Issue 46: Basketball on TV: Curb Your Enthusiasm

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There’s dissension all over the United States right now, so if you’re one of my U.S. readers (or really, if you’re anyone) here’s a reminder to please treat everyone else with respect. It’s not so hard to do.

Also, remember that you will never find yourself in the situations Larry David finds himself in during episodes of Curb Your Enthusiasm. That’s just not possible.

The show is full of celebrity cameos, and it usually features a simple recipe: Celebrity appears, Larry David does some buffoonery that ends up with him looking like a fool, and the celebrity leaves, their attitude somewhere between mildly annoyed and genuinely ticked off.

And hey, it’s clearly a formula that works. The show has had 10 seasons over 20 years and got renewed for an 11th season last summer.

Naturally, some celebrities have been NBA players. Let’s take a look at the highlights.

Muggsy Bogues in the Bathroom

We’ve already seen a few great Muggsy Bogues moments in previous issues. He made a fabulous appearance as an NBA player whose talents were snatched in Space Jam, and he’s one of the players featured on a terrific basketball card from the 90s.

But his brief stint on a Season 4 episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm may be his most memorable onscreen performance.

Like Muggsy himself said just a few weeks ago, you need a bit of context to appreciate this scene.

Not a ton, though. In this episode, Larry learns he can fake having a heart attack to get out of awkward social situations. He and Richard Lewis bump into Bogues in the bathroom, create said awkward social situation, and then…well, the clip above can finish this sentence.

Shaq Playing Scattergories

This Season 2 scene features a ton of recognizable faces. Aisha Tyler is here, as is Joel McKinnon Miller (who plays Norm Scully in the wildly underrated Brooklyn Nine-Nine). But as he often does, the enormous Shaq steals the spotlight.

We’re all playing a little Scattergories, a fabulous game in its own right. Shaq is in the hospital, and Larry walks in bearing a bounty of forgiveness.

A few key things we learn from this scene: Shaq thinks peanut butter is a dairy product, and his favorite episode of Seinfeld is “The Contest,” an episode where each character sees how long they can go without gratifying themselves.

Shaq is not being creative with his choice; “The Contest” is commonly cited as one of the greatest episodes of the show. To be fair, it is a good one, so we can let it slide.

Oh, and why is Shaq in the hospital in the first place? Larry David tripped him when he stuck his legs out while sitting courtside. I’m surprised this doesn’t happen more often.

The Betting Area

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Muggsy Bogues in the Bathroom

Shaq Playing Scattergories

The Betting Area

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Other Reads and Watches