Every father/son pair to play in the NBA (plus NBA players with WNBA moms)
By Elaine Blum
Sometimes, athletic ability and the love for the same sport just runs in the family. If you grow up with a parent playing a professional sport, it must be hard not to fall in love with that same game or to aspire to similar heights as your parent. Thus, it is no surprise that there are several father/son pairs to play in the NBA.
The most notable one is likely the Curry family. Dell Curry had a successful NBA from 1986 to 2002 and then had two sons following in his footsteps. One even became a superstar and arguably the best shooter the game has seen.
It isn't just fathers that pass on the basketball gene, however.
NBA players whose mothers played in the WNBA
When JaVale McGee was drafted into the NBA in 2008, he was the first player whose mother played in the WNBA. Pamela McGee played for the Sacramento Monarchs and Los Angeles Sparks in the WNBA as well as for Team USA and several professional teams overseas. She also has a daughter—Imani McGee—who played in the WNBA.
Since then, other WNBA sons have joined the league, including the Orlando Magic's own Paolo Banchero and Gary Harris. Rhonda Smith-Banchero and Joy Holmes-Harris both played in the American Basketball League before joining the WNBA in 2000 and 1999.
Jaden Ivey, who was drafted the same year as Banchero is also the son of a former WNBA player. His mother, Niele Ivey, played in the WNBA in the early 2000s and has since made a career as the head coach of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish women's basketball team. Both Banchero and Ivey, the most recent draft picks on this list, have credited their mothers with helping them get to the NBA, giving them the recognition they deserve.
Since the WNBA is much younger than the NBA, the list of mother-son duos is still relatively short, especially compared to the extensive list of father-son duos that made it to the NBA.
Every father/son pair to play in the NBA
Father | Son |
|---|---|
Greg Anthony | Cole Anthony |
Rick Barry | Brent Barry |
Henry Bibby | Mike Bibby |
Manute Bol | Bol Bol |
Melvin Booker | Devin Booker |
Ron Brewer | Ronnie Brewer |
Rick Brunson | Jalen Brunson |
Joe Bryant | Kobe Bryant |
Wayne Chapman | Rex Chapman |
Charles Claxton | Nic Claxton |
Richard Coffey | Amir Coffey |
Norm Cook | Brian Cook |
Corey Crowder | Jae Crowder |
Dell Curry | Seth Curry, Stephen Curry |
Dale Davis | Trayce Jackson-Davis |
Mark Davis | Johnny Davis |
Terry Davis | Ed Davis |
Darren Daye | Austin Daye |
Larry Drew | Larry Drew II |
Rich Dumas | Richard Dumas |
Mike Dunleavy Sr. | Mike Dunleavy Jr. |
Bill Edwards | Vincent Edwards |
LeRoy Ellis | LeRon Ellis |
Patrick Ewing | Patrick Ewing Jr. |
Bob Ferry | Danny Ferry |
Winston Garland | Darius Garland |
Dick Garrett | Diante Garrett |
Harvey Grant | Jerami Grant, Jerian Grant |
Sidney Green | Taurean Green |
Adrian Griffin | AJ Griffin |
Matt Guokas Sr. | Matt Guokas Jr. |
Tim Hardaway | Tim Hardaway Jr. |
Ron Harper | Ron Harper Jr. |
Gerald Henderson | Gerald Henderson Jr. |
Carl Henry | Xavier Henry |
Earle Higgins | Sean Higgins |
Rod Higgins | Cory Higgins |
Tito Horford | Al Horford |
Bill Hosket Sr. | Bill Hosket Jr. |
Juwan Howard | Jett Howard |
Jaren Jackson | Jaren Jackson Jr. |
Wali Jones | Askia Jones |
George Karl | Coby Karl |
Frank Kornet | Luke Kornet |
Stan Love | Kevin Love |
John Lucas Jr. | John Lucas III |
Ed Manning | Danny Manning |
Pace Mannion | Nico Mannion |
Press Maravich | Pete Maravich |
Roy Marble | Devyn Marble |
Kenyon Martin | Kenyon Martin Jr. |
Wes Matthews | Wesley Matthews |
Scott May | Sean May |
Alfred McGuire | Allie McGuire |
George Mikan | Larry Mikan |
Pete Mount | Rick Mount |
Jay Murphy | Erik Murphy |
Larry Nance | Larry Nance Jr. |
Ruben Nembhard | RJ Nembhard |
Sonny Parker | Jabari Parker |
Jim Paxson Sr. | Jim Paxson Jr., John Paxson |
Gary Payton | Gary Payton II |
Curtis Perry | Byron Houston |
Walt Piatkowski | Eric Piatkowski |
Scottie Pippen | Scottie Pippen Jr. |
Paul Pressey | Phil Pressey |
Tony Price | A.J. Price |
Leo Rautins | Andy Rautins |
Glen Rice | Glen Rice Jr. |
Doc Rivers | Austin Rivers |
Glenn Robinson | Glenn Robinson III |
Walker Russell Sr. | Walker Russell Jr. |
Arvydas Sabonis | Domantas Sabonis |
Al Salvadori | Kevin Salvadori |
Dolph Schayes | Danny Schayes |
James Silas | Xavier Silas |
Derek Smith | Nolan Smith |
Jabari Smith | Jabari Smith Jr. |
John Stockton | David Stockton |
Walter Szczerbiak | Wally Szczerbiak |
Jeff Taylor | Jeffery Taylor |
Collis Temple | Garrett Temple |
Mychal Thompson | Klay Thompson |
Gary Trent | Gary Trent Jr. |
Butch Van Breda Kolff | Jan Van Breda Kolff |
Ernie Vandeweghe | Kiki Vandeweghe |
David Vaughn Jr. | David Vaughn III |
Brett Vroman | Jackson Vroman |
Milt Wagner | Dajuan Wagner |
Jimmy Walker | Jalen Rose |
Samaki Walker | Jabari Walker |
Bill Walton | Luke Walton |
Chris Washburn | Julian Washburn |
Duane Washington | Duane Washington Jr. |
Mitchell Wiggins | Andrew Wiggins |
Gerald Wilkins | Damien Wilkins |
Rickie Winslow | Justise Winslow |
Michael Young | Joe Young |
Which current Magic players are the sons of NBA players?
Two of the current Orlando Magic players are the sons of former NBA players. Cole Anthony's father, Greg Anthony, played 11 seasons in the NBA for the New York Knicks, Vancouver Grizzlies, Seattle Super Sonics, Portland Trail Blazers, Chicago Bulls, and Milwaukee Bucks. Jett Howard is the son of two-time NBA champion and 1996 All-Star Juwan Howard.
As mentioned before, Paolo Banchero and Gary Harris are the sons of former WNBA players.
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