Getty Iman Shumpert Teyana Taylor
“Dancing With the Stars” champion Iman Shumpert almost missed out on a Mirrorball trophy. In fact, the NBA player almost didn’t do the show at all.
Shumpert was paired during his time in the competition to professional dancer Daniella Karagach. The pair won the hearts of fans with their stunning lifts and happy personalities, which came across on screen.
Ultimately, Shumpert beat out runner-up JoJo Siwa and became the first NBA player to ever win the trophy.
Shumpert’s Mom Convinced Him to Do DWTS
Shumpert revealed during a first-person interview with Ebony.com that he didn’t originally want to do “Dancing With the Stars.”
Shumpert said that he was still training for the NBA when he got the call to do “Dancing With the Stars,” and he thought that the show reached out because they thought he retired.
“And I originally wasn’t going to do it because I felt like that would be the feeling if people saw me on the show – that he’s just a retired player,” he said. “Then, I found out my mom loved the show and she got super excited when I got on the phone with her. After talking with my wife, she said the same thing.”
He added, “Having the encouragement threw it over the time. But trust me, I’d never actually sat down and watched the show.”
He also said that he was nervous after watching a couple of episodes prior to heading into rehearsals.
“I actually was kind of nervous, like ‘I don’t think this is for me,'” he said he was thinking. “‘Unless I have a tall partner, this is going to be pretty difficult.'”
Shumpert’s wife, Teyana Taylor, was proud of his win on “Dancing With the Stars.”
“He’s a jack-of-all trades. I think it’s amazing that he can win a basketball championship, win a mirror ball trophy [on DWTS]—and then land roles in movies and television shows,” she said in the interview with Ebony. “That’s dope, that’s the real goal. It’s to step out of one box, to unplug from one socket and be able to plug into multiple sockets. That’s another thing that I always tell Iman to keep with him is ‘Never get stuck in one outlet.’ There’s too many of those around the house to be stuck in one by the kitchen.”
The couple have a reality show, and they are working on a number of different projects.
“I’m so many different people to everyone,” he shared. “But it’s cool.”
Shumpert Joined the ‘Dancing With the Stars’ Tour
Shumpert not only won “Dancing With the Stars,” but he also joined the show’s 2022 tour.
Karagach took to Instagram to show a video of the pair performing their famous Halloween “Us”-themed dance live.
“DANIMAN ‘IGOT5’ on tour,” she wrote. “Fun fact: @imanshumpert came to rehearse this dance once for exactly 15 min before coming out on tour with us. He’s a pro and you can’t tell me otherwise.”
“Dancing With the Stars” will return in the fall of 2022 in a new home. The show will now air live exclusively on Disney+ instead of on ABC.
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