Basketball is way more than just a sport, it has influenced pop culture in a lot of ways over the years as well. The game is in the limelight more than it ever was, and over the years, the fashion, the storylines, and the personalities in the NBA have changed how people talk, walk, and consume content.
Basketball has been the central theme of some top-rated movies. LeBron James just made Space Jam 2, for example. The original with Michael Jordan is one of the most iconic movies of the 90s, and there have been many more basketball movies that people have been obsessed with. Coach Carter, and He Got Game are among the films that have had a significant cultural impact, but perhaps the most popular one is, ‘White Men Can’t Jump.’
Marques Johnson Revealed The Story Behind His Character ‘Raymond’
Marques Johnson had a long career in the NBA, playing 12 years for the Milwaukee Bucks and the Los Angeles Clippers. After his career ended in the late 80s, Johnson went on to do minor roles in various movies. His appearance as Raymond in White Men Can’t Jump is quite iconic, and in a recent interview, he revealed that the character was based on someone that existed.
Turns out Raymond from "White Men Can't Jump" was based on a real NBA player
Listen to @olskool888 tell @KingJosiah54 & Gilbert Arenas the origin story of his iconic character here: https://t.co/OtdXWpFV8w pic.twitter.com/agfw1jocvs
— Fubo Sports Network (@fuboSports) January 10, 2023
“So Raymond is based on a story that you would hear, one of the first stories you would hear as a new NBA player. One of the old veterans, or somebody would tell you the story about a guy by the name of Reggie Harding. And Reggie Harding was just a basketball savant, out of Detroit Eastern High School, won three straight city championships, 6’10, 6’11, handle, shoot, one of the greatest players to ever come out of Detroit.
“But Reggie had issues with heroin. He was a heroin addict. He got drafted by the Pistons. He never played college basketball. He’s one of the first guys to go from high school to the NBA without playing college basketball. So Reggie was into the deep throes of his heroin addiction.
“And what Reggie would do is not only would he rob heroin houses where he was buying drugs, but he would also rob neighborhood bodegas and liquor stores or whatever. But he’d come in with that mask on at 7 feet tall, and with a gun and like, ‘Give me that money.’
“So one dude’s like, ‘Reggie, come on man. This is the fourth time you hit me this month. Come on, Reggie, and we know it’s you.’ And Reggie allegedly said, and this is the story you hear, how they would tell it, ‘This ain’t me, this ain’t me,’ and grab the money and run. And so that was the basis of that character.”
The story is a harrowing one, a really sad story if one thinks about it. But back in the day, drug addiction wasn’t very uncommon in the NBA, and it’s unfortunate to think how many talents were lost because of it. There’s some solace in the fact that Harding’s legacy has lived on in an iconic character, at the very least.
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