Adam Sandler is undoubtedly a great actor and comedian with millions of fans across the globe both on and off social media. However, a lot of fans probably do not know that beyond comedy and acting, the popular actor also possesses enviable basketball skills.
Adam Sandler can play basketball, although to what level isn’t common knowledge. That being said, from his participation in various pick-up basketball games to his roles in some popular basketball-centric movies, we’re convinced that he has some hidden basketball skills.
When Did Adam Sandler Start Playing Basketball?
The actor has declared and exemplified his love for sports on diverse occasions but it appears that his love for sports, particularly basketball predates his stardom days. Sandler attended Manchester Central High School and joined its basketball team while he was a student. However, he has honestly admitted that he wasn’t much of a great player back in those days. In a phone call interview on the Dan Patrick show, he spoke about how slow of a player he was (and still is) while he was on the basketball team. The comedic actor added that his slow pace was the major reason no one on his team liked him as he was never successful with any of the 30-seconds suicide drills. As a result of his inability to do the drills, his team always ended up staying longer than necessary at training.
However, he now likes to play more than he did while he was in high school and he appears to have honed his skills, even though we do not know how. He is still so slow on the pitch and he still does not like playing on a full-court as he believes things are always too rough as everyone is always moving so fast.
How Good is Adam Sandler at Basketball?
In an interview with BET, the comedian joked about his basketball prowess when he said his skills on the pitch were as good as those of iconic moves of a retired American basketball player, Julius Erving. He takes things a notch higher when he declared that he had done the popular Michael Jordan’s switch hands move on numerous occasions. While Sandler is definitely not as good as Michael Jordan or Julius Erving as he claims, he definitely deserves some accolades for his awesome moves. Adam Sandler has always made time for sports and even though we do not think he has any professional training, he has shown some pretty grand moves that shows us he has been practising.
Sandler has a record for taking parts in random pick-up basketball games and we think this may be one of the things on the star’s bucket list whenever he travels. For instance, a clip which surfaced online in 2017 showed where the Hollywood star made a call to play next in a pick-up basketball game at the Roslyn Heights’ Christopher Morley Park. According to sources, he was in New York for the filming of The Week. In yet another clip last year, which was reportedly recorded in a LA fitness located in Atlanta, Sandler could be seen throwing an awesome no-look pass. The video was posted on Twitter and the caption from user SenseiSigh stated that Sandler threw a dime at him. The pass was so good that it did not take long for the video to go viral and this probably earned the star more fans.
In another clip, Sandler who had a comedy show scheduled to hold in Atlanta city was seen again playing pick-up basketball with some kids. The video was posted by a twitter user with the handle Lynda Cohen where he was telling the kids about hooping. This should not come as a surprise since Sandler reportedly always brings a hoop to his movies’ sets.
In another clip that surfaced online in 2019, the star was meant to perform at a comedy show at Van Andel Arena and he was pictured at a pick-up basketball game at the Aquinas College earlier that same day. One other time we have seen Sandler’s basketball prowess was when he was asked to throw a shot toward a hoop before he made his appearance on The Jump. His throw was effortless and he grandly displayed some awesome dribbling and shooting skills.
What Team Does Sandler Support?
The star who made his debut appearance in Hollywood with the 1989 movie, Going Overboard, is a diehard supporter of the New York Knicks. Sandler has admitted that he has always been a huge supporter of the Knicks and even when he relocated to Massachusetts as a kid, his loyalty was still to the Knicks. He mentioned in one of his interviews that he could have easily become a fan of the Celtics but he could not stop rooting for Julius Erving.
Does Adam Sandler star in any Basketball-centric movies?
If you are a huge fan of the actor, then you probably know about his Uncut Gems movie. This movie explicitly shows his likeness for basketball. Uncut Gems is built on a playoff between Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 7ers. Uncut Gems is not Adam Sandler’s only movie where he displays his basketball skills. His 2010 Grown-Ups also had some form of basketball undertone. He has also been involved in other sports movies prior to Uncut Gems. For instance, The WaterBoy had him playing college football and his sport in Happy Gilmore was golf. Sandler is also set to act as Bill Kennedy in Lebron James’ movie, Hustle. The movie which is scheduled to be released this year will have Sandler playing the role of a basketball coach.
Conclusion
If there is something else we know about Sandler asides his passion and skills in acting comedy, then it is the fact that he can play basketball. His love for this sport probably explains why he has been caught on camera on several occasions wearing basketball shorts.