The "Kardashian Curse" has been the stuff of urban myth for a while now. With the fame that followed their hit reality series, the family's fondness for basketball players only grew. The following is a list of those former and current NBA athletes that have been linked to the Kardashians/Jenner family. With the exception of two big names, this list isn't exactly stacked with All-Stars, but still, the sheer number of players is impressive. Khloe Kardashian could basically field a decent starting five with her exes.
The idea of the "Curse" is something that dates back to 2000, when Kim was dating then NFL Running Back Reggie Bush. Since then it has followed the sisters and their partners like a lingering cloud over their collective careers. In some cases those clouds turned into full-fledged storms and ended up damaging certain careers beyond repair. The Kardashian family are certainly no strangers to the spotlight, and neither are professional athletes. That being said, many of the players on the list have attempted to blame poor performances on the outside stressors that come with dating a Kardashian/Jenner. While not all of these tales have a happy ending, they offer cautionary examples of what can happen when every moment of one's personal and professional lives are scrutinized by millions of people. Certainly this phenomenon extends beyond the court as well. Anytime Kanye West has a personal or professional misstep, his legion of fans (myself included) are quick to blame Kim Kardashian for her role in whatever it is. Regardless of who's involved it's a somewhat silly premise. Blaming the Kardashian "Curse" removes all personal responsibility of failure. To put it differently, if Khloe or Kim had a history of dating accountants, nobody would be concerned about the possibility of the guy messing up a routine audit. It is in much in the same way that we should view these athletes. That said, because NBA players are public figures themselves, fans are always looking for reasons for why their guys aren't playing up to par, even when the answer is that they just aren't good enough. Yes, the spotlight does indeed get brighter when you're dating a Kardashian, but that doesn't make the sisters a viable reason for an inability to execute on the floor.
Below are the players that have been involved with this crop of Internet-favored sisters.
Lamar Odom
Most of us remember this very public saga, that saw Lamar Odom go from Sixth Man of the Year (2011), at the top of his game, to a Tyrone Biggums-esque fiend and NBA burnout.
Lamar and Khloe Kardashian began dating in September of 2009, while Odom was still a member of the Lakers. Odom was quickly absorbed into the Kardashian universe at the peak of his career. After fast-tracking their marriage later that same year, Khloe would eventually file for divorce in 2013. Then this story takes a couple of darker turns, as you might know. In 2015, Odom was found unconscious inside a Nevada brothel after a near-fatal overdose due to his consumption of a mystery cocktail of pills. After four days of close medical attention, Lamar eventually awoke from his coma, although he suffered several strokes and kidney failure due to the overdose. To Lamar's surprise, Khloe was with him almost every step of the way on his road to recovery, and she even withdrew her request for divorce during this time. Still, Khloe would re-file for divorce following Odom's recovery, and despite bouncing back from a serious overdose and drug addiction, the basketball player has never really recovered his NBA career.
Rick Fox
Apparently, it was Rick Fox who was Khloe's rebound after the Lamar Odom situation.
Back in 2015, Khloe was spotted on a date with the silver fox, who like Khloe, has never had a problem wooing fellow stars. Fox is a former Tar-Heel star, who lead them to the final four prior to his becoming a first round pick with the Boston Celtics in 1991. Fox was also married to Vanessa Williams for six years prior to their divorce in 2005. While it seems little else came from this brief relationship other than a few dates and a few gossip posts to accompany them, they apparently remain close friends.
Kris Humphries
Okay, who remembers this, or perhaps better put, who doesn't remember this?
Kris Humphries was a little-known bench player prior to his 72-day marriage to Kim Kardashian in 2001. It didn't go so well. The reports were that the split was caused by Kim's cheating with none other than Kanye West, who is, according to gossip magazine sources, about to be the father of their third child together. We're fairly sure Kris hasn't bumped a Yeezy track since "Cold (Theraflu)" where West raps about falling for Kim while she was married. The 14th overall pick in the 2004 draft, Humphries has played for 8 teams since joining the league. His relationship with Kim however, lasted only season. Their romance began in October 2010, around the same time that the NBA season began, and lasted until Kim filed for divorce the following October, as the 2011 season was getting underway.
Tristan Thompson
This relationship is currently in the works. Tristan and Khloe seem to be going strong, with a fairly public relationship-- Instagram posts about their forever-love for each other and all the sauce. However, outside scrutiny was at an all-time high this year during the NBA Finals where Tristan's poor play was hard to miss. Through the first three games (all losses), Thompson had only 8 points and 11 rebounds. A lot of Cavs fans quickly pointed to the big man's relationship as a possible distraction and while it may be the case, as long as Thompson is in the league Khloe will likely stick around as well. One thing is for certain though, with the NBA season tip-off looming the Cavs fanbase will have all eyes on Tristan to see if he can bounce back from his poor NBA Finals performance.
Jordan Clarkson
When she's not saving this dystopian world of ours with a can of Pepsi, Kendall Jenner apparently also shares the family fondness for ballers. Clarkson, another Laker,was linked to Kendall in 2016 and this year as well. While they seem to have drifted apart now, having moved on to other relationships (again, so it seems). Clarkson currently is dating Bella Thorne and Kendall is reportedly dating Blake Griffin (stay tuned). Clarkson, in his pivotal third season in the NBA is looking to make that all-important next step in his NBA career as there are high hopes for the Lakers and their young core of players this year.
James Harden
The most talented player on this list, James Harden dated Khloe Kardashian after they met in June 2015. While they ended their brief relationship in February 2016, it was Harden who was by Khloe's side during the Lamar Odom situation. Harden, it seems, didn't enjoy the extra spotlight. While his play has certainly never been better, Harden recently told Sports Illustrated that the year he dated Khloe was "The worst year of my life," he went on to add "I feel like it was for no other reason than getting my name out there and my face out there, and I don't need that." Let's be glad that Harden's career didn't end up in the graveyard alongside McCants, as last year's MVP runner up looks to continue creating his own legacy.
Rashad McCants
I know what you're thinking, who? Rashad McCants is a former first round pick and UNC star. As a highly regarded recruit, McCants arrived at UNC and made an immediate impact, averaging over 17 points a game his Freshmen year. By his junior season he was a third team All-American and had propelled the Tar Heels to advance to the Final Four, and eventually defeat the University of Illinois for the National Championship in 2005.
After being taken 14th overall in the NBA draft, McCants would play four years for Minnesota before he began his relationship with Khloe Kardashian. While the relationship lasted only around six months, McCants would only play another year in the league, and he blamed this failure on his highly public relationship with Kardashian. According to McCants, the relationship and subsequent fame gave people a reason to doubt his commitment to the game. By McCants' estimation, the relationship cost him a fortune in the long run, "Without that situation in play, I'm a $60-70 Million player," he's been quoted as saying.
The reality, however, is that McCants never quite lived up to the hype. A series of nagging injuries and personal missteps resulted in him getting cut from the Kings in 2009. Following the 09-10 season McCants was scheduled to join the Cleveland Cavaliers NBA Summer League team. However, after not reporting to the team due to personal reasons, he was cut and spent the next few seasons bouncing around mostly international leagues until latching on with the BIG3 league headed by Ice Cube, where he was selected 1st overall in the inaugural draft last year. His team "Trilogy" went on to win the first ever BIG3 championship this August. McCants had 22 points on 55% shooting and was named championship MVP.
Chandler Parsons
After spending all four years at the University of Florida, Chandler Parsons was taken in the second round by the Houston Rockets in 2011. Parsons would quickly establish himself as a valuable wing player, averaging more than 15 points a game in his second and third seasons with the Rockets, before signing a massive contract with the Dallas Mavericks. Parsons has been linked to Kendall Jenner since 2014, with rumors that Kris Jenner was encouraging her daughter to date the rising NBA star. While they both appeared to have moved on, with Parsons spending another two years in Dallas before signing an even more lucrative contract with Memphis this offseason. Recently, however, Kendall and Chandler were spotted together earlier this year, fueling further speculation that they may become something more serious, at least until Blake Griffin and Jenner's romance was put on public display.
Blake Griffin
Finally, to close out the list, the latest rumored couple: Kendall Jenner and Blake Griffin. One of the NBA's biggest stars on and off the court, Blake Griffin has become one of the league's faces. An all-star, slam dunk champion and the star of the upcoming Space Jam sequel, the 28-year old certainly has a lot on his plate. He's also apparently getting pretty serious about Kendall Jenner. The model and Clippers star have reportedly been going out quite a bit recently, among their recent dates: dinner at Nobu in LA, and a movie outing to see IT. Interestingly enough, the two reportedly also had a double date with Jenner's model friend and Chandler Parsons.