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NBA players, especially stars, have talked to reporters hundreds of times. They usually talk to the press after the game and answer questions regarding their performance.
However, there have been a few instances where reporters have asked NBA players unusual questions. These questions were either ignored or ridiculed by players who had no intention of answering them.
Some players, like Russell Westbrook, don't have too much love for reporters. This comes as no surprise since some of them have been asked odd questions that were meant to stir the pot.
5 times NBA players sometimes had to deal with unusual questions from reporters
1) Chris Paul and Game 7
"Chris, will be Clippers be back here Sunday playing the Game 7?"
Back in the 2017 NBA playoffs, Chris Paul played for the LA Clippers and met the Utah Jazz in the first round. With the series tied at two games apiece, the Jazz took a commanding 3-2 lead in Game 5 before playing Game 6 in Utah.
Paul and the Clippers had to beat the Jazz on the road to survive and go back to Los Angeles for a deciding Game 7. The reporter asked the former Clippers point guard if they were going to win Game 6, which was unnecessary.
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The Clippers forced Game 7, but the Jazz defeated them once again. This was Paul's final game for the team as he was traded to the Houston Rockets during the summer of 2017.
2) The birth of another Russell Westbrook meme
"Russell, did you guys lose this game or did the Jazz win this one?"
Russell Westbrook is one of the NBA players who'd rather ignore reporters if they could. This isn't surprising since he's been asked several odd questions, such as this one.
Westbrook was with the OKC Thunder at the time and the reporter asked a question after a 109-94 loss to the Utah Jazz. The former Thunder guard scored 22 points on 8-for-14 shooting in the game and his reaction to the question has become a meme.
3) Shaquille O'Neal and the venom joke
"Shaq, let's just say that a snake bit your mom right up here, right in the chest area. Would you be willing to suck the venom out to win the title?"
Some NBA players are close to reporters, which is why they sometimes ask them funny or unusual questions. This happened to Shaquille O'Neal in the 2006 NBA Finals, who had an interesting response.
"No, but I will with your wife," Shaq responded to the question above.
O'Neal ended up winning his fourth championship ring in 2006, his first with the Miami Heat. He averaged 13.7 points and 10.2 rebounds during the series.
4) Russell Westbrook - Part 2
"Do you think Harden is a max player?"
Back in 2012, the OKC Thunder were one of the most dangerous teams in the league. They ended up advancing all the way to the NBA Finals. The Thunder's first obstacle in the playoffs was Dallas, but they ended up sweeping the Mavericks.
After completing the sweep, Westbrook was asked if James Harden was a max-level extension player. There is simply no right answer to this question, but saying no would've definitely ruined the chemistry. Harden had a team-high 29 points off the bench.
Sam Presti didn't think Harden was that good, which is why he traded him to the Houston Rockets a few months after the finals. The trade allowed the shooting guard to become a superstar who won three scoring titles and the MVP award.
5) Allen Iverson's 'practice' reference
"Do you still feel the same way about practice?"
Former NBA players have been asked awful questions as well. In 2016, Allen Iverson held a press conference, but one of the reporters asked him about the "practice."
The former NBA superstar even gave him a chance to ask something else, but the reporter was persistent, which is why Iverson made fun of him.
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The Philadelphia 76ers legend has received a lot of criticism for his "practice" interview from 2002. He didn't want anyone to bring it up again, especially not 14 years after the original interview.
