Iman Shumpert says he hated his 3&D roles in New York and Cleveland, and felt like he finally got to play freely in Sacramento
September 21, 2025
He was under David (Dave) Joerger, not David Blatt in Sacramento, the ones who made the video got it confused.
He was always traded mid-season to the Rockets, where he kept shooting horribly.
33 comments
I don’t even remember him playing in Sacramento so that checks out
This is pretty funny.
But also probably a pretty common thought process for most players. They don’t really care as long as they get to do what they want on the court
For guys who spend their entire lives with the freedom and creativity that being THE MAN provides them, i feel like people underrate how difficult the ability to sacrifice for the goal of the team is. Putting your ego in check and allowing yourself to be boxed in to get wins is super hard. The teams who win have guys like this who are able to compartmentalize and realize that for the whole to work everyone has to fit in and *bill belichick voice* do their job. A lot of players, even stars who were stars in the NBA, have a hard time reaching that type of nirvana in basketball and even a guy like Shump who did his role very well on a very good championship team is saying that he did it but he didn’t like it.
It tracks It’s why Kuzma was cool staying in Washington get to chuck up bad shots on a bad team and get paid handsomely cause who else are they gonna pay
He averaged 8.9 ppg in Sacramento… lol.
This is why coaching matters. I don’t think hes wrong, but some players need to realize that the way they want to play doesn’t result in winning
Well Shumpty it is what it is…You were a roll player-THATS IT.
3 & D role was his maximum ability in the NBA
Why do these videos always show a certain part that comes up later, at the beginning of the video first? Like the video is only 50 seconds, we’re not going to miss it.
The scores
Just checking- NY and CLE were much better teams, right?
He would turn into prime MJ whenever we played the Thunder when he was with us.
thats pretty crazy cuz he was pretty good at it
Josh Hart had a great take on this last year. He said when he finally mentally accepted his role, his game became a lot better and he had his best season in NY.
It must be difficult for players who are the most athletic, skilled ballers in their school and state to come into the league and be told just to guard and hit the occasional corner 3.
Shump was the heart and soul of a very fun, overachieving team that others wouldn’t remember but Kings fans are very very fond of. We traded him for Harrison Barnes which made us better long term but crushed the soul for the rest of the year.
and then they traded him to Houston mid-season to play the same roles that he had with the Knicks/Cavs lol
i don’t expect people to remember but he was actually beloved in sacramento and we were on pace to be a playoff team until we traded him. the whole vibe around the team changed for the worse as soon as he left
Noted dribbler Shump.
He only shot around league average or better from 3 twice in his career so he wasn’t even good at it. That said, he was never the same after he tore his ACL. He was a lockdown defender his rookie year in NY.
All stuff we know.
A lot of guys would rather shine as individuals than win championships.
the r/nba heads dont know about the scores
He played for Sacramento? Lol
Nothing wrong with wanting more for yourself, the comments are acting like he didnt do his job well for Cleveland lol
Do not remember him playing for SAC at all. Funny how that works
Don’t think I would enjoy that role either if I had desires of being a baller.
He was so fun in Sacramento for a bit
I remember watching Rico Hines runs at UCLA in the summer of like 2017 and after the runs I overheard him complaining about how Cleveland coaches wouldn’t let him shoot the ball enough 😂
Sacramento, where you get to play free
He played for the Kings?
Team ball is hard, winning basketball is hard. Me first, do whatever basketball is fun and easy.
This brotha Iman gotta run out of stories some time
Lol I remember the Knicks letting him do whatever he wanted since they drafted him. He was playing PG and had the keys then the injuries started to pile up his role changed
This is why it’s so impressive when guys are in the league for 12+ years. After the first 8 or so, your natural athletic gifts start to fade and a lot of mid tier players fall off hard. Basically all of these guys were the best player on the court until they got to the NBA. Being humble will legit extend your nba career 3-5 years, and make you millions. Every team loves an experienced vet who plays their role and acts as a team leader.
33 comments
I don’t even remember him playing in Sacramento so that checks out
This is pretty funny.
But also probably a pretty common thought process for most players. They don’t really care as long as they get to do what they want on the court
For guys who spend their entire lives with the freedom and creativity that being THE MAN provides them, i feel like people underrate how difficult the ability to sacrifice for the goal of the team is. Putting your ego in check and allowing yourself to be boxed in to get wins is super hard. The teams who win have guys like this who are able to compartmentalize and realize that for the whole to work everyone has to fit in and *bill belichick voice* do their job. A lot of players, even stars who were stars in the NBA, have a hard time reaching that type of nirvana in basketball and even a guy like Shump who did his role very well on a very good championship team is saying that he did it but he didn’t like it.
It tracks It’s why Kuzma was cool staying in Washington get to chuck up bad shots on a bad team and get paid handsomely cause who else are they gonna pay
He averaged 8.9 ppg in Sacramento… lol.
This is why coaching matters. I don’t think hes wrong, but some players need to realize that the way they want to play doesn’t result in winning
Well Shumpty it is what it is…You were a roll player-THATS IT.
3 & D role was his maximum ability in the NBA
Why do these videos always show a certain part that comes up later, at the beginning of the video first? Like the video is only 50 seconds, we’re not going to miss it.
The scores
Just checking- NY and CLE were much better teams, right?
He would turn into prime MJ whenever we played the Thunder when he was with us.
thats pretty crazy cuz he was pretty good at it
Josh Hart had a great take on this last year. He said when he finally mentally accepted his role, his game became a lot better and he had his best season in NY.
It must be difficult for players who are the most athletic, skilled ballers in their school and state to come into the league and be told just to guard and hit the occasional corner 3.
Shump was the heart and soul of a very fun, overachieving team that others wouldn’t remember but Kings fans are very very fond of. We traded him for Harrison Barnes which made us better long term but crushed the soul for the rest of the year.
and then they traded him to Houston mid-season to play the same roles that he had with the Knicks/Cavs lol
i don’t expect people to remember but he was actually beloved in sacramento and we were on pace to be a playoff team until we traded him. the whole vibe around the team changed for the worse as soon as he left
Noted dribbler Shump.
He only shot around league average or better from 3 twice in his career so he wasn’t even good at it. That said, he was never the same after he tore his ACL. He was a lockdown defender his rookie year in NY.
All stuff we know.
A lot of guys would rather shine as individuals than win championships.
the r/nba heads dont know about the scores
He played for Sacramento? Lol
Nothing wrong with wanting more for yourself, the comments are acting like he didnt do his job well for Cleveland lol
Do not remember him playing for SAC at all. Funny how that works
Don’t think I would enjoy that role either if I had desires of being a baller.
He was so fun in Sacramento for a bit
I remember watching Rico Hines runs at UCLA in the summer of like 2017 and after the runs I overheard him complaining about how Cleveland coaches wouldn’t let him shoot the ball enough 😂
Sacramento, where you get to play free
He played for the Kings?
Team ball is hard, winning basketball is hard. Me first, do whatever basketball is fun and easy.
This brotha Iman gotta run out of stories some time
Lol I remember the Knicks letting him do whatever he wanted since they drafted him. He was playing PG and had the keys then the injuries started to pile up his role changed
This is why it’s so impressive when guys are in the league for 12+ years. After the first 8 or so, your natural athletic gifts start to fade and a lot of mid tier players fall off hard. Basically all of these guys were the best player on the court until they got to the NBA. Being humble will legit extend your nba career 3-5 years, and make you millions. Every team loves an experienced vet who plays their role and acts as a team leader.