At first glance, “Yinka Dare” seems like an attempt of a professional wrestler to create a stage name with a failed play on words. In reality, Yinka Dare was the real name of the 7′ 1″ 265lbs. center from Kabba, Nigeria.
Dare was taken with the 14th overall pick of the 1994 draft, heading to the New Jersey Nets. With a name like Dare, it’s hard to think that in this day and age his jersey wouldn’t immediately skyrocket to the upper echelon of sales.
Meanwhile, in 1994 Dare took the court against the Washington Bullets on November 11th, promptly tearing his ACL after just three minutes of play and ending his rookie season. He logged two rebounds, two fouls and a turnover.
That season, the Nets would go on to finish 30-52 under Butch Beard. Meanwhile, after getting healthy Dare would be left unprotected for the 1995 expansion draft for the Orlando Magic and Vancouver Grizzlies. He was selected by neither and would remain on the team until he was traded in 1998.
Dare’s NBA career was never a spectacular disappointment, nor was it a success in any measurable way. Even in his PER 36 minutes statistics, he averaged 8.4 PTS 10 REB 2.5 BLK but had 3.4 turnovers. According to his WikiPedia page, in 1995-96 Dare had 72 turnovers and zero assists – there’s a Kwame Brown joke in there if you look hard enough.
Sadly, Dare passed away in 2004 at the age of 31 due to an apparent heart condition. Meanwhile, his NBA legacy and rookie season are left for unseasoned potential coming up short. Like his surname, the Nets taking Yinka with the 14th overall pick was a bit of a Dare. It’s too bad it didn’t pay off for either party involved.
Dane Carbaugh is a published research author and can be found writing about the NBA all over the Internet. He can be found on Twitter at @DaneCarbaugh
