Image via Complex Original
You may not know this, but a lot of Americans smoke weed. And, contrary to what the National Basketball Association (or National Football League) wants you to believe, some of those Americans are professional athletes.
With the NBA regular season tipping off this week, we're taking this opportunity to revisit some of the league's best marijuana tales. Whether's it's a living legend getting busted in '72, a recent retiree looking to get into the pot farming industry, or a former Knick trying to move nearly a literal TON of weed, these are the best weed stories for each team in the NBA.
Northwest Division
Denver Nuggets
Player: Carmelo Anthony
Year: 2004
A 20-year-old Carmelo Anthony boarded a team plane with a small amount of marijuana in his backpack; Melo says his friend left it in there when he borrowed his backpack. The friend signed an affidavit to take responsibility.
Minnesota Timberwolves
Player: Christian Laettner
Year: 2004
Okay, so this happened long after Laettner left the Wolves (he was playing for the Wizards at the time), but besides Michael Beasley (already on this list) and one small J.R. Rider marijuana bust after he was traded from Minnesota to Portland, the Timberwolves don't really have a lot of incidents. Christian Laettner, the Dook player you love to hate, was suspended five games for violating the league anti-drug policy, and apologized in a statement where he said he "deeply" regretted what he did and vowed to seek "professional assistance." Christian Laettner!
Oklahoma City Thunder
Player: Kevin Durant
Year: 2015
A prescription bottle that may or may not have contained marijuana fell out of Kevin Durant's truck while TMZ filmed the star leaving a Los Angeles club.
Portland Trail Blazers
Player: Rasheed Wallace & Damon Stoudamire
Year: 2002
Sheed and Damon Stoudamire admitted to smoking weed after being stopped for speeding. According to the police report "Stoudamire hesitantly admitted that marijuana had been smoked in the vehicle, but stated that it had all been burned up and/or smoked." Rasheed then told officers "they had smoked one 'J' but that all the drug was gone." Unfortunately, police found half a joint and a "small quantity of pot" in the glove box of Stoudamire's (very low key) yellow Hummer.
Utah Jazz
Player: Robert Whaley
Year: 2010
Ex-Jazz center Robert Whaley was arrested for violating his probation when officers found several baggies of marijuana "between his buttocks."
Southwest Division
Dallas Mavericks
Player: Josh Howard
Year: 2008
Josh Howard just comes out and declares "NBA players do smoke marijuana."
Houston Rockets
Player: Vernon Maxwell
Year: 1995
Police pull over Vernon Maxwell for running a red light, find 1.2 grams of marijuana in his Mercedes, Maxwell tells officers he's been living in his car.
Memphis Grizzlies
Player: Zach Randolph
Year: ????
We don't talk about Z-Bo.
New Orleans Pelicans
Player: Lee Nailon
Year: 1999
After being drafted by the then-Hornets, Lee Nailon was arrested (along with LaDanian Tomlinson!) when TCU campus police smelled marijuana in a dorm room. The three men were apprehended after they jumped from a second story window and tried to leave in Nailon's Chevy Suburban.
San Antonio Spurs
Player: William Bedford
Year: 2001
Michigan Police allegedly found 25 pounds of marijuana in an SUV that belonged to the parents of the former Spur.
Pacific Division
Golden State Warriors
Player: Sam Mack
Year: 2000
Chased by police after running a stop sign, Sam Mack's car finally stopped in front of his mom's house. Police discovered 20 individually wrapped bags of marijuana, one rock of cocaine, a digital scale, and more than $2,800 in small bills.
Los Angeles Clippers
Player: DeAndre Jordan
Year: 2014
DeAndre Jordan denied smoking marijuana outside one of Amsterdam's famous "coffee shops" with then-teammates Matt Barnes and Glen Davis, even though he later posted a photo of he and Barnes with marijuana aficionado Wiz Khalifa.
Los Angeles Lakers
Player: Corie Blount
Year: 2009
Corie Blount was arrested for possession of 29 pounds of marijuana. He told the judge that it was all for "personal use", in which the judge responded, "Cheech and Chong would have had a hard time smoking that much."
Phoenix Suns
Player: Steve Nash
Year: ????
Steve Nash was allegedly at a club, smelled marijuana, and asked if someone had a bowl. The person asked Nash if he smoked, to which Nash allegedly responded, "I'm from Vancouver, bro."
Sacramento Kings
Player: Travis Outlaw
Year: 2016
Outlaw was indicted on felony possession of marijuana charges after he was arrested with "greater than 250 grams of marijuana but less than one kilogram."
Southeast Division
Atlanta Hawks
Player: Mike Scott
Year: 2016
Mike Scott and his brother were caught with 35.2 grams of marijuana and 10.9 grams of MDMA. They failed to yield to police and reached a speed of 98 MPH trying to flee. Upon being stopped Scott told police, "There's some weed in there."
Charlotte Hornets
Player: Dante Cunningham
Year: 2011
During the Bobcats years, police found marijuana and a loaded BB gun in Dante Cunningham's pickup truck after he was pulled over for speeding and reckless driving,
Miami Heat
Player: Michael Beasley
Year: 2009
The Beas showed off his new "SUPER COOL BEAS" tattoo in a photo that also famously showed off a bag of weed in the background.
Orlando Magic
Player: Keith Appling
Year: 2016
The former Magic guard was arrested for attempting to flee from police. He was pulled over and police noticed "a strong odor of marijuana" coming from the car and asked Appling for his drivers license. As the officer attempted to reach inside to obtain the license, Appling drove off while the officers hand was still inside. He then threw a Gucci bag from his car. Police later retrieved the bag—which had Appling's name imprinted on it—and found a handgun inside.
Washington Wizards
Player: Chris Webber
Year: 1998
U.S. Customs found marijuana in Chris Webber's bag when leaving Puerto Rico. As a result of the bust, Webber was dropped by Fila.
Central Division
Chicago Bulls
Player: Joakim Noah
Year: 2010
The current Knick was casually browsing for bongs at a smoke shop. Also spotted with a pro-hemp sticker on his freezer door.
UPDATE: The Bulls mascot—Da Bull—was arrested for selling marijuana in 2004! Da Bull is "the slam-dunking cousin of the team's other mascot, Benny the Bull."
Cleveland Cavaliers
Player: Iman Shumpert
Year: 2016
Iman Shumpert, after being pulled over and asked by police the last time he smoked marijuana said, "I just left my homegirl's house." Shump later acknowledged that he smoked at his homegirl's house.
Detroit Pistons
Player: Rodney White
Year: 2011
Rodney White was arrested for an elaborate marijuana-growing operation. Police found an underground bunker with a hidden marijuana grow room and a trap door. Sixty plants each reaching four feet in height were discovered. Police also found four pounds of marijuana, grow lights, an assortment of firearms, planting materials, and other items used to grow marijuana.
Indiana Pacers
Player: Shawne Williams
Year: 2007
Police pulled over Shawne Williams for changing lanes without signaling. When Williams rolled down the window, officers detected a very strong odor of marijuana and would later find "a cigar-sized marijuana cigarette" in the vehicle's ash tray. Williams denied knowledge of the marijuana even being in the car.
Milwaukee Bucks
Player: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Year: 1972
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Lucius Allen were arrested on suspicion of possessing dangerous drugs. Police stopped their car and found marijuana. Simple possession of marijuana was a misdemeanor in Colorado during the time of his arrest.
Atlantic Division
Boston Celtics
Player: Robert Parish
Year: 1993
Two ounces of pot arrived via FedEx to his home. He was fined $30 and was on probation for five years. The Chief once said he "stopped smoking pot in 1995...but people don't believe that."
Brooklyn Nets
Player: Cliff Robinson
Year: 2016
In 2006, Robinson was suspended five games during the NBA playoffs for marijuana use. These days, he's trying to open a marijuana business as "Uncle Spliffy", a play on his "Uncle Cliffy" nickname during his playing days.
New York Knicks
Player: Tom Hoover
Year: 1973
The former Knicks center from 1963-65 was in possession of 1,580 POUNDS of marijuana—an estimated street value of $1.8 million. That's $1.8 million in 1973 dollars. Police raided a house he and two friends had rented and found the weed stuffed in 70-pound burlap sacks.
Philadelphia 76ers
Player: Allen Iverson
Year: 1997
AI was riding in the passenger seat of a car with two friends the year after winning NBA Rookie of the Year when they were pulled over for speeding. The officer smelled marijuana, asked everyone to step out of the car, and found two joints and a .45 caliber pistol. Iverson said the gun was his and later posted bond.
Toronto Raptors
Player: Marcus Camby
Year: 1997
Only a few miles from his high school in Conn., police say Camby was drifting across a road. They suspected a drunk driver, but when Camby said he hadn't had anything to drink, they noticed "one marijuana cigarette and burned stubs of two others in an ashtray." He was arrested and charged with possession of marijuana and failure to drive in the proper lane.