Jordan Poole has plopped down on the floor of an animal shelter. He’s sitting crisscross applesauce and playing with kittens. He takes one of those colorful cat charmers from Cindy the volunteer and twirls it in front of Cheeto the dancing cat. Dander sticks out on his all-black attire, and Poole doesn’t care.

And recently, Tristan Vukcevic, his Washington Wizards teammate, adopted a cat at PetSmart. When Dawn Wallace, the executive director of Lost Dog & Cat Rescue Foundation, tells Poole that she heard he inspired Vukcevic to become a cat guy, a Wizards staffer leans over and whispers to me, “More like made him.” -via Washington Post / January 29, 2025

Regardless, Poole would go on to be selected 28th overall in the 2019 NBA Draft to the Golden State Warriors with a chance to learn behind one of the best backcourts in the NBA. A

Jordan Poole and Stephen Curry have had a connection with their time on the Warriors, but they also have a connection with cats.