The Detroit Pistons face the Chicago Bulls in Paris on Thursday, and so they nearly had to take action with out precocious rookie Jalen Duren.

As of yesterday, in response to James Edwards III of The Athletic, the league’s youngest participant (19 years and 61 days outdated) was at present not with the staff as a result of he misplaced his passport. Fortunately, for the Pistons and Duren, the scenario was remedied and he was in a position to reunite with the staff in Paris on Wednesday morning.

For Detroit, order is now restored. But nonetheless, this case is just too comedic to not marvel — was this nearly essentially the most weird motive an NBA participant has ever missed a sport?

Let’s have a look again at some all-timers and see for ourselves.

Sleepy Samuel Dalembert

Let’s be clear, Samuel Dalembert didn’t oversleep for an precise sport. No, no, no. But in 2014, the twelve-year veteran did sleep by way of a shootaround. Then, just a few days later, he was late to a exercise as a result of he pressed the snooze button one too many instances, which pressured his staff on the time (the Dallas Mavericks) to droop him for a sport.

Grandpa Duncan

For twenty years, Tim Duncan was the metronomic power on the dynastic San Antonio Spurs. During the tail finish of this run, Coach Gregg Popovich devised a load administration technique to maintain Duncan’s growing old physique recent for the postseason.

And in an everyday season sport in 2012, Popovich determined so as to add somewhat little bit of humor to the technique – itemizing Duncan as a DNP – Old. DNP stands for “did not play,” and outdated meant, effectively… you get the thought.

Did you understand NBA Players can’t use Mopeds?

Did you understand that, underneath the league’s uniform gamers’ contract, it’s unlawful for an NBA participant to experience a moped? No?

Well, apparently neither did Monta Ellis. In 2008, Ellis, recent off a $66 million extension, injured his ankle in a low-speed moped crash. And in contrast to the opposite gamers we’re spotlighting, this not solely value Ellis one sport, however 30, because the staff determined to droop him for 30 video games for violating the phrases of his contract.

You Only Turn 28 Once

As a part of the rehab course of from the Torn ACL he suffered in 2013, Rajon Rondo didn’t play the second leg of back-to-backs through the 2013-14 season.

And as destiny would have it, the lottery-bound Boston Celtics have been taking part in the second sport of a back-to-back on Rondo’s twenty eighth birthday. The day after that they had simply been in Los Angeles to play the Lakers.

Naturally, realizing he wasn’t taking part in in any case, Rondo felt it clever to skip the sport altogether and revel in himself within the City of Angels. This is humorous, however we will’t actually blame him for this one, as a result of who wouldn’t need to spend their birthday in L.A.?

Duren isn’t the First Player to have Passport Problems

If Duren’s excuse for nearly lacking a sport sounded outlandish, effectively, it will have been. But if he had missed Thursday’s sport, he wouldn’t have even been the primary heart in NBA historical past to take action as a consequence of passport points.

Jermaine O’Neal — coincidentally, one other gifted large man who got here into the league at a younger age — additionally had a passport blunder whereas his staff was touring to play the Toronto Raptors.

However, this didn’t occur when he was an adolescent within the league. This occurred throughout his age-35 season (his closing 12 months within the league) with the Golden State Warriors in 2013-14.

Unlike Duren, O’Neal didn’t lose his passport, he simply left it at house. As a outcome, he was barred from coming into Canada, subsequently leaving him ineligible to take part within the sport.

For extra updates on Duren and the Pistons, you should definitely try SB Nation’s Detroit Bad Boys web page.