, who’s to say their quirks aren’t working? Odd or reasonable, here’s a look at some of the most famous and fascinating superstitions around the NBA:

Michael Jordan – Everybody knows how hyper-competitive Jordan was in his playing days. He’d take any advantage he could get over his opponents, even if it was just a belief in luck and superstition, which is why he wore his North Carolina practice shorts under his game shorts for his entire career. Actually, that’s why he started wearing the longer shorts that have since become a standard fashion in the league – he wanted to make sure his Bulls shorts were long enough to cover his UNC under-things.

The Orlando Magic – During Orlando’s incredible 2009 playoff run, an interesting superstition started when someone realized the team seemed always to win their home games when 7-year-old Gina Marie Incandela sang the National Anthem. All four times that she sang the anthem in that year’s postseason, the Magic won. While Orlando didn’t win the title this year, they did bring back Incandela to sing more anthems, and at the time it definitely was the team’s belief that it helped.

LeBron James – While the chalk toss before every game is King James’ most famous pre-game ritual, it’s not the oddest one. James has a special handshake for each of his teammates, and he has to go through them all one at a time before every game in order to feel at peace with himself. That sounds more than vaguely obsessive-compulsive, but it’s hard to argue with how the game’s greatest player handles his business.

Caron Butler – As recently as 2007, Caron Butler drank an entire two-liter of Mountain Dew over the course of every game he played, dating back to his days at the University of Connecticut. He’d drink half the bottle before the game and half the bottle during halftime, with the outcome being a sugar-buzzed Butler bolting up and down the sidelines like a greyhound chasing a mechanical rabbit. He also used to have a nasty straw-chewing habit, which he eventually curtailed. Ever since he was a teenager, chewing straws calmed him down, and for most of his pro career he chewed 12 of them per game. Eventually, league rules prevented him from chewing them anywhere but on the sidelines. Without all that Mountain Dew, he has less reason to stay calm all game anyway.

Jason Terry – Once upon a time, Jason Terry would eat chicken fingers before every game, but has since stopped the habit. What he hasn’t stopped, however, is his habit of wearing the following night’s opponents’ shorts to bed. He and Mike Bibby started doing it when they were teammates at the University of Arizona, but only Terry has kept it up. Now, he’s got a massive collection of authentic NBA team shorts, which has to be one of the most expensive pajama collections in existence.

The Chicago Bulls – During the Michael Jordan era, the Bulls would switch from white socks and shoes to black socks and shoes for the playoffs. That didn’t have much to do with the team’s six championships (especially since several subsequent Bulls teams also wore the black socks and shoes in the playoffs with considerably less success), but it sure did look snappy.

Rasual Butler – More along the lines of what you’d expect from simple, everyday superstitions, Butler makes sure he gets dressed left to right, starting with getting his left leg through his game shorts before his right leg. Also, before he gets into any game, he takes five sips of his drink. Why five? Why do any of these players do the things they do?

Mike Bibby – Like many other people on this planet, Bibby chews his nails when he’s anxious. He’s especially anxious when he’s not in a game, so to keep him from destroying his fingers on the bench, someone in Sacramento figured out to give him nail clippers instead. Over the years they became something of a lucky charm, and that replaced the chewing. At least he’s well-manicured, right?

Kevin Durant – Before every contest, Durant shares a prayer with his mother. Then, as soon as the player introductions are completed, he’ll hike each leg up on the scorer’s table, untie his shoes, and then tie them back up. Simple, but effective.

Kevin Garnett & Other Assorted Boston Celtics – During his time in Boston, Garnett and almost all of his teammates would partake in the eating of a PB&J sandwich before every single game. The locker room is split into the “grape” faction and the “strawberry” faction and the sandwiches were prepared by the team’s trainer, who would place fresh sandwiches in each player’s locker. It helped them win a championship, so there must be something to it, right?

Rajon Rondo – It’s not unusual for basketball players to take more than one shower in a given day considering how active they are and how many times they’re in and out of a gym. But the fact that Rondo always has taken five hot showers every game day really is overdoing it.

And while this last one doesn’t really have anything to do with the NBA, it does have quite a bit to do with the game of basketball, so it’s worth noting:

President Barack Obama – When Obama was running for president, he realized that he’d played basketball the day of the Iowa caucus (which he won) and didn’t play the day of the New Hampshire primary (which he lost). Once that little corollary came to his attention, President Obama always found a way to get a game going on the day of a primary. Looks like basketball ended up working out pretty well for him.

Superstitions may seem ridiculous, but you’ll notice that a lot of the guys on this list are among the league’s elite. Maybe they’re onto something with this superstition/lucky charm stuff. Or maybe they’re just a little bit crazy. Perhaps it’s some combination of the two.