Culture of Hoops

NBA Knights: NBA meets Game of Thrones

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All images courtesy of Alijah Villian.

The lands on Westoros and the NBA are not all that dissimilar. Sometimes those that looks most powerful are really having their strings pulled from afar. And sometimes just when you think you know where the story is going next…BAM…the Pacer’s aren’t that good anymore (for example).

When I first delved into the world of assigning NBA personalities appropriate counterparts in the realm of seven kingdoms, I was unaware of a similar project being done by visual artist Alijah Villian. He calls this project, “The NBA Knights.”

After looking through his work, I was inspired to assign a “Game of Thrones” character to each of his illustrations and he was kind enough to allow BMF to use them for this piece and even granted us an interview that will be running soon.

In the original piece, I dubbed Michael Jordan as Robert Baratheon and Pat Riley as Tywin Lannister. Neither are in this piece because there are no visuals for them. The rest have illustrations and so are repeated here with additional insights into my thinking…if we want to call it that.

(Note: I have not read the books and do not intend to. The following contains spoilers from the first three seasons and I matched the characters based on what I’ve seen from them in those seasons without much thought of where character arcs might be going. If you think you could make a better list, by all means submit one in the comments section!)

Kobe Bryant: The Kingslayer, Jamie Lannister

Images courtesy of Alijah Villian.

Charming and smart, ruthless and cruel (at least on the basketball court), Kobe Bryant’s hobbled limb, sorted past, and love-to-hate (or hate-to-love) nature make him a perfect Kingslayer.

Carmelo Anthony: Tyrion Lannister

Image courtesy of Alijah Villian.

Not yet fully embraced by the elite, Carmelo Anthony is among them but oft overlooked (dwarf joke) because his peers have more impressive resumes.

Kevin Durant: Rob Stark

Image courtesy of Alijah Villian.

The Golden Boy of doing everything right and having all the mothers of the NBA and Westeros love you for being so sweet and honorable. Maybe lacks killer instinct.

James Harden: Jon Snow

Image courtesy of Alijah Villian.

Once a member of a proud family, neither has been the same since his departure. It remains to be seen how he will fare away from his old home.

LeBron James: Daenerys Targaryen

Image courtesy of Alijah Villian.

Dragons = win. LeBron = win. Transitive property; LeBron = dragons.

Dwyane Wade: Khal Drogo

Image courtesy of Alijah Villian.

Convinced the wielder of dragons to join his cause then dominated the NBA with his khalasar before turning into a living corpse whose legacy is dependent upon said dragon wielder.

Derrick Rose: Oberyn Martell

Image courtesy of Alijah Villian.

Clearly damaged from his past but still young, exciting, and full of potential, we don’t know what we will get from him in the future. The range is everything from potential world-dominator to complete flameout.

Chris Paul: Little Finger

Image courtesy of Alijah Villian.

Sneaky, sneaky, sneaky. He may not seem like the biggest threat with all these other characters around, but Chris Paul is always lurking in the shadows, ready to strike at any time. Some perceive him as harmless but he is as manipulative and tricky as anyone on a basketball court. A cerebral assassin.

Kevin Garnett: The Mountain, Sir Gregor Clegane

Image courtesy of Alijah Villian.

The intimidator. Big and scary, I have no doubt in my mind that KG could easily chop a man in half with his sharp-witted trash talk. He is the baddest dude in the land.

Joakim Noah: The Hound, Sandor Clegane

Image courtesy of Alijah Villian.

The remix, baby. Less scary and intense than the Mountain but still a force to be reckoned with that strikes fear into the hearts of anyone smart. He got the (let’s go with) unique look, the daunting size, and the great hair.

Birdman: Bronn

Image courtesy of Alijah Villian.

May seem comical and less refined than his peers but don’t mistake his willingness to have a good time with ineffectiveness on the field of battle. He knows what he can do and what he can’t. He walks that line between hilarious and scary perfectly.

Steve Nash: Barristan Selmy

Image courtesy of Alijah Villian.

He’s been around and seen more King’s come and go than most. He is wise, past his prime, but still useful as an advisor and will likely soon find his way into mentoring the future full-time. Even his enemies (Tywin Lannister for example) speak of him with the greatest respect.

Manu Ginobili: Lord Varys

Image courtesy of Alijah Villian.

Almost all know him. Some hate him, some merely fear him, but everyone with half a brain recognizes that he is – and always has been – a legitimate threat to anyone who stands in his way. Peculiar and foreign in his ways but still remarkably important the goings on in Westeros/NBA.

Chris Bosh: Jorah Mormont

Image courtesy of Alijah Villian.

Those in the land he once dwelled may not consider him “loyal” and yet here he stands. Fiercely fighting alongside his new friends down a new chosen path, his worth oft goes unseen in the shadow of the dragons he is near. Still without him, his companion may very well never have risen to such heights.

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