Even if you’ve only become a basketball fan recently, the name Brian Scalabrine might ring a bell. However, his NBA stats will quickly show you that he wasn’t a very good player relative to others in the league, averaging around 3 points and 2 rebounds per game. So this begs the question, why is Brian Scalabrine so famous and why is he so popular given his lackluster career?
During his time in the NBA, Scalabrine was given the nickname the “White Mamba” not because of his skill on the court, but likely because of his alpha mentality (like the mindset of the late “Black Mamba” himself, Kobe Bryant). In an interview with ESPN in 2012, he talked about how he trains like he is going to play each game in its entirety even though he serves a bench player.
The nickname might also be slightly ironic, though, since he looks and acts like an Average Joe; a writer for ESPN published this article about what a day in the live of the White Mamba is like. He hitched a ride with the interviewer, since he didn’t have a car while living in Illinois, and they ended up going to the mall to get Brian’s computer fixed, eat pizza, and pick up some of the athlete’s favorite tea. Most of us can agree that this is the exact kind of Saturday that we would have, so it’s hard to believe that an NBA player would do something so…normal. The article also states that he was recognized by many people at the mall, people with whom he had great conversations with. It shows that Brian Scalabrine is such a relatable guy to many non-pro athletes, you can’t help but cheer for him when you see him on the court.
Something else that brought some popularity to Scalabrine was a well-known event on The Toucher and Rich Show called the “Scallenge”. The event was created in response to the White Mamba’s haters saying that he was a bench player throughout his entire career and that they could beat him 1-on-1. Scalabrine’s response, “I’m closer to LeBron than you are to me”. Legendary. Scalabrine faced four opponents, playing each one to 11. He easily defeated his competition, putting up a combined score of 44-6.
Almost no other pro athletes are willing to go head-to-head with civilians in their sport, but that’s exactly what makes Scalabrine so likeable. He does everyday things, speaks with everyday people, and if need be, has no problem pulling up to his haters in person to show why he played in the league for 11 years.