Hoops Habit
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30 NBA players who also had kids play in the league

By Larry Hammonds

CHARLOTTE, NC - FEBRUARY 16: (L-R) Allie LaForce interviews Seth Curry and Stephen CUrry during the 2019 State Farm All-Star Saturday Night at Spectrum Center on February 16, 2019 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images)
CHARLOTTE, NC - FEBRUARY 16: (L-R) Allie LaForce interviews Seth Curry and Stephen CUrry during the 2019 State Farm All-Star Saturday Night at Spectrum Center on February 16, 2019 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images) /
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Jalen Rose
Jalen Rose – Mandatory Credit: Tom Pidgeon/Allsport /

NBA players who also had kids play in the league: Jimmy Walker/Jalen Rose

Jimmy Walker was an NCAA basketball standout playing for the Providence Friars. He was a two-time Consensus first-team All-American and led the NCAA in scoring his senior year.

In 1967, Walker was selected with the first overall pick in both the NBA and ABA Draft by the Detroit Pistons and Indiana Pacers respectively. He elected to play in the NBA and spent nine years with the Pistons, Houston Rockets, and Kansas City Kings. Though he never lived up to his draft spot, Walker was selected to two All-Star games and averaged 16.7 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game.

Jalen Rose, Walker’s son, was a member of the notorious “Fab-Five” at the University of Michigan that went to back-to-back NCAA Championships in the early ’90s. Idolizing Magic Johnson growing up, Rose was a 6’8″ versatile scorer and playmaking point-forward.

After being drafted 13th overall by the Denver Nuggets in the 1994 NBA Draft, Rose played two years with the Nuggets before being traded to the Indiana Pacers. It would take a few years, but Rose would eventually find his niche with the Pacers. He went to three consecutive Eastern Conference Finals and alongside Hall of Famer Reggie Miller, led the franchise to the NBA Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers. He also won the Most Improved Player award as a member of the Pacers.

While playing in the NBA, Rose started a foundation to help the under-served youth, and in his retirement, he established the Jalen Rose Leadership Academy, a public charter high school in his hometown of Detroit.

Personally, this writer will always remember Jalen Rose for being on the Raptors team that gave up 81 points to Kobe Bryant.