There are 86 sets of brothers to have played in the NBA. Some of these are high-profile siblings. For example, everyone likely knows the Ball’s or Pau and Marc Gasol. Others are surprising. Such as Derek Fisher’s big brother, Duane Washington, having a cup of coffee in the association.
From Kareem and Brandon Rush to Goran Dragic’s younger sibling Zoran, there are actually quite a few things you may not remember about brothers in the NBA. Here are five of our favorite facts.
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Things you may not remember about brothers in the NBA
And twins
Ten sets of twins have suited up in the NBA. Of this total, two pairs went to Stanford which is unbelievable in its own right. Anyway, the twins’ phenomenon is relatively new to the NBA with seven duos having entered the league after 2000. Brook and Robin Lopez are arguably the best of that bunch. We also always have a soft spot for Horace and Harvey Grant.
Short end of the stick
Most people are aware of George Mikan’s domination in the late 1940s and early 1950s. His slightly shorter, slightly younger brother also played in the NBA, although his career was not nearly as memorable. While big number 99 was winning titles and scoring for fun, Ed Mikan bounced around the league as a serviceable role player. Both Mikan brothers retired in 1954.
Young brother blues
It wasn’t just Ed Mikan who had a hard time escaping his big brother’s shadow. In many cases, older brothers outperformed their younger siblings. Giannis Antetokounmpo is clearly the alpha in that family, Bernard King’s legacy dwarves Albert’s and Seth Curry is no Steph.
It’s not that the younger brothers are bad at basketball. However, if there is an NBA All-Star in the family, it will most likely be the eldest son. For example, Dominique Wilkins is a Hall of Famer who was known as ‘The Human Highlight Film’. Younger brother Gerald was a steady hand who was once billed as the “Michael Jordan Stopper”. Spoiler alert, he didn’t stop MJ.
Triple threats
Between 1946 and 2008, three families sent three or more sons to the NBA. Since 2009, there have been four trios of brothers to reach the big time. Interestingly, the eldest brother of two of these groups, Antetokounmpo and Jrue Holiday, are currently teammates with the Milwaukee Bucks. They also illustrate our previous point.
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The incredible Van Arsdale’s
Dick and Tom Van Arsdale are one of the most fascinating set of brothers in NBA history and, on top of that, they’re twins. They played in high school and college together and wouldn’t be split up until the 1965 draft where the duo was selected consecutively. Dick was taken 10th in the second round and Tom went 11th.
Despite finally going their own ways, the Van Arsdale’s both had successful NBA careers and became the first brothers to play in the same All-Star game. Additionally, Dick and Tom were the first set of twins to be teammates in 1977.
Tom also holds the dubious honor of playing in the most NBA regular season games without making a playoff appearance.
