Carmelo Anthony, Rick Fox and more basketball stars who’ve been on TV shows
Basketball player Rick Fox, left, played a prisoner on HBO's "Oz" in the early aughts. Credit: HBO
With the NBA’s top players competing in Feb. 14’s All-Star Game (8:20 p.m., TNT), here’s a look at five hoop greats who have made their presence known on the tube, but off the court.
KEVIN MCHALE ON “CHEERS” (1990, 1991) The Boston Celtics star appeared in two episodes of the Beantown-set sitcom. In one, Sam Malone (Ted Danson) hired McHale to work a substitute bartender to get an edge in a grudge basketball game. In the other, the denizens of the bar feel guilty when McHale loses his basketball touch after becoming obsessed with the number of bolts in the floor of Boston Garden.
CHRIS MULLIN AND TIM HARDAWAY ON “HANGIN’ WITH MR. COOPER” (1992) The two members of the Golden State Warriors made a guest appearance on an episode of this TGIF sitcom in which Mark (Mark Curry) is torn between a coaching job and a tryout with the Warriors.
RICK FOX ON “OZ” (1997-2003) The Los Angeles Lakers’ small forward played a former NBA star who was sent to Oz (Oswald State Correctional Facility) after being convicted of beating a woman.
CARMELO ANTHONY ON “SONS OF ANARCHY” (2014) Blink and you’d miss Melo: The Knicks’ top player made a cameo on the violent FX series, playing a hood’s henchman. He said four words (“We got a call”) and then gave his boss a knife, which he used to chop off a victim’s fingers.
Andy Edelstein, Newsday's entertainment editor, supervises coverage of TV, celebrities, movies and pop music. He has written three books on popular culture, including "The Brady Bunch Book."
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