Sometimes the best family rivalries in sports aren’t the ones you see when teams go head-to-head, but around who has better career stats, or who becomes the bigger bust. There have been several brother rivalries in the NBA, and while they all excelled together in college and high school, things tend to change when they all reached the NBA.
6. The Person Brothers
Chuck and Wesley were known in the NBA as sharp shooters. Chuck entered the NBA in 1986 and won Rookie of the Year. He was nicknamed “the Rifleman” for his long-range shooting. When Chuck teamed up with Reggie Miller in the 80’s and early 90’s, they gave NBA teams more problems than they could handle. Eventually Chuck was overshadowed by sharpshooter Reggie Miller and didn’t get the shine and recognition he deserved. He went on to play for the Timberwolves and the San Antonio Spurs. Little brother, Wesley, was drafted in 1994 and didn’t have much of a career compared to Chuck. Drafted to the Phoenix Suns, Wesley didn’t get much shine until he played for the Cleveland Cavaliers. While playing for the Cavs, Wesley led the NBA in three pointers attempted and made in the 1997-98 NBA Season.
5. The Van Arsdales Brothers
The Van Arsdales brothers were identical twins who played in NBA in the ’60s. Both brothers made the all-rookie team in 1966, both were all-stars three times, and both played in 12 seasons in the NBA. While Tom averaged 15 points per game and Dick averaging 16 points a game you can say they had an identical career.
4. The Gasol Brothers
Clearly Pau has the better career of the two. His career winnings include two NBA championships with the Los Angeles Lakers, voted an All-Star four times and won Rookie of the Year in 2002 while playing for the Grizzlies. Marc was drafted by the L.A. Lakers in 2007 but was traded for his brother to his current team the Grizzlies — how ironic. Together they play for their native country, Spain during the summer Olympics and summer games.
3. The Grant Brothers
Twin brothers Harvey and Horace Grant had the same DNA but definitely had different careers. Unlike like The Van Arsdales their careers went in complete different directions. While Horace won four champions with the Chicago Bulls and L.A. Lakers (Thanks, Mike and Kobe) Harvey finished his career five seasons before older brother Horace (who is older by nine minues). Horace played with future Hall of Famers Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Shaquille O’Neal (twice) and Kobe Bryant. Unfortunately for younger brother, he played for some pretty bad teams, teams like the Bullets, Blazers (during the Drexler-less years) and back to Washington when they were the Wizards.
2. The Wilkins Brothers
Both Gerald and Dominique had great careers while playing in the NBA. While were given nicknames for their great attributes, neither won a championship…, and with good reason as they played during the Jordan years. Dominique received the name “The Human highlight film” for his athletic abilities while brother Gerald got the name (and I use this name loosely) “The Jordan Stopper” which probably just meant Jordan scored 30 points. Dominique also had his rivalries with MJ during all-star weekends in the Slam Dunk Contest. Dominique beat MJ in the 1985 contest and went on to become a 9 time all-star, winning the scoring title in 1986. While Gerald played 14 seasons in the NBA, his winnings were nonexistent.
1. Drew, Brent, and Jon Barry
While their father Rick had a stellar career in the NBA, eventually making it to the Hall of Fame, his offspring had mediocre careers. Jumping from team to team all three Barry sons had very few shining moments. Brent won the NBA slam dunk contest and won 2 titles with Spurs in the early 2000’s. Jon had the journey men’s career playing 14 seasons in the NBA on EIGHT different teams. Drew had the least success making it to the NBA in 1998 and playing only 2 seasons before going overseas to continue his basketball career.
Bonus Rivalry: The Millers
OK, Cheryl is obviously not a dude and didn’t play in the NBA with younger brother Reggie but I’m sure she would have given them boys “that work” on the court. She might have had a better career who knows. Although Reggie only made it to the NBA finals once, he has a long list of accolades (I’m sure Cheryl’s would be longer if she played in the league) which placed him in the Hall of Fame. A pretty cool stat about Reggie many might not know is in his 18 years in the NBA he only missed the playoffs once, too bad he couldn’t win the big one…
Did we leave anyone out? Which is your favorite NBA sibling rivalry?
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The Best NBA Brotherly Rivalries was originally published on giantlife.com
