When most people think of their favorite athletes, the first thing they may want to know about them is how many games they have won or what position they play. However, others may wonder about aspects of their everyday lives, like what kind of pets they own.
The NBA players who own or have owned cats include Robin Lopez, Brook Lopez, Manu Ginobili, and James Michael McAdoo. While only some details about their favorite felines have been revealed, many like to display pictures of them across various forms of social media.
If you want to know which other NBA players also have pet cats recently or in the past, read on to learn more about them.
1. Robin Lopez
Robin Lopez is a recent addition to the Cleveland Cavaliers and has been on the team since 2022. Not only is he known for his skills on the court, but he also got recognition for his pet cat Poupin.
Poupin is a brownish-colored tabby that has been featured on a personal Instagram profile for a long time. Typically, Poupin would be posed or wearing funny outfits for everyone online to see. Unfortunately, the page is no longer active, so many pictures of Poupin are no longer available.
2. Brook Lopez
Brook Lopez plays for the Milwaukee Bucks after leaving the Los Angeles Lakers in 2018. Like Robin Lopez, his twin brother also has a pet cat with a popular Instagram account.
Lopez’s cat, Prince Edward Zephyr, is a bright orange cat with thick fur. People know him not just because he is the cat of Brook Lopez but also because he supposedly fights with Poupin, Robin Lopez’s cat.
Robin and Brook have both mentioned on social media and in interviews that, unlike the twin brothers, the cats just aren’t the best of friends no matter what.
To check out an extended interview in which both Lopez brothers talk about their cats and their fights with one another, check out this video:
While his Instagram account “@pezwardisking” is no longer updated as the last post was back in 2015, many pictures of Prince Edward Zephyr cuddling and causing mischief can still be viewed online today.
3. Kosta Kuofos
Once a fantastic player for the Sacramento Kings and now the European team, the London Lions, Kosta Kuofos has incredible basketball skills and had a cat named Mufasa.
Mufasa, a dark brown spotted house cat, previously gained much attention on Twitter. There haven’t been any updates on Mufasa in years, but Kuofos often spoke kindly about his pet cat when asked in courtside interviews or online.
4. Manu Ginobili
Manu Ginobili was a star player in the NBA with the San Antonio Spurs and internationally as a player on the Argentinian basketball team in the 2004 Olympics. In addition to his fame as a great player on the court, Ginobili also has a famous pet cat.
Apia, a brown, orange, and black spotted calico cat, has been featured across social media platforms like Twitter. She was adopted around 2015 and shared in posts by Ginobili and his wife, Marianela.
5. Russ Smith
Previously on both the Memphis Grizzlies and the New Orleans Pelicans, Russ Smith has not one but two adorable cats that received lots of praise on Instagram from Russ himself and their followers.
Mr. Quackers and Ms. Meow are two long-haired Persian cats that look very similar. Yet, while Mr. Quackers is all white, Ms. Meow is white with gray on her face, body, and tail.
Both cats frequently appeared on Mr. Quackers’s Instagram profile account, “@_mrquackers.” However, there have not been any new posts since the middle of 2020.
6. James Michael McAdoo
James Michael McAdoo was known for his time with the Golden State Warriors and the Philadelphia 76ers before playing for his most recent team, the Hitachi Sunrockers Shibuya.
While playing in the NBA, McAdoo had a brown and gray tabby cat named Macy. Unfortunately, Macy went missing back in 2017, and there hasn’t been an update on her since.
7. Ben Simmons
Ben Simmons, the key player on the Brooklyn Nets, previously had two gorgeous Savannah cats. They made many headlines and quickly gained popularity on social media because of how different they looked from your typical pet cats.
However, Ben Simmons and his cats did not stay together for a long term. Savannah cats are a special kind of cat breed that require expert experience. This need is because they are large and highly active. They also can be aggressive at times.
Because of this, Simmons does not currently have his pet cats anymore. When he revealed that they would no longer be his, many people on the internet had questions or were very surprised. However, Simmons, and the internet, still adored the cats until their eventual parting.