Founded in June 1946 as the Basketball Association of America, the National Basketball Association has tremendously grown in number, scale, and influence. In fact, the NBA is one of the most popular major professional sports league in the United States and around the world.
The NBA Final in 2017 recorded 20.4 million average viewership. As of 2015, about 58 million people had tuned in via their television to catch the regular season of the sports league. NBA also has the youngest audience with about 45 percent of its viewers under 35-year-old.
Along with expanding viewership, NBA’s revenue is also seeing a significant rise. This can be in part thanks to advertising, merchandise, concessions, and broadcasting rights. The surge in revenue influences NBA teams and their players with an average value of 1.1 billion US dollars. In turn, the average salary of a player is at 6.6 million US dollars.
Unfortunately, the high salary and rolling popularity of NBA players do not necessarily merit strong attention to physical appearance, particularly their teeth.
Despite the applause-worthy performances of these players and their hard work to bring their team’s glory, it is not enough to skip them out of the list of 20 NBA Players with Bad Teeth.
Kent Bazemore
Atlanta Hawks’ shooting guard Kennet Lamont “Kent” Bazemore Jr. has played over 360 games in the regular season in his five-year career. He has played for the Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Lakers, and his current team, the Atlanta Hawks. He has an average points-per-game of 7.5 and has a salary of more than 16 million US dollars.
Compared to his 2016 – 2017 season ranking, Bazemore did not make Washington Post’s Top 100 Players for the current season. And sadly, Bazemore makes it on our list of NBA Players with Bad Teeth instead. His central incisors form a gap. Additionally, his upper teeth are too far forward from his lower teeth.
Josh Childress
Joshua Malik Childress left NBA and is now a professional basketball player for Australian professional men’s basketball team, Adelaide 36ers. But honoring his NBA career of 391 regular season games and seven playoffs, Childress is part of our list.
We recognize the noticeable improvements Childress’ oral appearance from the sixth overall draft pick with a gummy smile in 2004. However, the NBL player might consider doing additional work on the gap between his lower front teeth.
Mike Conley
Since his 2007 NBA draft, Michael Alex Conley, Jr. has played for the Memphis Grizzlies as a point guard. The 30-year-old professional basketball player boasts a career of 716 games played in the regular season and 56 playoffs. He has an average 14.3 points-per-game in a regular season and 16.5 points-per-game in playoffs.
Aside from his impressive commitment to his team and his stats, Conley, Jr. is also loyal to his gapped teeth. He might want to consider undergoing an orthodontic procedure to resolve the space between his teeth. He may also consider teeth whitening treatment while he’s at the dental office.
Stephen Curry
Branded by many sports analysts and players as the “greatest shooter in NBA history,” Wardell Stephen Curry II made headlines during the 2014 – 2015 season when he led the Golden State Warriors to the team’s first championship since 1975.
In the same season, the Golden State point guard was hailed the Most Valuable Player. In the following season, he received a unanimous vote as an MVP, the first in NBA history.
Curry is also the highest paid NBA player. However, the 29-year-old professional basketball player seems to have bypassed his teeth in the allocation of his salary.
Aside from his weird and unique habit of chewing his mouth guard while on the free throw line (apparently because he performs better without the mouth guard), Curry has a tooth gap between his upper central incisors. His lower teeth may also need assistance from orthodontists as they appear crooked.
Anthony Davis
More images of Anthony Davis’ teeth on Google Images
At the age of 24, Anthony Marshon Davis, Jr. demonstrates an impressive professional basketball career.
Since his NBA draft in 2012 where he was the number one overall pick, the New Orleans Pelicans power forward has played 345 games in a regular season, three All-Star games, and four games during playoffs. He has an average of 22.6 points-per-game. Davis also represented the United States at the 2012 London Olympics and the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup.
Other than his remarkable stats, another noticeable feature of Davis is his unibrow. He is so well-known for his connected brow that the professional basketball player decided to trademark the words “Fear The Brow” and “Raise The Brow” in 2012.
Davis might be taking advantage of his unibrow, but we are keeping our fingers crossed that he will not do the same with his teeth, particularly his lower teeth which are horribly lined up. His teeth may not play a part in his games, but malpositioned teeth can affect his bite. They may also contribute to tooth decay and other dental problems that can do more harm than good to his health.
Andre Drummond
There is something about NBA players and tooth gaps.
And Andre Drummond was, at one point, part of the teeth-gap club in the NBA. Unlike other players who shrug off their teeth gap, Drummond has undertaken a measure to get rid of his gap – dental braces.
In an interview with men’s magazine GQ, he shared that he has always wanted to do something about his gap, and he did it for his psyche.
Standing at six-feet-11-inches, Andre Jamal Drummond is Detroit Pistons’ center and represented the United States at the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup.
He has played 395 games in the regular season, one All-Star game, and four games during playoffs. In his NBA career, he has an average of 13.3 points-per-game during the regular season. Drummond is also the second youngest player to record a 5,000th career rebound.
Draymond Green
Together with Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, and Klay Thompson, Draymond Jamal Green, Sr. makes up the “super team” of the Golden State Warriors.
Green began his professional basketball career in 2012 under a three-year, 2.6 million US dollar contract with the Golden State Warriors. He wears jersey number 23 as the team’s power forward.
In October 2017, Green posed for an interview with GQ magazine, beaming widely to the camera with his pearly white teeth.
So, why was he on this list?
Well, he once had a crooked set of lower teeth. We give credit to him for addressing his dental issue before beginning his NBA career by wearing dental braces during his stint with the Michigan State.
However, Green was apparently bad at wearing his retainers. Thus, this probably explains why during his pre-draft interview in 2012, his lower teeth seem to be needing more orthodontic work. In 2016, he underwent another round of orthodontic treatment – this time with clear aligners.
But aside from his misaligned teeth, Green has yellowing teeth from time to time. That said, he may need professional teeth whitening treatment.
James Harden
James Edward Harden, Jr. is one of the top players in the NBA. With an impressive 29.5 points-per-game in the first two weeks of the present season, Harden is undoubtedly trying to be the “best player on the court every single night, no matter who’s on the court.”
From the time when he was drafted by the Oklahoma City Thunder as the third overall pick in the NBA draft of 2009, Harden has played in 626 regular season games, five All-Star games, and 88 playoffs. He has an average of 22.3 points-per-game on the regular season.
Harden has represented the United States at the 2012 London Olympics and the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup.
Aside from his skills, the Houston Rockets shooting guard is known on and off the NBA court for his beard which he started growing in 2009. The media has utilized his trademark beard to identify him – from “The Bearded One,” “Beard God,” and “The Beard.”
And thank God for his beard, people’s attention is moved away from his bad teeth. Before deciding to fix his teeth in 2016, Harden has continuously been on the list of NBA Players with Worst Teeth (along with Anthony Davis) for his misaligned teeth – both upper and lower. His teeth show improvements today, but it’s too soon to move him from “worst teeth” to “good teeth.”
Joakim Noah
Having Joakim Noah on this list is no surprise. Like Harden, Noah been a consistent member of the NBA Players with Worst Teeth lineup thanks to his gap. The difference between Harden and Noah is that the latter does not appear to be getting treatment for his gap.
Setting the space between his teeth aside, Noah has performed considerably well in his career as a professional basketball player since being selected by the Chicago Bulls in the 2007 NBA draft. In 2016, Noah left Chicago Bulls and signed a four-year, 72 million US dollar contract with the New York Knicks.
On March 2017, the New York Knicks center was suspended without pay for 20 games due to a violation of NBA’s anti-drug policy. The following month, he suffered a left torn rotator cuff that will require surgery and a rehabilitation of four to six months.
Noah made his comeback after nine months this November as part of Knicks’ roster.
Nerlens Noel
Nerlens Noel signed with the Philadelphia 76ers in 2013 after being traded by the New Orleans Pelicans. He played under the wing of the 76ers for three regular seasons before being traded to the Dallas Mavericks in 2017.
The 23-year-old professional basketball player has an average of 9.8 points-per-game in 205 games he has played since the 2014-15 season.
Aside from playing for the Dallas Mavericks, there is something new with Noel that involves his teeth.
The power forward is sporting a better set of teeth compared to his rookie year in the NBA where he had a gap, and his upper front teeth slightly pushed forward than usual. Thanks to dental braces that he appears to have worn since 2015, he flaunts nicer teeth today.
Jabari Parker
Jabari Parker may be out in the 2017-18 season due to a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), but he is on our list of NBA players that need dental attention.
The second overall pick in the NBA draft in 2014, Parker is the Milwaukee Bucks power forward, scoring an average of 20.1 points-per-game in the 2016-17 season and an average of 15.8 points-per-game in his NBA career.
We are hoping to see Parker recover from his injury and bounce back with excellent season performance.
We are also hoping to see a better set of lower teeth. His lower central incisors are pushed farther back compared to his other incisors. Also, his gummy smile may look charming, but studies show that an excessive display of gums is not appealing nor safe for oral health.
Ben Simmons
We are not sure if a gap is an in-thing in the NBA. However, another player is sporting a space between his upper central incisors – Philadelphia 76ers point guard Ben Simmons (although not as wide as Joakim Noah’s).
Benjamin David Simmons was selected by the Philadelphia 76ers, becoming the number one overall pick in the 2016 NBA draft.
He also made history in the league as the second player to achieve two triple-doubles in his first nine games. He was also the only rookie to tally three steals and three blocks along with the triple-double feat.
Simmons has an average of 17.8 points-per-game, 10.1 rebounds-per-game, and eight assists-per-game.
Jeff Teague
Beginning in 2017, Jeffrey Demarco Teague is a point guard of the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Before his involvement with the Timberwolves, Teague played seven seasons with the Atlanta Hawks and one season with the Indiana Pacers.
Teague has played 610 games in the regular season and averaged 12.6 points-per-game. And the 2017-18 season is a testament that the 29-year-old player is pushing forward and keeping his feet running to secure wins for the Timberwolves.
However, something may need to be pushed back on Teague – his upper teeth which appear to be protruded.
Isaiah Thomas
Named after Isiah Thomas, a former Detroit Pistons Hall of Fame point guard, Isaiah Jamar Thomas began his professional basketball career in 2011 as a player for the Sacramento Kings.
In 2014, he was acquired by the Phoenix Suns, playing for the team in the 2014-15 season. The next year, he was traded to the Boston Celtics and played three regular seasons. At present, the 28-year-old NBA player is a point guard for the Cleveland Cavaliers.
However, due to a hip injury, he sustained in the 2016 season, Thomas debut with Cleveland is delayed. But we expect him to return soon and join Lebron James on the court as part of the team’s starting five.
But, aside from his hip injury, Thomas suffered a big blow on his front tooth during the Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semi-finals against the Washington Wizards.
Wizards forward Otto Porter hit then-Celtics point guard Thomas with an elbow, sustaining a complete fractured tooth and two shifted teeth. The injury required an extensive oral surgery and a four-piece temporary bridge.
Jonas Valančiūnas
We are not sure if there is a correlation between a dental gap and court performance. Nevertheless, we are starting to think so.
We have lost count of how many players on our list are sporting a space between their upper central incisors. But we are adding another NBA player in the list – Jonas Valančiūnas.
Before playing professionally in the NBA, Valančiūnas played for the BC Perlas-MRU, a Lithuania-based professional basketball club, from 2008 to 2010. He then moved to the BC Lietuvos Rytas in 2010 until 2012 before playing for the Toronto Raptors as a center.
Valančiūnas records an 11.5 points-per-game, 8.5 rebounds-per-game, and 0.7 assists-per-game. Since his debut season in 2012, he has played 369 regular season games.
Nikola Vučević
Born in Morges, Switzerland, Orlando Magic’s center Nikola Vučević moved to Montenegro with his family in his teenage years before coming to Simi Valley, California in 2007 to play at Stoneridge Prep in his senior year of high school.
In college, Vučević played with the Trojans of the University of Southern California, averaging 11.1 points and eight rebounds per game.
In 2011, he was drafted by the Philadelphia 76ers before being traded to Orlando Magic in 2012. At age 27, Vučević has proven himself an excellent offensive player with an average of 14.6 points-per-game.
All looks well for Vučević especially after scoring a win against the New York Knicks (the night before the creation of this list).
But a closer look at the seven-foot player will reveal otherwise, especially when you focus on his lower teeth. The Orlando Magic center appears to have a missing tooth only to find out that his teeth are not leveled with each other. He flaunts an apparent height difference between his incisor and premolar.
Rasheed Wallace
He might have retired in the NBA after 16 seasons, but Philadelphia-native Rasheed Abdul “Sheed” Wallace still made it on our list of NBA players with bad teeth.
In all fairness to Wallace, his teeth have improved through the years – from discolored, misaligned, and a gappy row of teeth to whiter teeth. He still has gaps between his teeth though.
But leaving his teeth aside, Wallace had a good run as an NBA player, ending his career with an average 14.4 points-per-game, 6.7 rebounds-per-game, and 1.8 assists-per-game. He also holds the record as the player with the most technical fouls at 317.
He announced his retirement in 2010 but came out of retirement on a one-year deal with the New York Knicks in 2012. After one season with the Knicks, he retired for the second time in 2013.
He played power forward in Washington Bullets, Portland Trail Blazers, Atlanta Hawks, Detroit Pistons, Boston Celtics, and the New York Knicks. Wallace was also part of the staff of Detroit Pistons as an assistant coach in the 2013-14 season.
Russell Westbrook
Russell Westbrook III never thought he had the chance of playing basketball in college.
He did not hear from big schools until shortly before graduation when a school offered him free housing and free food. It was UCLA.
After two years at UCLA, Westbrook went onto entering the 2008 NBA draft and forego his final two years in the university.
And he might have just made the right choice as 2008 saw Westbrook as the fourth overall pick by the Seattle SuperSonics, now the Oklahoma City Thunder where he spent (and probably will spend) his nine-year NBA career as a point guard.
He has an average 22.7 points-per-game, 6.3 rebounds-per-game, and eight assists-per-game. He was also the 2016-17 season’s Most Valuable Player.
Westbrook is known for his fashion sense, love for design, and his passion for self-improvement. “I’m busy worried about how I can improve. I just don’t have time to worry about what any other person is doing,” he said in an interview with men’s magazine GQ.
However, his direction towards self-improvement seems not applicable to his teeth gap and uneven lower teeth. Why not fix them? But, Westbrook probably just doesn’t care.
Hassan Whiteside
Hassan Niam Whiteside was drafted as the 33rd overall pick by the Sacramento Kings in the NBA draft of 2010 where he played for two seasons.
At present, he plays center in the Miami Heat after signing in 2014 after his D-League and overseas stint.
In his 223 games in the NBA regular season, he holds a record of 13.6 points-per-game, 11.4 rebounds-per-game, and 0.4 assists-per-game.
Although we applaud his performance in the current season with an average of 16.5 points-per-game, 12 rebounds-per-game, and 0.7 assists-per-game, we also need to point out a need for self-improvement in his oral appearance.
Whiteside made it on our list for his front teeth that are too far forward than normal and for his uneven lower teeth.
Andrew Wiggins
Andrew Christian Wiggins was the first overall pick by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2014 NBA draft. However, he traded along with Anthony Bennet to the Minnesota Timberwolves in August 2014.
Since the trade, Wiggins has been playing for the Wolves as a shooting guard, averaging 20.4 points-per-game, 4.1 rebounds-per-game, and 2.1 assists-per-game in 256 games in the regular season.
Wiggins may be one of the Wolves’ cornerstone talents and a player who has made conscious effort to improve his defense. But the young basketball star may also want to enhance his smile by saying goodbye to the gap between his upper central incisors. He may also try some orthodontic work to push his teeth a bit backward.
8 Celebrities who had Imperfect Teeth
Cher Lloyd
The beautiful singer, Cher Lloyd has a smile that glows across a room. Before, Cher was unhappy with her gapped two front teeth that were slightly pushed outwards, saying that it made her feel like a rabbit. After having her gap closed and having her teeth brightened to perfection, Cher smiles wider than she ever has.
Zac Efron
High School Musical star, Zac Efron, didn’t always have the super straight, porcelain white set of teeth he rocks these days. Zac used to have a gap between his two front teeth that was corrected and whitened thanks to cosmetic dentistry. Now his teeth shine brighter than ever before.
Mike Tyson
Mike Tyson, all-star boxer, had to wear two gold caps on a couple of his front teeth. Along with this, he had a fairly significant gap between his two front teeth. Eventually, he had the caps removed and had his gap slightly closed to reveal a beautiful yet still very natural set of teeth that he now loves.
Hilary Duff
Hilary Duff, before opting for cosmetic dentistry, actually had fairly beautiful, straight teeth. However, when she chipped one of her front teeth on a microphone, she opted for full-on veneers to turn her chipped smile into a charming set of white teeth.
Morgan Freeman
Before Morgan Freeman had a perfect set of teeth, he too struggled with dental problems in his past. Yellowish-brown, crooked teeth with a gap between his two front teeth were not something he was proud of.
Once he opted for dental treatment, he had his gap closed and his discolored, aged teeth whitened to perfection. Just with cosmetic dentistry, Morgan’s teeth and face looked several years younger (and healthier). Now his smile is wider and brighter than it was before his procedures.
Tom Cruise
Discolored and misaligned teeth may have been a struggle for Tom Cruise, but not anymore. This star opted for cosmetic dentistry to properly align and whiten his teeth. Eventually, Tom decided on veneers to give him the smile he always dreamed of.
Demi Moore
For a woman in her fifties, Demi Moore’s teeth look fantastic. However, they weren’t always this gorgeous. Before she received veneers, her teeth looked raggedy and severely discolored. It’s safe to say that Demi’s teeth are absolutely stunning, and now her smile looks twenty times brighter and mightier.
Nicholas Cage
Suffering from crooked teeth and a crowded mouth, Nicholas Cage decided to opt for dental veneers to perfect his smile for good. Before the dental procedure took place, Nicholas decided on something quite strange: To have two of his teeth (baby teeth by the way) pulled out by a dentist without any anesthetics. Doing this helped the actor “toughen up” to play his character in the movie Birdy. Guess you can say Nicholas Cage has had his fair share of dental procedures.
Disclaimer: The oral health information published on this web page is solely intended for educational purposes. Hawaii Family Dental strongly recommends to always consult licensed dentists or other qualified health care professionals for any questions concerning your oral health.
References:
Basketball Reference. (n.d.). 2017-18 NBA Player Contracts. Retrieved from Basketball Reference: https://www.basketball-reference.com/contracts/players.html
ESPN. (n.d.). NBA Player Salaries – 2017-2018. Retrieved from ESPN: http://www.espn.com/nba/salaries
Goldaper, S. (n.d.). NBA Encyclopedia Playoff Edition. Retrieved from NBA: http://www.nba.com/history/firstgame_feature.html
Koppett, L. (2007, December 7). The NBA — 1946: A New League. Retrieved from NBA: http://www.nba.com/heritageweek2007/newleague_071207.html
Nath, T. (2015, July 7). The NBA’s Business Model. Retrieved from Investopedia: https://www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/070715/nbas-business-model.asp
NBA News. (n.d.). Retrieved from NBA: http://www.nba.com/news#/
NBA Players. (n.d.). Retrieved from Fox Sports: https://www.foxsports.com/nba/players
Riley, D. (2016, October 17). Why Not Russell Westbrook? Retrieved from GQ: https://www.gq.com/story/russell-westbrook-thunder-profile
Skipper, C. (2017, October 12). Draymond Green Would Like a Word (or 1,000). Retrieved from GQ: https://www.gq.com/story/draymond-green-warriors-would-like-a-word
Statista Inc. (2017, June). NBA Finals TV viewership in the U.S. 2000-2017. Retrieved from Statista: https://www.statista.com/statistics/240377/nba-finals-tv-viewership-in-the-united-states/