A website devoted to the noble purpose of identifying every NBA player with a cat has resurfaced and is slowly but surely gaining steam.

NBAcatwatch.com and the corresponding Twitter account, @NBAcatwatch, has become quite active the past few weeks. The site has even added one more player, Golden State Warriors forward James Michael McAdoo, to its list of confirmed cat owners.


McAdoo joins Nik Stauskas, Alexey Shved and a handful of others players who are also feline owners. Not surprisingly, both the quirky Lopez brothers care for a curiously named cat. Brook, the Brooklyn Nets center, has Poup. His brother, Robin, has Prince Edward Zephyr.

For what it's worth, lots of people associated with the NBA have cats. Sacramento Kings owner Vivek Ranadive is one:


Still, the list of players who own cats remains relatively small. In fact, the list of NBA players who are scared of cats is nearly as long and much more notable. Carmelo Anthony, Eric Bledsoe, Draymond Green, Zach Randolph are all afraid of cats.

To compile the list, the feline fanatic behind the website has put in lots of detective work:



As for the future, it's unclear how many players in this year's NBA draft are cat owners. Jahlil Okafor, who will likely be one of the top picks Thursday, has said that he wants to be a veterinarian but has given no indication that he likes cats. Sam Dekker, the former Wisconsin forward who is also likely to be drafted Thursday, has been spotted with cats but has not confirmed ownership:


I got a starting 5 of kittens!

A photo posted by Sam Dekker (@samdek15) on

At this point, it seems safe to say there will be more Wildcats (as in, those from Arizona and Kentucky) entering the NBA than there will be cat owners.

(Hat tip to Deadspin)

Draft Duds: The Top 15 NBA Draft Busts

 

The Top 15 NBA Draft Busts

Every year the NBA Draft comes with much anticipation regarding the next "great" players. A select group is always slated to take over the NBA and is held in high regard by draft experts and GMs. But every once in a while, dream players turn into a team's ultimate nightmare.

 

15: Frederic Weis

1999 Draft: 15th Pick The New York Knicks could not have done a worse job on this one. Passing up on native New Yorker Ron Artest (aka Metta World Peace) and future star Manu Ginobili, Frederic Weis never even played an NBA game.

 

Frederic Weis

Perhaps his most memorable basketball moment was getting posterized in the 2000 Olympics by Vince Carter.

 

14: Jay Williams

2002 Draft: 2nd Pick Most players are considered busts because of their overrated skills. This wasn't the case for Williams, as he had some incredibly bad luck.

 

Jay Williams

While riding a motorcycle without a helmet (which was against team rules), Williams crashed and his career was over after one season. After this unlucky event, the Bulls must regret not picking Amar'e Stoudemire.

 

13: Robert "Tractor" Traylor

1998 Draft: 6th pick The Mavericks drafted Traylor and then immediately traded him to the Bucks for Dirk Nowitzki. Let's just say that was one uneven trade.

 

Robert "Tractor" Traylor

Battling weight problems his whole career, Traylor never panned out for the Bucks, only averaging five points and four rebounds per game in his seven year NBA career.

 

12: Rafael Araujo

2004 Draft: 8th Pick This one was a head-scratcher by the Toronto Raptors, as they passed up on Andre Igoudala for Araujo.

 

Rafael Araujo

His career only lasted three seasons, and he averaged three points and three rebounds per game.

 

11: Nikoloz Tskitishvili

2002 Draft: 5th Pick One would think that a 7-footer who was drafted in front of Amar'e Stoudemire and Caron Butler would average more than three points and two rebounds per game.

 

Nikoloz Tskitishvili

At least the Nuggets thought that.

 

10: Jonathan Bender

1999 Draft: 5th Pick Plagued by injuries his whole career, Bender only averaged five points per game. The Raptors did not get much in return when they traded Bender to the Pacers after drafting him, but Toronto is sure glad it traded him away from the get-go.

 

Jonathan Bender

The Pacers, on the other hand, were fooled as Bender only started 27 games in his seven year career with the team.

 

9: Shawn Bradley

1993 Draft: 2nd Pick This 7-foot-5 statue of a man was thought to be the next great NBA big man.

 

Shawn Bradley

Considered one of the softest players in NBA history, the most dunked-on player ever only averaged nine points and six rebounds per game in his 13 year NBA career.

 

8: Hasheem Thabeet

2009 Draft: 2nd Pick Standing at 7-foot-3, Thabeet was coveted by many NBA teams and was picked before players like James Harden, Steph Curry, Tyreke Evans and Brandon Jennings.

 

Hasheem Thabeet

Thabeet has had multiple stints in the D-League and has only averaged two points and three rebounds per game in his disastrous NBA career.

 

7: Todd Fuller

1996 Draft: 11th Pick Todd Fuller was drafted in front of Kobe Bryant and Steve Nash.

 

Todd Fuller

Do we even have to mention that he only played four seasons and averaged four points per game?

 

6: Adam Morrison

2006 Draft: 3rd Pick Adam Morrison is definitely deserving of that trophy he is holding. After all, he did average five minutes per game with the team. Sarcasm.

 

Adam Morrison

Morrison was considered one of the best all-around players coming out of the draft, but that label was quickly dismissed after he only played four years in the NBA.

 

5: Kwame Brown

2001 Draft: 1st Pick On and off the court, Kwame Brown could never get it right (although he somehow survived 12 years in the NBA).

 

Kwame Brown

Brown averaged very pedestrian numbers (seven points and five rebounds per game), which made the Wizards wish they hadn't passed up on Pau Gasol and Tony Parker.

 

4: Michael Olowokandi

1998 Draft: 1st Pick The "Candy Man" could never stay healthy.

 

Michael Olowokandi

Olowokandi was selected before future Hall of Famers Dirk Nowitzki and Vince Carter, but his numbers (eight points, seven rebounds per game) did not live up to his hype.

 

3: Greg Oden

2007 Draft: 1st Pick Oden has played a total of 82 games, equivalent to one regular season, in his five year career. Portland definitely felt snubbed that they picked him over current star Kevin Durant.

 

Greg Oden

Injuries plagued Oden's career, and he only averaged nine points and seven rebounds per game.

 

2: Darko Milicic

2003 Draft: 2nd Pick In what is considered the greatest draft class ever, Darko Milicic was picked by the Pistons before Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh.

 

Darko Milicic

The 7-footer only averaged six points and four rebounds, leaving many Pistons fans angry with their front office.

 

1: Sam Bowie

1984 NBA Draft: 2nd Pick It isn't that Bowie's numbers were so bad (11 points and 7.5 rebounds per game) but that he was picked in front of Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley, and John Stockton.

 

Sam Bowie

Let me repeat that: Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley and John Stockton. Three Hall of Famers. Because of his unfortunate draft position, Bowie tops this list.

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