Strangest Fact About Every Star in 2013 NBA Playoffs

When it comes to being strange, NBA stars are no different than you or I.

Come on. You know you have a lucky pair of socks or a favorite TV show you'd rather nobody else knew about. NBA stars are no different. Sure, they can do things with a basketball that defy imagination, and they make millions doing it. But deep down they're human, just like the rest of us.

To wit, here are some facts about the stars on each playoff-bound team that might just surprise—and hopefully amuse—you.

Atlanta Hawks

• Josh Smith is a practical joker, as Jeff Teague can attest. Smith's been known to fill rookies' cars with bags and bags of popcorn as a hazing rite of passage; most recently, he pulled the prank on Teague. He also always carries around a deck of cards as he enjoys playing Tonk (or Tunk) as well as Spades.

• Al Horford claims he once bet Paul Pierce $10,000 on-court that Pierce's Celtics wouldn't sweep Horford's Hawks in the playoff series they were in the midst of. The Hawks took the series to seven games. Horford says Pierce has yet to pay up.

Boston Celtics

• Paul Pierce was once horrifically hit over the head with a bottle and then stabbed in the face, neck and chest while playing pool at a nightclub. Incredibly, he missed not one game that season.

• Kevin Garnett famously went to the NBA straight from high school—but Garnett actually wanted to go to college. The only reason he didn't is because he failed in four attempts to get a high enough score on his ACT test.

• Jason Terry was well-known in college for sleeping in his uniform the night before games. Also, his ubiquitous headband is an homage to the one his third grade gym teacher, former Seattle Supersonic Slick Watts, wore during his playing days.

Brooklyn Nets

• Deron Williams pays a credentialed beat writer to cover only him...for his own website, deronwilliams.com.

• Joe Johnson has two faint tattoos on top of his wrists. Both are Hindi script, and together they translate to “Incredibly blessed."

• Gerald Wallace was once recruited by the FBI.

Chicago Bulls

• Luol Deng is perhaps the most nomadic of all NBAers, having lived (besides America) in Sudan, Egypt, the UK, and Russia.

• Carlos Boozer recently accidentally punched referee Danny Crawford in the land down under. (Watch the replay at the end of the clip.)

• Joakim Noah's parents are both celebrities: his dad, Yannick, was a very prominent '80s French tennis pro, and his mom, Cecilia, was Miss Sweden 1978.

Denver Nuggets

• Ty Lawson was high-school teammates with Kevin Durant. Amazingly, their team still managed to lose two games.

• In college, Andre Iguodala had his name sewn onto his shoes.

Golden State Warriors

• Stephen Curry appeared in a Burger King commercial as a kid.

• Klay Thompson's father Mychal was the NBA's first overall draft pick in 1978, and his brother Trayce was drafted by the Chicago White Sox.

• David Lee guest-starred in a reptile education film on the kids' show The Electric Company.

Houston Rockets

• The reason for James Harden's signature facial hair: laziness.

• Jeremy Lin failed his first driver's test. Also, had the NBA not worked out, his dream was to be a food tester.

• Chandler Parsons has a degree in telecommunications.

Indiana Pacers

• Paul George enjoys playing paintball with friends Danny Granger and Brandon Rush

• David West once put the Cleveland Cavaliers' mascot Moondog in the hospital with a left-right combination to the face, followed by a left to the body. Supposedly it was an accident.

• Roy Hibbert once led a flash mob at a mall and has also had two cameo appearances on the NBC comedy Parks and Recreation.

Los Angeles Clippers

• Chris Paul, an avid bowler, is part owner of a Los Angeles professional bowling franchise.

• Blake Griffin does impressions, including one of the late Chicago Cubs broadcaster Harry Caray.

• If Jamal Crawford weren't in the NBA, his dream was to be an architect.

Los Angeles Lakers

• Maintenance staff at Pau Gasol's high school had to build a special desk for him because he was too tall.

• Whenever Dwight Howard visualizes the NBA logo, he pictures a cross around the silhouette's neck. Also, incredibly, Howard has missed more free throws in the 2012-2013 season than Steve Nash has missed in his entire 17-year career.

• During the lockout, Metta World Peace tried to become a stand-up comic.

Memphis Grizzlies

• Zach Randolph is afraid of cats.

• Marc Gasol was traded to the Memphis Grizzlies in exchange for the Lakers signing Marc's brother Pau—making it the only trade of brothers in NBA history.

Miami Heat

• In 2008, LeBron James became the first African-American male to appear on the cover of women's fashion magazine Vogue.

• Dwyane Wade is, as Kramer on Seinfeld would say, a real fancy boy. According to girlfriend Gabrielle Union, Wade, "loves mani/pedis…He’s a little more into it than I am. He is my Diana Ross. He’s awesome.”

• Chris Bosh was a National Honor Society member in high school.  He is also a member of the National Society of Black Engineers and the Dallas Association of Minority Engineers. Also, his middle name is the very strange Wesson. (I wonder whether he's named after the oil, or the revolver manufacturer?)

• Rashard Lewis owns racehorses, including one who competed in the Kentucky Derby.

Milwaukee Bucks

• Monta Ellis is a trick shot artist who once made a shot from the tunnel—while facing away from the basket.

• Even though he has a $2 million contract with Under Armour, Brandon Jennings is a fanatic about Ralph Lauren boxer briefs.

• J.J. Redick once went with his 78-year-old grandmother to a body art emporium—where they each got tattoos.

New York Knicks

• Carmelo Anthony confesses on the controversial DVD "Stop Snitchin'" that he threw his 2004 Olympic bronze medal into a lake.

• Jason Kidd uses aliases when staying in hotels on the road. Among his favorites are Willie Mays, Will Smith, and Elmer Fudd.

• J.R. Smith has a tattoo that says "Mama's Boy." He also has a morbid phobia of snakes.

Oklahoma City Thunder

• Russell Westbrook, pursuing his degree while in the league, once showed up late to a history lecture; the teacher made him sit on the stage for the entire rest of the lecture.

• During the lockout, Kevin Durant once played flag football with a guy in Oklahoma City who happened to respond to a Durant tweet (see above video).

San Antonio Spurs

• Tim Duncan wears his shorts backwards during practice. He is also an avid knife and sword enthusiast; his collection includes a three-foot samurai sword.

• After his first triple-double, Tony Parker celebrated with a French dessert called Tarte Aux Pommes Frangipane.

• Manu Ginobili once killed a bat who had flown down onto the court in mid-game.