All NBA Double Take Team

Every single NBA game you watch there will always be some dude who checks into the game, and you have no clue who he is. But then the game goes on for a while and that guy will start shooting free throws or something. So the camera zooms in on him and shows his name, and you do a double take with your chocolate milk because you realize you actually do know who that guy is. Maybe you saw him play in college but didn’t even know he made an NBA team, maybe he got drafted by Orlando and bounced around teams like Milwaukee and Detroit or something so you just forgot he existed. Whatever the case, it’s always fun to a player and ask your buddy if he knew that guy was still in the league.

This NBA season had a lot of those double take moments for me, so I wrote up my list for “All NBA Double Take”  team. This isn’t based on talent, draft position, or literally anything other than my pure shock value that his person is still in the NBA.

T.J. McConnell: Guard, Philadelphia 76ers (Team Captain, MVP, All-Star, DPOY, Gold Glove, Heisman, Nobel Prize)

T.J. McConnell’s whole basketball career has left me with more questions than answers. He seemingly played like six seasons of college basketball. After that he somehow got on an NBA roster, and more surprisingly kept it.

Does anybody remember T.J. McConnell’s college days at Arizona? He was on those Wildcat teams that lost to Wisconsin back to back in the Elite 8. Back then he was looking like a Marshall Mathers disciple, as opposed to his crisp, French Shia Labouf vibe he’s rocking right now. His senior year he was voted All PAC-12 First Team, as well as All PAC-12 Defensive Team. He was good in college, but I never even thought he was the best player on his own team. When I watched Arizona that year I never thought to myself “Golly that McConnell dude is going to be a baller one day.

Apparently no one in the NBA did either because he didn’t even get drafted, and it wasn’t even surprising that he didn’t get drafted. Philadelphia signed him to their summer league team, which I didn’t think would happen, but I also didn’t think that Emma Stone would end up with some other dude in La La Land instead of Ryan Gosling--but here we are. More surprising still is that he actually made the team. To be fair, this was in the middle of “The Process” and Sam Hinkie’s criteria for his roster was basically the worst players he could get that could still pass as professional basketball players. Other players on that team included Carl Landry, Phil Pressey, JaKarr Sampson, Nik Stauskas, Sonny Weems, Richaun Holmes, and Tony Wroten. Credit to McConnell though, he started eighty-one game that year. Then the next year he started another eighty-one games. Then in his third season (which is Ben Simmon’s second just for the record) Simmon’s foot isn’t messed up and Embiid is incredible when his face wasn’t broken, and all of a sudden McConnell is a key role player on a really good playoff team. He’s not like 6th man of the year or anything, but he was legitimately an important part of Philadelphia’s success this year. I’m sure he’s a solid guy, but his whole career is just so baffling to me, which is why he was a unanimous first team selection to the “He’s Still in the League All-Star Team.”

Trey Burke: Guard, New York Knicks

Last we saw of Trey Burke he was racking up the DNP CD’s while Raul Neto was playing for a Utah Jazz team that had the worst point guard situation in the league. Fast forward to this season and Burke looks like Colin Kaepernick post vegan diet but pre afro. I did not recognize him, i thought there must have been another dude in the league named Trey Burke, because there was no way the O.G. Trey Burke was still bouncing around the NBA.

But lo and behold there he was. He only played in thirty six-games for the Knicks, after starting the year in the G-League. But hey, that’s thirty-six games more than I thought he would play the rest of his career.

Pat Connaughton: Shooting Guard, Portland Trailblazers

Pat makes the list because I didn’t even think he was that good in college. Like I watched him at Notre Dame and he was just like a good college player, but that was it. He was on that Notre Dame team that lost to the undefeated Kentucky Team in the Elite Eight. He’s a really good athlete, and could have played baseball professionally but chose basketball. Now he’s a completely different player than he was in college. This year while I still think he’s mainly a shooter, he played really aggressive. He is a pretty good ball handler who can get to the basket, and he’s good on defense. Everything I just wrote blows my mind.

Corey Brewer: Forward, Oklahoma City Thunder

Brewer is probably the best overall player on the list. He was on those Florida Gator teams that won back to back National Championships. That was back in 2006 and 2007, and eleven years later Brewer is still kicking around the NBA. He was the only the third best player on his college team, but was the second Gator who was drafted that year, going 7th overall to Minnesota. Eleven years and seven teams later, plus two separate stints in Minnesota, Brewer ended up being pretty important to the Thunder this season. Especially after the Thunder’s best defender Andre Roberson went down with an injury.

Conceptually I get that he’s a good player, but he’s just so goofy looking. That is part of the reason he’s on the list. He’s got the longest arms I’ve ever seen, which allow for the goofiest shot I’ve ever seen (except for Ronnie Brewer, no relation), he’s always got this dorky looking half smile thing that makes him look like he’s at some awkward dinner party or something, and every game Brewer plays he looks like it’s past his bedtime and he’s trying to leave but isn’t down to tell anyone because he has FOMO.

Emeka Okafor: Power Forward, New Orleans Pelicans

This is more of a back in the league, instead of still in the league situation. He was traded from Washington to Phoenix in 2013, but due to a herniated disc never actually played for Phoenix. The next three seasons after that he remained unsigned due to his injury, and even when he was healthy he wasn’t extremely effective in the NBA.

Then the mess that is New Orleans happened, and Okafor got another shot. Demarcus Cousins went down with an achilles injury on January 26th. About a week later the Pelicans signed Okafor to a 10 day contract. They eventually signed him to a second game contract and then signed him for the rest of the year. His first game was actually against the Utah Jazz, so when he checked in to his first NBA game in almost five years I had to like text a bunch of people to make sure it was the same dude, because I thought he had gone to Europe or moved to St. Petersburg to retire or something.

Honorable Mention

Jameer Nelson: Point Guard, Detroit Pistons

Ryan Arcidiacono: Guard, Chicago Bulls

Brandon Jennings: Guard, Milwaukee Bucks

Shelvin Mack, Point Guard, Orlando Magic

Marvin Williams, Forward, Charlotte Hornets

The Entire Boston Celtics Bench

Jimmer Fredette: Guard, just kidding.