Former Knicks, Nets player Iman Shumpert wins 'Dancing With the Stars'
Daniella Karagach and Iman Shumpert won season 30's "Dancing With the Stars." Credit: ABC/Eric McCandless
NBA free agent Iman Shumpert, a former New York Knicks and former Brooklyn Nets player, and professional dancer Daniella Karagach won season 30 of "Dancing With the Stars" on Monday night, making Shumpert the first basketball pro to win the ABC competition series or even to reach the finale.
On "Good Morning America" on Tuesday, Shumpert, 31, chuckled and said, "Accomplished?" when asked how his underdog victory felt. He said, "The whole season I was telling Dani, 'Hey, you're great at what you do,' and everybody was saying that she didn't have a mirrorball yet," describing the show's trophy, "so I'm just really happy that she's got one now!"
He added, "But it's really been amazing to be a part of 'Dancing With the Stars' — all the people that they've had before me and for them to even want me on the show is just … the best nod that I could have had."
When asked if his wife, Teyana Taylor, an entertainer and dancer-choreographer, had given any advice throughout the season, Shumpert good-naturedly compared her and Karagach's instructions to the trope of having an angel and a devil on one's shoulders, each whispering competing things in one's ears. He said, "I've got Dani telling me, like, 'Proper footwork, do this, knock this out, do this,' and then Teyana's, like, 'Alright, now we're gonna give a show! Take all that and now we're gonna give a show,' like full-out. And then Dani's like, ‘Yeah, more!’ "
Taylor, 30, wrote on Instagram after her husband's win, "THE LEVEL OF PROUD I AM IS TEWWWWWW MUCH TO EVEN PUT IN WORDS!!! WOW … congrats @imanshumpert @daniellakaragach I am proud but NOT shocked!!!! YALL GOT THAT! AS YOU SHOULD! WELL DESERVED! Thank you for trusting one another, believing in one another, killing that [expletive] every week & most importantly foot working that … mirror ball home!!!!!! PERIOD! Congrats guys!!! thank you @dancingabc & all the fans and friends that VOTEDDDDDDDDD every single week!!! You are appreciated."
Karagach, 28, a former resident of Queens and Bath Beach, Brooklyn, commented on the post, "Can't thank you enough for your love and support."
Shumpert played for the Knicks from 2011-15 and with the Nets for part of 2019 and earlier this year.
The runners-up were JoJo Siwa, the 18-year-old YouTube star and media personality, and ballroom pro Jenna Johnson, a team that made "DWTS" history by forming the series' first same-sex dance partners.
