OKC Thunder Trivia: uncovering 50 fun, surprising and random facts

Noel ate the “hot dog heard round the world.”

Then-Mavericks center Nerlens Noel stirred up some unexpected controversy in 2017 when he visited the media workroom during halftime of a blowout against the Clippers.

But, why was the hot dog such a big deal? Aside from not being the healthiest option for a professional athlete, SBNation explains:

"“I have never seen an NBA player in the media room at halftime. It’s rare to ever see a player in the media room; the only instance I can recall is Rudy Gobert once wandering in and eating a meal. At halftime, players would specifically have to go out of their way to find themselves at the media room.”"

This left a lot of people wondering if the hot dog was more than just a hot dog. Was it a message? At the time, Noel hadn’t played on the Mavericks team for months. When he was traded to the Mavericks, Noel was racking up 22 minutes per game. Fast forward to the hot dog night… he didn’t play a minute of that game, and was averaging only 12 minutes in appearances that season.

Without the chance to prove himself to the team who wouldn’t meet his salary requirements (he signed with them anyway), Noel seemed to suggest he had a lot of time on his hands. Enough time to wander to the media room and grab a hot dog.