Bob Harrison: Harrison was the primary SG during the Lakers’ early run of titles with George Mikan (career stats). He was a 1x All-Star and a 3x champion, but he’s most famous for hitting a half-court bomb of a buzzer beater to win Game 1 of the 1950 Finals. He was Hočąk, and while with the Lakers, Harrison served as president of the Minnesota-based North American Indian Society in 1951-52. Also during his time in Minneapolis, on a night when Harrison was honored by his team, a number of local tribes presented him with a deerskin jacket.” He has said that he tanned dark, and once when he was in the Marines he was made to sit in the back of the train because they thought he was black.

Gene Conley: Conley was part of the Cherokee Nation, which he was connected to through his mother’s side of the family. Conley was a 3x NBA champion with the Celtics (‘59-61), but he was more famous as a 6-ft-8 MLB pitcher where he was a 4x All Star (including playing in both ASG’s in ‘59) and a World Series champ in 1957 with the Braves. Here are his career stats in the NBA.

Phil Jordon: He was a decent center from ‘59-62 (career stats), and his biggest claim to fame was that he did NOT play in the game where Wilt scored 100 points. Jordon was the Knicks’ starting center in ‘62 –and their only regular starter taller than 6-ft-6– but he drank an entire case of beer the night before the game and sat out “sick”, so the already awful Knicks who had a horrible front court had no chance against the Warriors and Wilt who had a historic day of stat hoarding. Jordon is often named as the first Native player in league history, but this confusion seems to be because he was the first player easily identifiable to most people as Native.

Gary Gray: Gray was part of the Delaware Nation while growing up in Oklahoma. He played sparingly for the Royals during the ‘68 season (career stats) and was then selected by the Bucks in the 1968 Expansion Draft, but he never played beyond that 1 season in Cincinnati.

Sonny Dove: Dove’s mother was Mashpee Wampanoag and after he had a fantastic college career at St. John’s, he was the #4 pick in the 1967 draft by the Pistons (1 pick before Walt Frazier). He played sparingly with Detroit for 2 years, then he went to the ABA’s Nets for 3 seasons (‘70-72), averaging 14 ppg and 8 rpg during his first 2 seasons in NY (career stats). His career ended early due to a bicycle accident, and he went on to earn his degree and announce St. John’s games until his death in 1983. Dove and Gray did both play in a single game against each other during the ‘68 season (box score), playing a combined 3 minutes, so it’s unlikely they were on the court at the same time unless they both appeared in the final minute of garbage time of Cincinnati’s 20-point win.

John Starks: Starks has been referred to as “Oklahoma born-and-raised Muscogee (Creek) Nation athlete John Starks”. He had an insane backstory that led to his NBA career (4 different colleges, spent a couple years in 2 leagues that both collapsed, and the Knicks were forced to keep him in ‘90 when he got injured during a pre-season practice while attempting a dunk on Ewing) who went on to be a beloved Knick who played with fiery passion and shot a ton of 3’s. He was named an All Star in ‘94 when NY went to the Finals, was All-D in ‘93, and the ‘97 6th Man of the Year (career stats).

Bison Dele: According to Wikipedia, “he was of African-American and Cherokee descent.” He was a decent rebounder and finisher near the hoop (career stats), but he’s most well known as a player for winning a ring with the ‘97 Bulls. He had an extremely interesting personal life, playing multiple instruments, being an avid adventure traveler, flying planes, and dating Madonna, but his biggest headlines were made for his bizarre disappearance and presumed murder at sea in 2002.

Cherokee Parks: He was named after the Cherokee tribe of his great grandmother. As a player, he is most well-known for his college days at Duke where he backed up Christian Laettner during the ‘92 championship season, the year of the famous Duke-UK game. As a pro, he played for 7 franchises in 9 seasons (career stats).

Ron Baker: Baker is a Citizen Potawatomi Nation tribal member and Navarre family descendent who attended Wichita State on a Potawatomi scholarship, joining the Shockers basketball team as a walk-on before honing his shooting to become a key player on their unexpected run to the 2013 Final Four. Despite going undrafted, he played for 3 seasons in the NBA (career stats).

Kyrie Irving: Irving is well known to modern NBA fans and is easily the best player on this list (7x All Star, ‘12 ROTY, ‘14 ASG MVP, ‘16 champion - career stats). His mother was a Standing Rock Sioux and lived on a reservation before being adopted at a young age. She later died when Kyrie was 4 so he didn’t have a connection to this part of his heritage for most of his life, but Kyrie and his sister Asia both joined the tribe at a naming ceremony in 2018.

Delonte West: In 2009, West said he’s part Piscataway and that his “REDZ” tattoo is short for “Chief Redz” due to his red hair. He had a 9-year NBA career (career stats), most notably as the streaky-scoring SG on the ‘09 Cavs who went to the ECF. West has had some well-documented, post-career mental health issues.

Aaron Gordon: According to an interview before his rookie season, Gordon has an Osage Indian great-great-grandfather who was 7 feet tall. Gordon is an athletic and versatile PF with injury issues (career stats). He’s known for his phenomenal performances as a close runner-up in the 2016 and 2020 Dunk Contests, both of which he arguably coulda/shoulda won, and for his key role on the 2023 champion Nuggets.

Lindy Waters III: Waters has a very close connection to both his Kiowa and Cherokee roots. He is from Oklahoma, played at Oklahoma State, and after a year in a couple small pro leagues, he made it to the NBA in February of 2022 with the Oklahoma City Thunder (career stats). He currently plays for the Spurs.

MarJon Beauchamp: Beauchamp is a descendent of both the Mission Indians and the La Jolla Band of Luiseno Indians. His backstory is unique and truly inspiring. He was houseless while growing up, went to multiple high schools in Seattle and Arizona, bypassed college to train for the 2021 draft but the gym he was training at shut down due to COVID-19, then he played 12 games at a CC and a season for the G League Ignite, and after success with the Ignite he was drafted 24th overall by the Bucks in 2022 (career stats). He wore #0 to remind himself that he “came from nothing”.

Chance Comanche: After bouncing around multiple teams in smaller leagues, including the G League, Comanche played a single game with the Trail Blazers, a 56-point loss on the final day of the ‘23 season (career stats). His paternal grandfather is Native, so Comanche is one-eighth Choctaw and one-eighth Comanche. Most NBA fans who know who he is are only aware that he and his girlfriend were arrested in December of 2023 for the kidnapping and murder of a woman; their trial is expected to begin in 2026.