Will Smith and Martin Lawrence Join Pat Riley’s $3 Billion Worth Heat’s Elite Club, Courtesy of Ex-NBA Stars

Miami’s finest cops are now part of an elite club, joining names like LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and more. Before you get confused, we are talking about the movie franchise ‘Bad Boys’. Will Smith and Martin Lawrence, not too long ago were invited by Heats legends Bam Adebayo and Alonzo Harding Mourning Jr. to thank the actors for pushing forward the “Heat Culture.” The Hollywood elites joined the Heat Legends in an event to promote their movie.

The new ‘Bad Boy’ movie is the fourth part of the series with a whopping budget of $100 million. Helping build on the expected success, the Miami stars aren’t just featured in the movie trailer, but the Heat Nation has officially welcomed the two to the club.

Miami Heat took to Instagram to share the moment as Alonzo Mourning presented them with Heat jerseys, not to Will Smith and Martin Lawrence but to their on-screen characters, Mike Lowrey and Marcus Burnett. “On behalf of Micky Arison, Pat Riley, Heat Nation, we welcome you to be a part of the Heat Culture. Thank you again for your contribution,” the former star center states.

But before all, Heats’ fan favorite Jimmy Butler has helped the Hollywood Vets promote their new film having appeared in the trailer alongside Miami CF’s Lionel Messi. Interestingly enough, the earliest traces of NBA and Hollywood joining hands go back well over 5 decades.

The history of collaboration between the NBA stars and the Hollywood is a long one. It all started with the 4x champion Jamaal Wilkes back in 1971. Wilkes back then starred in a movie called ‘Cornbread, Earl and Me’ where he played the role of a basketball player who suffered from police brutality and racism. Since then, we have seen a majority of NBA stars joining their favorite celebs in movies.

From Hollywood to the basketball court, again

The first names that come to someone’s mind when Hollywood and the NBA are mentioned together are LeBron James, Michael Jordan, and Shaquille O’Neal. The legends have made appearances in a variety of movies and TV series. However, let’s look at the list of players who shined on the court but could not make it in Hollywood.

Kyrie Irving

One can’t deny KI’s ability to score points on the court however, his Hollywood debut didn’t click with the audience. Having starred in several commercials before that, everyone had great expectations from Irving. But when ‘Uncle Drew’ came out fans made it clear that Irving should rather focus on the ball.

Dennis Rodman

The Bulls legend has transcended into becoming a cultural icon rather than just a basketball player. Although he failed to do the same on-screen, one can’t blame him for not trying or being camera shy. Denis worked in several films and series throughout his career. However, none of them got him the success he thought it would. His biggest upset was a film called, Simon Sez, which had a budget of $10 million but ended up earning $292,152.

Metta World Peace

The 44-year-old ex-laker star back in his day had worked in several films and series but none were of much popularity. While his appearance on ‘Dancing With Stars’ made some noise, it did not last long, proving to be the biggest upset.

What do you think about the list above? Who’s your favorite NBA star turned actor, let us know in the comments below!

Stay tuned for more such updates, and to follow what Shaq’s ex-agent, Leonard Armato, has to say about the Reese-Clark rivalry and more, watch this video.