Who is a mythical NBA player?
A mythical NBA player is any NBA star who becomes ultra-clutch or goes on an unstoppable scoring run. The mythical streak could last for one quarter, like Klay Thompson, or 9 seconds like Reggie Miller.
Sometimes, the player’s mythical era could span an entire NBA season, just like Angry Westbrook when he averaged a triple-double. Other times, a mythical player can decide to adopt a franchise the way LeBron James owned the Toronto Raptors.
After much deliberation, I’ve narrowed down the list to the 15 Best Mythical NBA Stars in the history of the game.
Spoiler Alert: Brian Scalabrine narrowly missed out on this list.
15. Contract Year Trevor Ariza
Trevor Ariza was a decent role player during his NBA career. But as fans, we always noticed that whenever Trevor Ariza’s contract was up, he turned his game up a notch.
I mean, it’s not like he went for 40 or anything exciting like that, right? Of course he did—he scored 40 against the 76ers!
Trevor Ariza always managed to put up above-average numbers and lock in more in his contract year: improved efficiency, career-high performances, clutch threes, and lockdown defense.
I see you, Trev. Whatever it takes to secure that bag, man.
14. Reggie Miller against the Knicks
Just as LeBron James was fueled by hatred for Toronto, Reggie Miller had the same level of hatred for the Knicks.
So on that fateful night at Madison Square Garden, Reggie Millie got sick and tired of listening to the trash talk from Spike Lee and decided to tap into the depths of his player-hater bag to crush the Knicks.
Like a man possessed, Reggie Miller went off in the space of 9 seconds, scoring 8 crunch-time points to silence MSG.
He then closed out the sequence by scoring and looking towards Spike Lee, making the “choke” sign towards him.
This was the ultimate highlight of Reggie Miller’s career.
13. Hoodie Melo (Carmelo Anthony)
Around 2017, Carmelo Anthony was one of the most hated players in the NBA. He was the Joel Embiid of that era. But one thing we couldn’t deny was his elite-level iso-ball.
But just like Bane, everything changed when Melo put on that hoodie in the summer.
Videos started surfacing of Carmelo Anthony cooking NBA stars in pickup games. Melo himself later pointed out that putting on the hoodie cut out his peripheral vision and helped him sharpen his focus.
Hoodie Melo will forever be legendary 🙌
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) May 22, 2023
(h/t @its_whitney) pic.twitter.com/EaWFL7YOVI
The hype caught on. Everyone was loving Hoodie Melo. He even took the official NBA photo for OKC in a hoodie. Such a shame everything came crashing down after the Hoodie Melo era.
Read More: Everybody hates Joel Embiid — and they all have a point
12. 33-second T-Mac (Tracy McGrady)
One night in a game against the San Antonio Spurs, Tracy McGrady went off like we’ve never seen before.
I mean, he was an All-Star in the league, but what he did that night was something you’d see when playing 2K with a toddler.
In the span of 33 seconds, T-Mac scored 13 points to drag the Houston Rockets from a dead-lost position to a memorable win.
For those 33 seconds, T-Mac came close to Michael Jordan.
11. Playoff Rondo (Rajon Rondo)
Every player in the NBA usually steps up during the playoffs, but Rajon Rondo just takes it to another level.
His output in the NBA Playoffs is so remarkable, considering he was never the first, second, or third option during the two championship runs with the Celtics and the Lakers.
Playoff Rondo was in full effect when the Celtics’ Big 3 of Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Ray Allen won the chip in 2008.
Playoff Rondo showed up tonight 💥
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) September 9, 2020
21 Pts
9 Ast
3-5 3-Pt FG pic.twitter.com/4hlijmftX7
Later on in his career, Playoff Rondo also helped LeBron James and the Lakers win the championship in the Bubble.
10. Playoff P (Paul George)
Paul George’s character and mentality have always rubbed fans the wrong way. But for a few games in the 2018 playoffs, we witnessed the emergence of Playoff P.
But unlike Playoff Rondo, Playoff P never drove his team to anything meaningful in the NBA postseason.
In fact, Paul George managed to flip the mythical status in the Bubble during the Denver series by choking a 3-1 lead with the Clippers. After that Game 7, Paul George became known as Pandemic P.
Nowadays, he has settled into his role as Podcast P, spending most of his time in the recording studio while earning $50 million a year.
9. Dunk Contest Vince Carter
I don’t remember much about the 2000 Dunk Contest apart from the fact that Vince Carter stole the show by defying gravity.
He pulled off different types of dunks that night, but the “Honey Dip” dunk, where he stuck his whole arm into the basket after the dunk, was just beyond my wildest dreams.
The moment was made so iconic by Shaq’s reaction with his handheld camera with Kenny Smith repeatedly shouting, “Let’s go home, ladies and gentlemen!”
The only Dunk Contest that came close was the one between Aaron Gordon and Zach LaVine.
8. Game 6 Klay (Klay Thompson)
Klay Thompson has a few mythical versions. But my favorite mythical Klay is still Game 6 Klay, because he always delivered in the clutch when the series was on the line.
That boy turns into a sniper once it is Game 6. Check out his stats in high-profile Game 6s.
- 2016 – 41 points against OKC with 11 made three pointers.
- 2018 – 35 points against the Rockets with 9 three-pointers.
- 2022 – 30 points against the Grizzlies with 8 threes.
At some point, he was averaging 28 points across all Game 6s he’d ever played.
Honourable mention goes out to Headband Klay, when he checked into the game with that headband and went on a hot streak against the Blazers.
Klay also stacked up 52 Points against the Chicago Bulls while setting the NBA record for most 3-pointers made with 14—and this was across three quarters.
Three years ago today, Klay Thompson set an NBA record with 14 3s.
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) October 29, 2021
He ended the game with 52 points in THREE quarters 🔥
(via @nba) pic.twitter.com/BCyBwdDdqt
Then we also witnessed the magic of China Klay being goofy with a toaster, and then coming back the following season to terrorize defenders.
Which mythical version of Klay Thompson is the best? Let me know in the comments.
7. MVP Derrick Rose
This one hurts me to my core whenever I think of what could have been. But you see MVP Derrick Rose? Forget about it! He could have revived the Bulls’ dynasty if not for that freak accident.
At 22, MVP D-Rose was the youngest player to win the regular season MVP. Fans tuned in to watch him posterize elite defenders.
Derrick Rose drove to the basket with so much guile and ferocity that defenders struggled to keep up with his searing pace.
Unfortunately, that MVP season was the best version of D-Rose we ever got. It all went south after that.
Read More: What Happened to Derrick Rose?
6. Untucked Kyrie (Kyrie Irving)
Kyrie Irving, when he is not spewing conspiracy theories, is one of the closest things we have to Uncle Drew in the NBA—I mean, he played the character in the movie, so that tracks.
Hands down, Kyrie is one of the best pure ballers in the modern game.
But that’s what we love about Kyrie. His untucked jersey is a symbol of his desire to be free from the constraints of societal rules, sometimes to his own detriment.
Regardless of what you think of Kyrie, any time his shirt came untucked, it was over for anyone guarding him. And since this usually happened down the stretch, Untucked Kyrie would get fans off their feet once he got the ball.
5. Mouthpiece Steph Curry/ Angry Steph Curry
What superlatives have not been used to describe Steph Curry in his career? At every stage, he has managed to do something out of this world and send shockwaves across the league and beyond.
As good as Curry is, once you see him chewing down on that white mouthpiece while bobbing his head and “shimmying” on defenders after every shot. You know it’s night night.
All three of Steph Curry’s career ejections have been due to him tossing his mouthpiece, via @ESPNStatsInfo.
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) January 26, 2023
Iconic. pic.twitter.com/IVr8SkWwiI
For over a decade, defenders in the Western Conference dreaded the sight of that nasty ass mouthpiece. He killed OKC with a dagger from the logo. He basically owned the Clippers.
At the 2024 Olympics, the French basketball team got a taste of Angry Steph Curry when he delivered the Golden Dagger and ended the game with the iconic “Goodnight, Paris” shot.
Read More: The Rise and Fall of the Warriors Dynasty
4. Angry Russ (Russell Westbrook)
The only person who can stand with Michael Jordan when he takes a game personally is Angry Russ.
We saw flashes of that angry explosiveness early on in his career. But the full force of Angry Westbrook was unleashed on the NBA when Kevin Durant left OKC to join the Warriors.
During the 2016/2017 season that followed, Angry Russ was must-watch TV. He dragged the team on his own to the playoffs, putting up monster numbers almost every night.
This man finished the season with 42 triple-doubles—that’s more triple-doubles than Michael Jordan and Wilt Chamberlain.
No jokes, Angry Russ had the league in a chokehold. He then closed out the season by averaging a triple-double. He then did it again three more times just for fun.
3. Lebronto / Lebrontosaurus (LeBron James)
LeBron James—the man, the myth, the legend. We all know him as a mythical athlete and the modern GOAT, but sometimes LeBron even surpasses his already superhuman status and edges towards ultra-mythical status.
The ultimate mythical manifestation of LeBron is LeBronto. This dude has less respect for Canada than Donald Trump. Once LeBron sees Toronto on his calendar, he goes super Saiyan.
How about this for a stat? LeBron single-handedly kept the Toronto Raptors from the NBA Finals throughout his time in the Eastern Conference. In 2016, he crushed the Raptors 4-2 in the playoffs. In 2017, he swept them. And finally, in 2018, LeBron swept them again.
You think I’m exaggerating? LeBron James has a cumulative 12-2 record against the Raptors in the playoffs. Lebrontosaurus mauled the Raptors at will. He owned that franchise.
This level of ownership was so bad that, when LeBron finally left the Eastern Conference in 2019, Kawhi Leonard helped the Toronto Raptors win their first-ever NBA Championship.
2. Kobe Bryant with the Afro (Frobe)
Before he went fully bald, Kobe Bryant used to rock a mean afro that gave him an extra level of cockiness and aggressiveness on the court.
You think late-career Kobe was mean, you had to be there for Afro Kobe—or Frobe, depending on who you ask. He was dunking on defenders like they owed him money.
Frobe was basketball’s version of “pretty-boy” Floyd Mayweather. He snatched the torch from Michael Jordan at the All-Star game and ran with it without looking back.
RIP Mamba.
1. Flu-game Michael Jordan
Michael Jordan, on his day, was the ultimate embodiment of the mythical basketballer. But what if I told you there was a version of MJ that supersedes anything we’ve ever seen?
Let me introduce you to Flu-game MJ.
It is Game 5 of the 1997 NBA Finals with the series tied 2-2. A visibly ailing Michael Jordan takes the court, despite doubts about his fitness.
To everyone’s surprise, Jordan played through the sickness to drop 38 points against the Utah Jazz and give the Bulls the lead.
MJ’s Flu Game is a part of NBA folklore because it showed that Michael Jordan, even with compromised health, was still better than all his peers.
To be honest, I still don’t think MJ had the flu that day. That man was probably gambling or drinking all night. But whatever he had before the game, he was definitely on a mission that night—or maybe he just hated Utah that much.
Which mythical NBA player did I miss? Let me know in the comments.
Who wrote this?
Ugochukwu is a sports enthusiast with an undying love for underdog stories.
