Though some were pretty great players in their own right, these siblings got lost in the shuffle of their more famous brothers' NBA success.
1) Derrick Gervin
Recent studies in sociological behavior have shown that when a sibling succeeds at something you have no actual interest in, your default response is pride and happiness. But when a sibling succeeds at something you are either interested in or attempting yourself, the most immediate emotion is typically jealousy. Most athletes have their greatness attributed in some part to solid genetics, so it would only make sense that this disposition would also apply to their brothers and sisters. That's why we see the dual success of the Williams sisters in tennis or Gasol brothers in basketball (or Reggie and Cheryl Miller, for that matter). But there's been several cases in the NBA where the exploits of one brother far exceeded the accomplishments of the other. Derrick Gervin was born 11 years after his legendary brother George. A serious basketball talent in his own right, Derrick was expected to play for George's friend Abe Lemons at Texas, but by his own admission got a little too caught up in the trappings of fame associated with the Gervin name. He instead accepted a scholarship at Texas-San Antonio in 1982, allowing him to play ball in the same city his older brother seemed to own at the time, as a member of the Spurs. Derrick was an impressive scorer like his brother, and matured to the point that he was drafted in the fourth round in 1985, by Philadelphia. But he was waived by the Sixers right before the season started and spent four years languishing in the CBA before finally getting a call-up with the Nets in '89-'90. Gervin spent two partial years with New Jersey, averaging 8.8 points per game. After a couple more years of CBA ball, he sojourned to Argentina, Italy, Turkey, and Israel, finally wrapping up his career in 2001. Though George is the bigger celebrity in San Antonio, Derrick is the one most beloved on the Texas-San Antonio campus, where he returned in 2006 when the school retired his jersey.
2) Seth Curry
3) Mychel Thompson
During the '13-'14 season, as Steph Curry and Klay Thompson were earning the nickname "Splash Brothers" by leading the Warriors into national prominence, their siblings were busy plugging away for their G-League affiliate in nearby Santa Cruz. Seth is the younger Curry by about two years, and though he's never attained nearly the same success as his older sibling, he has fashioned himself into a solid role player recently for the Blazers and Mavericks. The Curry brothers memorably faced off in the 2019 Western Conference Finals, especially in game two. Seth had one of the best games of his career, scoring 16 points off the bench and putting in some commendable defense on his brother. But as usual, Steph was ultimately the main attraction, finishing with 37 points, eight assists, and eight rebounds, leading the Warriors to a comeback win en route to a series sweep. As for Mychel, he's the eldest Thompson sibling and the namesake of his father (who spells it Mychal), a 13-year pro who won back-to-back titles with the Showtime Lakers. But in contrast to Klay, who has five All-Star appearances and three NBA titles, Mychel's career at the highest level lasted just five games during the '11-'12 season, when he averaged 3.6 points per game for the lowly Cavaliers. After spending six-plus seasons bouncing around various G-League outfits, Thompson was recently seen in the Big 3, playing some for the Nancy Lieberman-coached Power.
4) Ed Mikan
After DePaul won the 1945 NIT Championship, coach Ray Meyer remarked that Ed Mikan was the second best center he'd ever coached. The implication, of course, was that the greatest was Ed's older brother and teammate, George. Born just 16 months after his legendary brother, Ed joined him at DePaul in 1944. While the elder Mikan was so dominant they actually had to change the rules to suppress him, Ed was a solid player in his own right, and DePaul finished 40-8 in the two years the brothers teamed up. Ed was drafted fifth overall by the Chicago Stags in 1948, staying in his hometown. He immediately became the starting center and the two brothers first faced off in a game in December of that year. Though George went off for 47 points, contrasting with just five points from Ed, the Stags won 104-100 in an overtime thriller. After the game the brothers and several of their teammates communed at a tavern in town owned by the Mikan parents. When their mother saw the bloody and bruised Ed, she asked George why he felt the need to beat up his brother like that. George replied "mom, if you were out there, I would have beat you up too." Though he didn't have nearly the talent or accolades of his brother, Ed had a decent NBA career of his own, spending six years in the league with the Stags, Royals, Capitols, Warriors, Olympians, and Celtics. He peaked in '51-'52, averaging 7.9 points and 7.4 rebounds per game for Philadelphia. The Mikan brothers were never pro teammates, but matched up twice against each other in the playoffs. In both cases, Ed's team was swept by George's Lakers, first with the Stags in 1949, then with the Olympians in 1953. Though the younger of the two, Ed passed away first in 1999. A third Mikan did reach the NBA in 1970, when George's son and Ed's nephew Larry played a season for the Cavs.
5) Taylor Griffin
Growing up, Blake Griffin always wanted to do whatever his older brother Taylor was doing. That included basketball, which was no surprise, as their father Tommy was one of the most respected high school basketball coaches in Oklahoma City. For years Blake was foremost known as Taylor's younger brother and Tommy's son. That dynamic changed right as he joined Taylor at Oklahoma and started displaying the skills and intuition that today make him one of the NBA's biggest stars. Suddenly, the tables had turned, and Taylor was Tommy's son and Blake's brother. Taylor was a junior with the Sooners when Blake joined as a freshman, and the pair were teammates for two years. When Taylor graduated in 2009, it was apparent that Blake had no need left for NCAA ball, and joined him in the 2009 NBA draft class. Blake went first overall to the Clippers, but Taylor had to wait until the 48th overall pick to hear his name. Smaller in stature than Blake, Taylor always had more of a face-up small forward style game as opposed to his brother's post-up power game. He found playing time hard to come by in his rookie year with Phoenix, and spent much of the season in the G-League with the Iowa Energy. Meanwhile, Blake spent the entire '09-'10 season sidelined with a knee injury, so for a brief time there the elder Griffin did technically have the better pro career. That changed quickly in '10-'11, when Blake won Rookie of the Year while Taylor was waived by the Suns and begin playing for a pro team in Belgium. He has since signed contracts with the Bobcats and Warriors, but has not suited up in the NBA again.
6) Brent Price
Though their father, Denny, had been a high school phenom in Norman, Oklahoma, and later a longtime coach at Sam Houston State, neither Brent nor Mark Price seemed like future star players in childhood. They both topped off at about six feet tall in high school, and stopped growing from there. Mark, older than Brent by almost four years, was labeled as too short and slow to succeed at the NCAA level, but he earned a scholarship at Georgia Tech and was eventually an All-American for the program. He went on to a 12-year career in the NBA that included four All-Star appearances. This only increased the pressure on Brent, who shared Mark's size, athleticism (or lack thereof) and attitude, and whose freshman year at South Carolina coincided with Mark's breakout season in the NBA with Cleveland (there was also a sibling named Matt in between Mark and Brent who played his college ball for Denny at Phillips University in Oklahoma). Though he was arguably just as good a shooter as Mark, Brent lacked his ball handling, passing, and leadership skills. Unhappy with the offensive scheme at South Carolina, he eventually transferred to Oklahoma and scored enough points for the Sooners to be drafted with the 32nd pick by the Bullets in 1992. Washington eventually traded for Mark in 1995, and the brothers were teammates for the '95-'96 season. It was Brent's best statistical season, averaging 10 points and 5.1 assists per game, while Mark was feeling the effects of various knee injuries and slowing down. The brothers appeared together in just seven games that season, with Brent as the starting point guard and Mark backing him up. Brent spent six more years in the NBA as a role player for the Rockets, Grizzlies, and Kings, before retiring in 2002. While Mark followed in Denny's footsteps and shifted almost immediately in coaching, Brent took some time away from the game, only returning recently as a broadcaster for Oklahoma. Denny passed away in 2000, after suffering a heart attack while playing a pick-up game with his sons.
7) Eric Johnson
Just a few months after his older brother, Vinnie, celebrated his first NBA championship with the Pistons, Eric Johnson was fighting for a long shot contract with the Utah Jazz. Eric was a full 10 years younger than Vinnie, but built just like him in every way, in fact his playing height and weight were the exact same measurements. He followed in Vinnie's footsteps at Baylor in 1984, but soon transferred to Nebraska after a coaching regime change. After graduating in 1989, Eric went un-drafted by the NBA, but impressed Jazz coaches enough during summer league play to earn a roster spot. Though their visages (body and face) were nearly identical, the playing styles differed drastically. Vinnie was a slash-and-pop shooting guard while Eric manned the point, spending his time getting other teammates involved. He played limited minutes in just 48 games in his rookie year, but did get a chance to start two games early in the season when John Stockton missed time with an injury. After Vinnie hit a series-clinching shot to win his second title with the Pistons, Eric made the Jazz roster again heading into the '90-'91 season. This time he saw literally no court time and was waived in early December, ending his brief NBA career.
8) Chris Smith
His NBA career lasted all of two games, but true to his family was not without controversy. Born in New Jersey three years after his brother, J.R., Chris followed him to Lakewood High School, then played at Manhattan for two years before transferring to Louisville to finish his college career under Rick Pitino. Unlike J.R., who was such an obvious talent that he was selected in the lottery in 2004 despite no college experience, Chris was considered only a borderline NBA player, and went un-drafted in 2012. Likely as a favor to J.R., who had just taken a discount on a contract renewal with his hometown team, the Knicks added Chris to their summer league squad. Though he failed to impress at that level, New York still assigned him to their G-League affiliate, then called him up for two games in December of 2013. He logged less than two minutes total in those games and didn't fill the stat sheet in any way, not even taking a field goal attempt. Both of the games were blowout losses for the Knicks, who got off to a 9-21 start that season and eventually missed the playoffs. They waived Chris on New Year's Eve and despite his obvious shortcomings on the court and the team having a glaring need for center depth instead of guards, J.R. considered it a slap in the face. He immediately took to Instagram to call it a "betrayal" and soon enough was traded to the Cavaliers. Chris signed further contracts with the Hawks and Bucks, but never stepped on an NBA court again. Taking a cue from his former Knicks teammate Amare Stoudemire, Chris moved to Israel, where he converted to Judaism, became a citizen, and has played for several teams in the nation's top pro league, the Basketball Premier League.
9) Gerald Wilkins
The 1986 Slam Dunk Contest is well-remembered for the showdown between Hawks teammates Dominique Wilkins and Spud Webb. Look at the final standings below them though, and you'll find a player who finished in fourth with consistently terrific - though less flashy - dunks. It was a familiar position to be in for Gerald, one of the most underrated players of his era, but someone who gets only a smidgen of the acclaim that his more famous brother, Dominique, still receives. The pair grew up in North Carolina, Dominique the older brother by about 3 1/2 years, and Gerald finished his high school career in Atlanta when the Wilkins family moved while Dominique attended Georgia. Dominique was drafted third overall by the Hawks in 1982 just as Gerald was getting started at Tennessee-Chattanooga, and he followed his brother into the NBA in 1985, drafted by New York in the second round. He was a pleasant surprise for the Knicks, an immediate contributor and the starting shooting guard early in his rookie year. Gerald gained a reputation for his easy scoring and tough perimeter defense, and for several years was the Knicks' second scoring threat after Patrick Ewing. He joined the Cavs in '92-'93 and was considered the defensive stopper who could help them contain Michael Jordan, which, of course, turned out to be a pipe dream once the playoffs rolled around. After 12 years in the league for Gerald and 14 for Dominique (plus two seasons in Europe) the two finally became pro teammates in Orlando in '98-'99. Both played just limited minutes, and then they each retired at the end of the season. The Wilkins basketball lineage has proved strong a generation below as well, as Gerald's son Damien has had an NBA career spanning over a decade.
10) Albert King
Bernard King was the '84-'85 NBA scoring champ, one of the most popular players of his era, and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2013. But for the first 25 years of his life, he was considered only the second best basketball player in his family. Albert was three years younger than Bernard, but became a national sensation in the mid '70s for his high school and street ball play, just as Bernard was starting to build his NBA career. One of the centerpieces of the legendary street ball laudation Heaven Is a Playground, Albert was considered just as dangerous in the more conservative confines of the high school court, in his native Brooklyn. He was rated the top prep player in the nation his senior year (ahead of Magic Johnson) and signed up to play at Maryland, where he was the ACC Player of the Year and twice landed the cover of Sports Illustrated (including this interesting edition). He was drafted #10 overall by his brother's former team, the Nets, in 1981. Though he was a solid player, averaging 17 points per game at his peak in '82-'83, King never lived up to the sublime star status of his prep days. He spent six years on some pretty good New Jersey teams, but his career started to spiral after signing with the Sixers in 1987. Albert played some pro ball in Europe (he was actually teammates with Bob McAdoo and Mike D'Antoni in Italy), and even made a comeback with the Bullets in '91-'92 after two years away, but his pro career soon ended at age 33. He settled back in New Jersey with his family, and still lives there today, where he manages several Wendy's franchises. There's no doubt now whom the most famous of the King brothers ended up being, but Albert has claimed that he prefers his life outside of the spotlight.
After DePaul won the 1945 NIT Championship, coach Ray Meyer remarked that Ed Mikan was the second best center he'd ever coached. The implication, of course, was that the greatest was Ed's older brother and teammate, George. Born just 16 months after his legendary brother, Ed joined him at DePaul in 1944. While the elder Mikan was so dominant they actually had to change the rules to suppress him, Ed was a solid player in his own right, and DePaul finished 40-8 in the two years the brothers teamed up. Ed was drafted fifth overall by the Chicago Stags in 1948, staying in his hometown. He immediately became the starting center and the two brothers first faced off in a game in December of that year. Though George went off for 47 points, contrasting with just five points from Ed, the Stags won 104-100 in an overtime thriller. After the game the brothers and several of their teammates communed at a tavern in town owned by the Mikan parents. When their mother saw the bloody and bruised Ed, she asked George why he felt the need to beat up his brother like that. George replied "mom, if you were out there, I would have beat you up too." Though he didn't have nearly the talent or accolades of his brother, Ed had a decent NBA career of his own, spending six years in the league with the Stags, Royals, Capitols, Warriors, Olympians, and Celtics. He peaked in '51-'52, averaging 7.9 points and 7.4 rebounds per game for Philadelphia. The Mikan brothers were never pro teammates, but matched up twice against each other in the playoffs. In both cases, Ed's team was swept by George's Lakers, first with the Stags in 1949, then with the Olympians in 1953. Though the younger of the two, Ed passed away first in 1999. A third Mikan did reach the NBA in 1970, when George's son and Ed's nephew Larry played a season for the Cavs.
5) Taylor Griffin
Growing up, Blake Griffin always wanted to do whatever his older brother Taylor was doing. That included basketball, which was no surprise, as their father Tommy was one of the most respected high school basketball coaches in Oklahoma City. For years Blake was foremost known as Taylor's younger brother and Tommy's son. That dynamic changed right as he joined Taylor at Oklahoma and started displaying the skills and intuition that today make him one of the NBA's biggest stars. Suddenly, the tables had turned, and Taylor was Tommy's son and Blake's brother. Taylor was a junior with the Sooners when Blake joined as a freshman, and the pair were teammates for two years. When Taylor graduated in 2009, it was apparent that Blake had no need left for NCAA ball, and joined him in the 2009 NBA draft class. Blake went first overall to the Clippers, but Taylor had to wait until the 48th overall pick to hear his name. Smaller in stature than Blake, Taylor always had more of a face-up small forward style game as opposed to his brother's post-up power game. He found playing time hard to come by in his rookie year with Phoenix, and spent much of the season in the G-League with the Iowa Energy. Meanwhile, Blake spent the entire '09-'10 season sidelined with a knee injury, so for a brief time there the elder Griffin did technically have the better pro career. That changed quickly in '10-'11, when Blake won Rookie of the Year while Taylor was waived by the Suns and begin playing for a pro team in Belgium. He has since signed contracts with the Bobcats and Warriors, but has not suited up in the NBA again.
6) Brent Price
Though their father, Denny, had been a high school phenom in Norman, Oklahoma, and later a longtime coach at Sam Houston State, neither Brent nor Mark Price seemed like future star players in childhood. They both topped off at about six feet tall in high school, and stopped growing from there. Mark, older than Brent by almost four years, was labeled as too short and slow to succeed at the NCAA level, but he earned a scholarship at Georgia Tech and was eventually an All-American for the program. He went on to a 12-year career in the NBA that included four All-Star appearances. This only increased the pressure on Brent, who shared Mark's size, athleticism (or lack thereof) and attitude, and whose freshman year at South Carolina coincided with Mark's breakout season in the NBA with Cleveland (there was also a sibling named Matt in between Mark and Brent who played his college ball for Denny at Phillips University in Oklahoma). Though he was arguably just as good a shooter as Mark, Brent lacked his ball handling, passing, and leadership skills. Unhappy with the offensive scheme at South Carolina, he eventually transferred to Oklahoma and scored enough points for the Sooners to be drafted with the 32nd pick by the Bullets in 1992. Washington eventually traded for Mark in 1995, and the brothers were teammates for the '95-'96 season. It was Brent's best statistical season, averaging 10 points and 5.1 assists per game, while Mark was feeling the effects of various knee injuries and slowing down. The brothers appeared together in just seven games that season, with Brent as the starting point guard and Mark backing him up. Brent spent six more years in the NBA as a role player for the Rockets, Grizzlies, and Kings, before retiring in 2002. While Mark followed in Denny's footsteps and shifted almost immediately in coaching, Brent took some time away from the game, only returning recently as a broadcaster for Oklahoma. Denny passed away in 2000, after suffering a heart attack while playing a pick-up game with his sons.
7) Eric Johnson
Just a few months after his older brother, Vinnie, celebrated his first NBA championship with the Pistons, Eric Johnson was fighting for a long shot contract with the Utah Jazz. Eric was a full 10 years younger than Vinnie, but built just like him in every way, in fact his playing height and weight were the exact same measurements. He followed in Vinnie's footsteps at Baylor in 1984, but soon transferred to Nebraska after a coaching regime change. After graduating in 1989, Eric went un-drafted by the NBA, but impressed Jazz coaches enough during summer league play to earn a roster spot. Though their visages (body and face) were nearly identical, the playing styles differed drastically. Vinnie was a slash-and-pop shooting guard while Eric manned the point, spending his time getting other teammates involved. He played limited minutes in just 48 games in his rookie year, but did get a chance to start two games early in the season when John Stockton missed time with an injury. After Vinnie hit a series-clinching shot to win his second title with the Pistons, Eric made the Jazz roster again heading into the '90-'91 season. This time he saw literally no court time and was waived in early December, ending his brief NBA career.
8) Chris Smith
His NBA career lasted all of two games, but true to his family was not without controversy. Born in New Jersey three years after his brother, J.R., Chris followed him to Lakewood High School, then played at Manhattan for two years before transferring to Louisville to finish his college career under Rick Pitino. Unlike J.R., who was such an obvious talent that he was selected in the lottery in 2004 despite no college experience, Chris was considered only a borderline NBA player, and went un-drafted in 2012. Likely as a favor to J.R., who had just taken a discount on a contract renewal with his hometown team, the Knicks added Chris to their summer league squad. Though he failed to impress at that level, New York still assigned him to their G-League affiliate, then called him up for two games in December of 2013. He logged less than two minutes total in those games and didn't fill the stat sheet in any way, not even taking a field goal attempt. Both of the games were blowout losses for the Knicks, who got off to a 9-21 start that season and eventually missed the playoffs. They waived Chris on New Year's Eve and despite his obvious shortcomings on the court and the team having a glaring need for center depth instead of guards, J.R. considered it a slap in the face. He immediately took to Instagram to call it a "betrayal" and soon enough was traded to the Cavaliers. Chris signed further contracts with the Hawks and Bucks, but never stepped on an NBA court again. Taking a cue from his former Knicks teammate Amare Stoudemire, Chris moved to Israel, where he converted to Judaism, became a citizen, and has played for several teams in the nation's top pro league, the Basketball Premier League.
9) Gerald Wilkins
The 1986 Slam Dunk Contest is well-remembered for the showdown between Hawks teammates Dominique Wilkins and Spud Webb. Look at the final standings below them though, and you'll find a player who finished in fourth with consistently terrific - though less flashy - dunks. It was a familiar position to be in for Gerald, one of the most underrated players of his era, but someone who gets only a smidgen of the acclaim that his more famous brother, Dominique, still receives. The pair grew up in North Carolina, Dominique the older brother by about 3 1/2 years, and Gerald finished his high school career in Atlanta when the Wilkins family moved while Dominique attended Georgia. Dominique was drafted third overall by the Hawks in 1982 just as Gerald was getting started at Tennessee-Chattanooga, and he followed his brother into the NBA in 1985, drafted by New York in the second round. He was a pleasant surprise for the Knicks, an immediate contributor and the starting shooting guard early in his rookie year. Gerald gained a reputation for his easy scoring and tough perimeter defense, and for several years was the Knicks' second scoring threat after Patrick Ewing. He joined the Cavs in '92-'93 and was considered the defensive stopper who could help them contain Michael Jordan, which, of course, turned out to be a pipe dream once the playoffs rolled around. After 12 years in the league for Gerald and 14 for Dominique (plus two seasons in Europe) the two finally became pro teammates in Orlando in '98-'99. Both played just limited minutes, and then they each retired at the end of the season. The Wilkins basketball lineage has proved strong a generation below as well, as Gerald's son Damien has had an NBA career spanning over a decade.
10) Albert King
Bernard King was the '84-'85 NBA scoring champ, one of the most popular players of his era, and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2013. But for the first 25 years of his life, he was considered only the second best basketball player in his family. Albert was three years younger than Bernard, but became a national sensation in the mid '70s for his high school and street ball play, just as Bernard was starting to build his NBA career. One of the centerpieces of the legendary street ball laudation Heaven Is a Playground, Albert was considered just as dangerous in the more conservative confines of the high school court, in his native Brooklyn. He was rated the top prep player in the nation his senior year (ahead of Magic Johnson) and signed up to play at Maryland, where he was the ACC Player of the Year and twice landed the cover of Sports Illustrated (including this interesting edition). He was drafted #10 overall by his brother's former team, the Nets, in 1981. Though he was a solid player, averaging 17 points per game at his peak in '82-'83, King never lived up to the sublime star status of his prep days. He spent six years on some pretty good New Jersey teams, but his career started to spiral after signing with the Sixers in 1987. Albert played some pro ball in Europe (he was actually teammates with Bob McAdoo and Mike D'Antoni in Italy), and even made a comeback with the Bullets in '91-'92 after two years away, but his pro career soon ended at age 33. He settled back in New Jersey with his family, and still lives there today, where he manages several Wendy's franchises. There's no doubt now whom the most famous of the King brothers ended up being, but Albert has claimed that he prefers his life outside of the spotlight.