NBA HoopGrids Answers for Saturday, July 22
Which NBA players have suited up for both the Houston Rockets and Boston Celtics? Who’s averaged at least 12 rebounds per game for the Los Angeles Lakers?
Those questions and more are central to the Saturday, July 22, 2023, edition of HoopGrids, the viral basketball game taking the Internet by storm.
The central premise? Find a player who fits the rules set forth by column and row. But if you truly want to impress yourself — and, perhaps more importantly — your hoophead friends, you’ll want to minimize your rarity score by submitting players who don’t frequently appear in other grids. Some guess-and-check is required to get to the 99.99th percentile, but we’ll provide our first guesses at the most obscure choices and their actual percentage scores at the time of publication.
We at Sportscasting have you covered with all possible answers for each of today’s nine HoopGrids cells. You can also view the previous day’s answers here.
Which NBA players have played for both the Houston Rockets and Boston Celtics?
Both the Houston Rockets and Boston Celtics have been around for long enough that the overlap between franchises stretches to nearly 50 players. You can easily roll with a more modern player like Jason Terry, Marcus Morris, or Avery Bradley, but the archives are filled with options who will help your HoopGrids rarity score:
- Adrian Griffin
- Andre Turner
- Art Williams
- Avery Bradley
- Brandan Wright
- Brodric Thomas
- Bruno Fernando
- Cedric Maxwell
- Conner Henry
- Courtney Lee
- Daniel Theis
- David Wesley
- Demetrius Jackson
- Dennis Schröder
- Dirk Minniefield
- Eric Riley
- Gerald Green
- Gerald Henderson
- Greg Smith
- Hank Finkel
- James Posey
- Jason Terry
- Jeff Green
- Jim Barnett
- Joe Johnson
- Keith Bogans
- Kelly Olynyk
- Larry Robinson
- Larry Siegfried
- Marcus Morris
- Marcus Thornton
- Mark Acres
- Mark Bryant
- Mike James
- R.J. Hunter
- Rick Brunson
- Sam Cassell
- Terrence Williams
- Thomas Hamilton
- Toby Kimball
- Tom Barker
- Tony Massenburg
- Vin Baker
- Von Wafer
- Zaid Abdul-Aziz
- Žan Tabak
Sportscasting’s Choice: Toby Kimball (0.06%)
Which NBA players have played for both the Chicago Bulls and Boston Celtics?
Sure, you could go with Brian Scalabrine or Tristan Thompson, among plenty of other popular choices. Rajon Rondo is likely to be another answer populating one grid after another. But dive deep here because, again, the lengthy tenures of these franchises allow for myriad choices.
- Adrian Griffin
- Artis Gilmore
- Bobby Wilson
- Brian Scalabrine
- Chris Carr
- Daniel Theis
- Darren Daye
- Dennis Awtrey
- E’Twaun Moore
- Eric Fernsten
- Gerry Ward
- Jabari Parker
- Jarell Eddie
- Jarvis Varnado
- Javonte Green
- Jim Ard
- Jim Barnes
- Joe Kleine
- Keith Bogans
- Luke Kornet
- Mark Bryant
- Mike James
- Nate Robinson
- Noah Vonleh
- P.J. Brown
- R.J. Hunter
- Rajon Rondo
- Randy Brown
- Rick Brunson
- Robert Parish
- Ron Mercer
- Sam Vincent
- Stacey King
- Tracy Jackson
- Tristan Thompson
Sportscasting’s Choice: Jim Ard (0.09%)
Which NBA players have played for both the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics?
This might be the combination we’ve all been waiting for. The Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics have always been bitter rivals, often squaring off against one another in a memorable NBA Finals clash. That hasn’t stopped 40 players, highlighted by Bob McAdoo, Isaiah Thomas, and Shaquille O’Neal, from wearing both Celtic Green and the Purple and Gold (or blue in the Minneapolis days).
- Avery Bradley
- Bob McAdoo
- Brandon Bass
- Brian Shaw
- Charlie Scott
- Chris Mihm
- Chucky Atkins
- Clyde Lovellette
- Dennis Schröder
- Derek Strong
- Don Chaney
- Don Nelson
- Earl Tatum
- Ernie DiGregorio
- Frank Brickowski
- Fred Roberts
- Gary Payton
- Gene Stump
- Hank Finkel
- Isaiah Thomas
- Jim Barnes
- Jim Paxson
- Joe Kleine
- Jumaine Jones
- Kermit Washington
- MarShon Brooks
- Matt Ryan
- Mel Counts
- Mike Bloom
- Mike Muscala
- Moritz Wagner
- Rajon Rondo
- Rick Fox
- Shammond Williams
- Shaquille O’Neal
- Theo Ratliff
- Travis Knight
- Troy Murphy
- Vander Blue
- Von Wafer
Sportscasting’s Choice: Mike Bloom (0.04%)
Which NBA players have played for both the Houston Rockets and Miami Heat?
If you want to minimize your HoopGrids rarity score, don’t roll with Goran Dragic, Kyle Lowry, or Shane Battier. And it’s not like the notable options end there as we look at players who have suited up for both the Houston Rockets and Miami Heat:
- Avery Bradley
- Bobby Jones
- Brent Barry
- Briante Weber
- Clarence Weatherspoon
- Daequan Cook
- Derek Anderson
- Gerald Green
- Glen Rice
- Goran Dragić
- James Ennis III
- James Posey
- Jim Jackson
- Joe Johnson
- Juwan Howard
- Kelly Olynyk
- Kevin Willis
- Kyle Lowry
- Loren Woods
- Luther Head
- Michael Beasley
- Mike James
- Otis Thorpe
- P.J. Tucker
- Rafer Alston
- Rod Strickland
- Ryan Anderson
- Sam Mack
- Shandon Anderson
- Shane Battier
- Toney Douglas
- Trevor Ariza
- Victor Oladipo
- Walt Williams
Sportscasting’s Choice: Sam Mack (0.04%)
Which NBA players have played for both the Chicago Bulls and Miami Heat?
The easiest answer here is picking a legitimate franchise icon for the Miami Heat (Jimmy Butler and Dwyane Wade) or Chicago Bulls (Luol Deng). Really, most of the options here are modern enough to jog some memories. But the hidden gems are still lurking:
- Brent Barry
- Daequan Cook
- Derrick Jones Jr.
- Dwyane Wade
- Eddy Curry
- Goran Dragić
- James Johnson
- Jarvis Varnado
- Jimmy Butler
- John Salley
- Kendall Gill
- Khalid Reeves
- Kurt Thomas
- Luol Deng
- Malik Allen
- Max Strus
- Mike James
- P.J. Brown
- Pete Myers
- Rasual Butler
- Roger Mason
- Rory Sparrow
- Shannon Brown
- Stacey King
- Travis Best
Sportscasting’s Choice: Pete Myers (0.18%)
Which NBA players have played for both the Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat?
Shaquille O’Neal and LeBron James have both won rings for each franchise represented here, and it’s not like the list of stars dries up there. You could jot down Cedric Ceballos, Gary Payton, Lamar Odom, or Luol Deng. That still leaves you with 28 more choices:
- A.C. Green
- Avery Bradley
- Billy Thompson
- Brian Grant
- Brian Shaw
- Caron Butler
- Cedric Ceballos
- Danny Schayes
- Derrick Williams
- Dion Waiters
- Eddie Jones
- Gary Payton
- Glen Rice
- Jason Kapono
- Jim Jackson
- John Salley
- Josh McRoberts
- Kendrick Nunn
- Lamar Odom
- LeBron James
- Luol Deng
- Markieff Morris
- Michael Beasley
- Milt Wagner
- Ronny Turiaf
- Rory Sparrow
- Samaki Walker
- Shannon Brown
- Shaquille O’Neal
- Shawne Williams
- Smush Parker
- Tony Smith
- Trevor Ariza
- Wayne Ellington
Sportscasting’s Choice: Milt Wagner (0.03%)
Which NBA players have played for the Houston Rockets and averaged at least 12 rebounds per game during a season?
The options are inherently more limited when statistical benchmarks replace a franchise since we’re only looking at the upper echelon of the rebounds-per-game leaderboard. Moreover, HoopGrids is looking just at the six players who have averaged at least 12.0 rebounds per game for a season while wearing a Houston Rockets uniform.
- Charles Barkley
- Clint Capela
- Dwight Howard
- Elvin Hayes
- Hakeem Olajuwon
- Moses Malone
Sportscasting’s Choice: Elvin Hayes (7.97%)
Which NBA players have played for the Chicago Bulls and averaged at least 12 rebounds per game during a season?
If you didn’t immediately think of Dennis Rodman, shame on you. Seriously. But you receive no shame if you thought of Rodman and then went in any of the other four directions for the Chicago Bulls.
- Artis Gilmore
- Charles Oakley
- Clifford Ray
- Dennis Rodman
- Tom Boerwinkle
Sportscasting’s Choice: Clifford Ray (1.79%)
Which NBA players have played for the Los Angeles Lakers and averaged at least 12 rebounds per game during a season?
Shaquille O’Neal, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Anthony Davis, and Wilt Chamberlain should be the most popular answers, followed by Dwight Howard, Elgin Baylor, and George Mikan. And because the Los Angeles Lakers have so much history (plus a deserved reputation for always having dominant bigs), that still leaves you with four more choices.
- Anthony Davis
- Clyde Lovellette
- Darrall Imhoff
- Dwight Howard
- Elgin Baylor
- George Mikan
- Happy Hairston
- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
- Larry Foust
- Shaquille O’Neal
- Wilt Chamberlain
Sportscasting’s Choice: Larry Foust (0.28%)
