After spending a decade in the National Basketball Associaton, Iman Shumpert took his talents from the hardwood to the dancefloor earlier this fall when it was announced the 2016 NBA champion would appear on the 30th season of ABC’s Dancing With The Stars.
Following a slow start, Shumpert began to receive recognition for his DWTS routines and after he and his professional dance partner Daniella Karagach nailed their routine to Outkast’s “Hey Ya” and followed it up with a perfect score a few weeks later, it became clear that Shumpert was coming for the crown.
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And that’s exactly what he did.
Becoming the first NBA player to advance to the reality show’s final round, and then the first NBA player to win Dancing With The Stars, Shumpert proved his prowess as a dancer.
Coupled with his rap career, a Dancing With The Stars victory pointed towards Shumpert continuing down a path towards music, but in a recent interview with TMZ, the high-flyer said he wasn’t done with basketball.
“Tryna see what we can get done,” Shumpert responded when asked if he planned to return to the NBA. “I love basketball. I never stopped playing.”
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Continuing to explain that it wasn’t his choice not to play this season, Shumpert likened his situation to a relationship.
“They call me a ‘former’, ‘ex’ but I told them the league just didn’t pay me this year,” he told TMZ. “It’s not an ‘ex’ thing. Me and the league didn’t break up!”
What do you think? Will Shumpert make it back into the NBA? Let us know down in the comments.