Rex Chapman: king of Kentucky, NBA record-setter ... Social Media Sensation

People mostly know Rex Chapman as that guy from Twitter, various podcasts, and TV appearances. He's become a big-deal personality. They might also know it's taken a long road of recovery for Chapman to reach this point in his life and career. And maybe people know Chapman used to play basketball ... but not much more than that.
That's where this episode of Prism comes in: Chapman's basketball career -- from Kentucky to various interesting stints in the pros -- is worth examining. There's a lot to it. Let's dig into the pretty good and very interesting basketball career of a person who's become more famous for something else.
Directed and edited by Ryan Simmons
Written and produced by Seth Rosenthal
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[@jdapaul1351]

In that 39 point against the '96 Bulls, Rex was lighting it up that Phil Jackson commanded MJ to switch OFF of Rex. Imagine being that good in that game that an elite defender and generational great switched off of you. Rex Chapman was special.

[@borger99]

Allowed Jordan rest for the game and series; let Chapman score because no one else is doing anything.

[@Allwayzworkin]

Smh he was a killer if you weren’t careful

[@paulyiustravelogue]

I still remember that Bulls @ Heat February game in 1996 like it was yesterday. It was one of those improbable wins by a depleted team. The Bulls played like they could have won by just showing up. Good times. 👍🏻😂

[@clutchcity25]

Those Phoenix years with Jason Kidd and Kevin Johnson were a lot of fun.

[@CarlosRojas-hr6ms]

I still vividly remember THE SHOT. Only remember Rex from that phoenix team though

[@jacobciccone873]

Please do one on Danny Hurley! from his brothers shadow to his dads shadow and now an elite national champion coach

[@slayerdeth0705]

I remember his rookie season, great dunker.

[@joeslider6663]

Thought the picturewith the glasses was Howie Mandel😂

[@TheSakuragihanimichi]

That 72-10 Bulls Season, 39pt game win, wow! Nice

[@pitifulful]

Rex! Thank you - excellent content about one of my all time favorite players.

[@samhhhhh]

Excellent as always

[@howardriley1686]

Considering how trash talking MJ, KB or LBJ was usually signing a death warrant you should do a video about times Jordan/Kobe/Lebron got cooked while being trash talked(like a "times players cheated death" sort of thing)!

[@howardriley1686]

Bullfighting for MJ Snake charming for KB King slaying for LBJ

[@rondoisbeast999]

It would be awesome if he’d stay out of politics

[@djones1234567654321]

Why no mention of his burglary arrests or his addictions? Doesn’t tell the full story…

[@rashaudreece383]

i know him for his shot he made and his highlights being like an hour long

[@mazdakmina9493]

Please do Michael Olowokandi!

[@msolec2000]

And what made Donovan McNabb finish his career Untitled?

[@dredre2235]

here after vlad

[@slobberkissintl3548]

Ads are still going, video hasn't started. Just want to say as a childhood u of Louisville fan, HATED REX CHAPMAN 😆😆😆😆😆 Also, my friend Fred and I would play NBA Live 96 and I don't know why we did this but you could do playoff mode and put in whatever teams you want so of course we always put in 15 Washington Bullets and one Miami Heat. I would be the Heat and i would only let Harold Miner shoot. I lived or died with Miner. And Fred figured out a spot, because it's a dumb 90s sports game, a spot where you never miss threes. I think it was out of bounds but we had that turned off. So he is bombing away with Rex Chapman, Tom Guggliotta and Gheorghe Muresan and I'm coming back dunking from everywhere with Harold Miner. My point is, I think this all started bc he knew i hated Rex Chapman 😂 But he was an IndianaU fan so WTF FRED

[@siler22]

Who is todays version of Rex Chapman

[@jpat1513]

A shoplifter

[@josesanchez-os7zr]

ohn Thompson did not take him to Seoul 88 and it was a mistake that he paid dearly for.

[@whatwelearned]

"Chapman for the tieeeee..." As a Sonics fan I did not like that 😁

[@AR-io8fv]

Bro wtf he didn’t just make the NBA he was a baller lmao

[@butchapolinar2305]

hes a buckets

[@nervewracking4971]

Rex Chapman the WOKE man.

[@David-iv6je]

I mostly remember him as a player where injuries got in the way of stardom. Dude could shoot.

[@dakineprotoss]

i literally had no idea about the social media stuff, but i remember him well from his time on the suns especially

[@GLHS592]

@@dakineprotoss This is the first I've heard of the social media stuff.

[@hittheboof1084]

This was such a good idea for an episode! I knew he played but didn't know anything about his career and I'm sure there's a bunch of people around my age that are the same way

[@barleymepodcast2301]

I LOVED Rex Chapman, even, and maybe even because, I was a Sonics fan. That SHOT. Devastating. Incredible. Unbelievable. How can you not love him?😊

[@fredflux2738]

Just unreal- every time I see it, Im brought back. I’ll never forget who Rex Chapman is.

[@Zeecarver]

haha, I wonder if your opinion would be the same if the Sonics got eliminated then 😄

[@josephharden5592]

Career 14.6 2.5 and 2.7 he had a very solid career (with some big moments) 😎🤘🏾... He was very Klay Thompson without the Steph Curry

[@AndrewNaranjo-dt7mr]

He reminds me a lot of Tyler Herro

[@aarond23]

Cheerful? Not the words I would use for Rex Chapman lol....plagarist is last I remember.

[@bigjared8946]

No RC resume is complete without "Apple Store shoplifter" 😂

[@markjackson6431]

Rewinder: 2006 Orange Bowl 3OTs Beef History: Lindros vs Flyers Organization Overlap: Greatest College Football Coach (Saban) and the Greatest NFL Coach (Belichick) coaching in the same division Untitled: Reggie Miller Untitled: Ken Griffey Junior Untitled: Jim Kelly Collapse: Early 90s Bills Untitled: Red Sox Players (particular Yaz) Prism: Steph Curry and all those mid major players Rewinder: The Catch By Willie Rewinder: Hank Aaron and Bonds breaking the respective HR record Untitled: Don Nelson

[@AirRusher1992]

Perhaps the only thing I remember from Rex Chapman are the famous behind the back pass to self dunk in the 1991 Slam Dunk Contest which was replicated by Rudy Fernandez in 2009 and the most famous game-tying 3-pointer against Seattle to force overtime in Game 4 of their opening round best-of-5 series in 1997 to which Phoenix would lose in 5 games.

[@Zmaguila98]

is this a chatgpt comment?

[@liampowers8570]

@@Zmaguila98yeah this reads like a stroke

[@p00lboy]

why waste punctuation when you can type it in 1 breath 😂🤣

[@jagoowins]

Rex is from my hometown so his story is one I’m very familiar with. But to see Secret Base tell his story so well on their platform just makes me happy. Well done yet again, Seth. Side note: I sat next to Rex in a theater once and got to chat afterwards. Just as nice as you could’ve hoped. Glad he’s bounced back so well

[@ItsReallyJackBlack]

He didn't break into your car and steal your iPad?

[@coruscant100]

Collapse ideas: How Dan Snyder destroyed the Washington Redskins Post TB12 Blues: The Fall of the New England Patriots' Empire Burning Money: How the NY Mets spend so much money, but can't win a World Series How the 2015 KC Royals were dismantled after winning it all How the Texas Rangers went from back to back WS appearances to a decade of misery How the Toronto Raptors went from NBA Champions to complete irrelevance How the Philadelphia Flyers went from being a magical Stanley Cup run to over a decade of failure

[@Flashfm3000]

After their back-to-back pennants, the Rangers went to the postseason three times in five years (and almost made a fourth appearance). The misery didn't really begin until 2017.

[@stephen_cs]

The royals one would be great

[@jdapaul1351]

I think the Warriors would be an episode after Curry retires.

[@cameronjohnson9361]

I’m from North Carolina I remember watching the hornets hysteria video regularly so I was extremely aware of his rookie year

[@MichaelKolesarKoleslaw]

My mom was born in Lexington in 1944 and she was a UK basketball fan and so Rex Chapman was a topic of discussion often as a kid.

[@markosborne2663]

Life long UK fan and I'll tell you Rex is a Legend here in KY

[@Wallyworld30]

Rex Chapman was drafted when I was in High School and all I recall about him was his famous 40 Inch Vertical leap. Rex Champman built quite a bit of Hype for himself. I didn't know any of that other stuff you said most people know about him at the beginning.

[@Cornan1980]

I didn't even know that he had a social media presence. I know Rex Chapman from crushing my Sonics in the playoffs when he was on the Suns in 97. Nine threes.

[@TwickyFiedBae]

I swear I feel like I’ve already seen it so it might exist but a Prism on Brandon Roy would be fire. Also a prism on Tyler Hansbrough or Joakim Noah.

[@waqas4318]

Prism on Nathan Peterman

[@smoovefitness7610]

I will always remember Chapman from cooking Jordan so bad he switched off guard him back in the day 😂😂

[@SkylineR33mt]

Haha cool story full reach a round

[@torachan23]

Now he makes spicy tweets against anyone he disagrees with politically from his high horse. A true advocate of love, free speech, and not judging people

[@jpat1513]

Also a shoplifter

[@SoSickRick]

@@jpat1513 Odd that didn't get mentioned...

[@Nerd1090]

​@@SoSickRickthey mentioned it at the beginning

[@waqas4318]

block or charge?

[@bradwurst8141]

He's like a content dropshipper lol this dude BLOWS. What a silly use of your time lmao

[@konasavage]

In the 90s you would watch game highlights hoping that it was the night that Rex would go off for 40. When he was on, he was a beast. I would use him in the old NBA Live games and attempt the same lol

[@marshall409]

TIL Rex Chapman is not some random moniker for a social media account I've followed for years.

[@mb42mb42]

Not trying to be rude... but I previously really loved your videos. Maybe because they had MORE HIGHLIGHTS, maybe the energy was higher, maybe additional interview clips with players, such as the subject of the video. Rex Chapman is a great subject but this video (along with the Starks video) just fell flat IMO. Sorry

[@RudyPants]

As a Sonics fan, I will always remember Rex for that game in 1997. I will also remember him for being in the Game Boy game NBA All Star Challenge 2. He couldn’t shoot too well in that game!

[@somerandomguy495]

Players from back in the day who might make the jump to superstar in today’s game: Horry, Chapman, Kerr, and Sam Perkins.

[@the1flym459]

If I got posterized by a skinny white guy in front of Muhammad Ali, I would simply never play basketball ever again

[@kylejohnson3579]

My dumbass before watching this: “why do they have a picture of Howie Mandel in the thumbnail?”

[@robertjohn8711]

please please please do a beef history on Isiah Thomas and MJ

[@clutchcity25]

7:45 Were they seriously comparing Rex to our Lord and Savior?

[@ShniitSchneyder]

i just binged chapman clips yesterday wt GET OUT OF MY HEAD (thanks!)

[@wadephipps5239]

KING REX. My grandfather would always talk about him at Kentucky. I'm only 30, so I wasn't fortunate enough to watch him.

[@mgdheavy]

Is it okay if I only know him because he was the second most common Starting Lineup after Danny Manning?

[@brientaylorcohen]

Starting Lineup figures were the bomb! I had a Manning back in the day (but not a Rex)

[@antoinemilien6864]

Shout out to Secret Base for their amazing videos going back for years. My memory of Rex Chapman was from JxmyHighroller doing his video on Chapman with trash talking Jordan.

[@TimeofQwerty]

lol you mean the cringe guy on twitter? that guy?

[@shalashaska5851]

Rex Chapmans social media persona is so obnoxious. I feel embarrassed on his behalf.

[@den4980]

Have had him blocked since 2020 lol. So irritating

[@ItsReallyJackBlack]

He is a thief.

[@qwertyzxcvbn3174]

Snowflake

[@jpat1513]

He’s a shoplifter too

[@jpat1513]

@@qwertyzxcvbn3174lol weirdo KZbin commentators love Rex

[@OrionOodama]

"And that is the point here. Rex Chapman's basketball career is fun to talk about if you look at the right parts. This version of Rex is known best, and the challenges he overcame mean the most. But these versions also hold meaning, and they too are worth knowing." (see 15:14 - 15:31) Great lines, Seth. Thanks. And yeah, Rex's shot in Phoenix was so popular and "a trend" (pre-socmed era) every playmate (and myself) had tried to emulate it. So he's another case of "what if" should his NBA career is less injury-prone. But then, he's still made his mark and highlights here and there. Should Rex played in this era (mid-2010s to present), he's a great fit and perhaps a perennial All-Star.

[@TrellAliii]

Would be cool to see a Prisim on Steph. Dell’s son, mid major tournament legend, dealt early injury plagues that would’ve broken most, NBA legend that changed the game.

[@nickl4326]

Another great video 🤌💪🙏

[@MaxwellGriffin001]

Rex became an aobsolute crazy person on social media. He's kind of scary. But he had a great career in the NBA for sure.

[@GLHS592]

Just like when the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded, I can remember where I was when King Rex destroyed the Cards in Freedom Hall.

[@GraceHumble-s3v]

1 Corinthians 15:3-4 KJV For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures. Romans 10:13 13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. John 3:16 16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life 1 John 1:9 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

[@MrBuliths]

Why do ppl act like Jordan dude wasn't a human like ppl wasn't going to come for him like any other player they are going against? There have been a quite a few ppl to do him in that he didn't get back. So act like he human.. Just like iPhone owner waaayyy too damn arrogant for no reason

[@maralorca6518]

One thing I remember about Rex Chapman is he played with Steve Nash and Jason Kidd on that same Suns team. Didn't know much about Kentucky and his life after retirement from basketball. Great video. Please do a rewinder on Novak Djokovic hitting one of the most legendary return winners ever at the US Open 2011 semifinal vs Roger Federer. Thank you.

[@jtaco4101]

Tennis is dead pally.

[@bastianzeynep4281]

This video content is haunted. Watch from 6:20. Watch closely, there's a moving object from Rex Chapman's left and it fades away.

[@DELLIS44]

Rex Chapman sucks.

[@coreythompsonTheOneandOnly]

7:18 you got Muhammad Ali cheering for the Kentucky Wildcats? I love 💕 you secret base. Chicago Illinois rocks with this content 😎.

[@manchesterunitedno7]

The dude got hops, he can shoot. If only fate told different story, he could be a borderline All-Star. I remember him dunking all over the place during his early Hornets days. For a white dude of that size in that era. That's quite something.

[@jazzisfrommars2476]

Something about the way Pelosi denies the public of universal health care and insider trades is just so attractive ♥😍 Ok ok, Rex Chapman, right.

[@elliemyers6435]

So fascinating that two of the Bulls ten losses in 1996 were to the very mediocre Heat, and the expansion Raptors...Just really goes to show you that any team truly can win on any given night in the NBA

[@ameenmakki9614]

Not gonna fake...I thought Howie Mandel was involved somehow...excellent clickbait lmao

[@chriscurry2496]

According to the wiki on Rex, he was harassed in Kentucky for dating his black girlfriend. I feel like this would have been a unique and interesting storyline that was missed (rare for Secret Base!)

[@liampowers8570]

I feel like some young people are also starting to see Shaq as more of a social media personality than a basketball player

[@newageorganzation]

I'm 38 years old and I remember him making that crazy 3 point shot in 97 vs Seattle.... I was talking about that shot for days until friends told me to shut up about it.... No one had ever seen something like that

[@David-iv6je]

I remember that shot. I lived in Seattle at the time.

[@LubricantJonez]

Rex was a hooper

[@terrymalloy3541]

Why do these millennial short doc makers always point out skin color I can tell this guy doing voice over knows nothing about hoops or coaches sons

[@pirate21]

Was I the only player that copied his unusual socks combination while playing?

[@DrB1lly]

He was actually one of my favorite players.

[@aintnohalfsteffen]

Rex had the Ken Griffey Jr. swing of jump shot forms.

[@Gunktion]

Rex Chapman Been arguing online for hours on your behalf we love you Bra 🔥🔥

[@Surprise301]

That 3 pointer in the playoffs when he was on the suns. Unbelievable shot!

[@scottgrdina5599]

Hey Rex, Trump 2024 baby! Get ready for it.

[@Notimp0rtant523]

“I ain’t as good as I once was, but I’m as good once as I ever was.”

[@senororlando2]

Dude has severe brain damage but occasionally a decent repost

[@ShadowDragonGT]

That dunk would win the dunk contest this generation

[@porterwake3898]

Insane fade away 3 pointer to beat the Sonics.

[@AirRusher1992]

Nah that actually force overtime to which they lost in Game 4 eventually losing the series in 5 games (first round was a best-of-5 series back then).

[@AxeMan808]

That was more fun than I thought it'd be. I remember liking Rex then he just kinda stopped? Hitting 9/10 from 3 vs JORDAN tho.

[@DJS-mx8oz]

Exceptional journalism.

[@tallbianca]

Excellent Prism, as always! I appreciate seeing guys from this era get celebrated - oftentimes any attempt to discuss this time period in basketball gets shut down by “WASN’T JORDAN THO” noise crowding the signal. Other players from that time deserve some shine, too. A future Prism I’d like to see is a look at the USIU Gulls college basketball program.

[@robertwilloughby8050]

Collapse idea: How a small soccer club in the middle of nowhere almost got to the top - then lost it all. Swindon Town, 1965-1980. (And their later rise and collapse, if you can stomach it). Call it "The Trollope Years" after their long term left-back during those years.

[@Allwayzworkin]

At his peak, Rex Chapman was a DOG

[@grandhandsome2076]

F Rex Chapman, and he went to Louisville so stop lying

[@goodgame7666]

He was mac McClung with skills

[@LogicOverEverything]

The ORIGINAZL JJ Redick

[@elicash233]

Pete Gillen has some issues with this one

[@davidsposato6977]

Yo, crazy idea, but what about a “what if” NBA sim where teams can substitute lines like in hockey

[@bentonlott6272]

Not to be that guy but I didn’t know he was a influencer only knew he had an unreal myteam card in like 2k16 or 19

[@ethanniedorowski116]

I loved rex for the reason he gave me hope... hope i could... i dont care about the differences we have but i do kinda notice a trend out there hooping i love ball an we'll rex was a savage could dunk an shoot yup i wanted to have his game