NBA Players Reveal Do’s and Dont’s Of Being Benched

NBA players have revealed what it is really like to sit on the benches while a game is going on.

Per Bleacher Report, a prime example of slipping up on the bench was when former Detroit Pistons player Spencer Dinwiddie became a gif after failing to realize that TV cameras were settled on him when he decided to reach down into his cup and grab a chocolate bar during the game.

“It wasn’t even so bad. It was a Gatorade bar. But it was right around Halloween time so I became a GIF,” said Dinwiddie when reflecting on the incident.

Spencer Dinwiddie got caught eating his Halloween candy on the bench:
(via @Ananth_Pandian)https://t.co/Dx0zs6Bs0Whttps://t.co/KbeQDHgHog

— SB Nation (@SBNation) November 4, 2015

It turns out, Dinwiddie is not the first player to mask snacks within cups during games. LeBron James has been caught eating popcorn out a cup during a preseason game in October.

According to Miami Heat center Kelly Olynyk, teammates such as Gerald Wallace and Gerald Green use the same technique to hide their food during games. Wallace likes to hide Skittles, while Green has a coffee ‘with like 12 creams and sugars’ while being benched.

Cleveland Cavaliers forward Channing Frye admits to witnessing teammates eat full meals behind the bench but does not disclose who those teammates are.

The key is to avoid getting caught, according to Dinwiddie.

“Think of it as the guiding principle to life on an NBA bench, an ecosystem away from the court’s spotlight but full of its own set of strict rituals and conventions.”

After being traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder, Doug McDermott was warned about such bench rules.

“I was told not to sit at the end of the bench, that Russ [Russell Westbrook] sits there there when he comes out […] he got two assigned seats. A lot of times he was hot when he came out, so guys liked to him a little room.”

Players often described benches like the unspoken rules of a classroom, rookies often sit near the coaches while veterans had reserved spots at the end.

Olynyk admitted to this set up;

“Usually the OG gets that seat […] Everyone else takes their seat at the beginning of the year and pretty much rocks with it.”

Though players do grow hungry and may have assigned seats, camouflaging food within cups keeps the players occupied during games.

“Seventy-five percent of the time you’re talking about basketball […] But the other twenty-five percent it’s like, Damn, this game is long,” according to Knicks center Kyle O’Quinn.

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