Amar'e Stoudemire, LeBron James, Shaquille O'Neal and the NBA's Summer of Judiasm

(Aug. 11) -- Inexplicably, this has become the summer where every NBA star (OK, three of them) has started to dabble in Judaism. Why? Nobody can begin to know these things! But in the absence of such an explanation, Surge Desk is here with a score card on these public dalliances with the Jewish faith.

Amar'e Stoudemire

As has been reported extensively on FanHouse, the new New York Knicks forward is Jewish, maybe. In the Amar'e is Jewish camp is Amar'e himself, and Sacramento Kings forward and the NBA's only Israeli, Omri Casspi. In the Amar'e is not Jewish camp is his agent, Happy Walters. Depending on who is right, Stoudemire's teasing of the Knicks fanbase with his trip to Israel, Star of David tattoo and adoption of other Jewish activities could backfire if he does not actually follow through.

Ruling: Too Hot

Obviously it is a good idea for a new player with a $99.7 million contract to try to ingratiate himself with the local fans by getting to know their culture, but this seems like it may be a bit excessive, especially now that he seems to be backing down, claiming, "We are all Jewish." Unless Amar'e fully intends to be a practicing Jew, he risks disappointing the 2 million or so Jews in New York City before he's ever stepped on a court. That many believe he is likely to disappoint them after he steps on the court is another matter entirely.

LeBron James

After his disaster of an announcement revealing his decision to leave Cleveland for Miami, variously described as "ramming a pitchfork in Cleveland's back," a "narcissistic ego explosion" and the "TV equivalent of waterboarding," one might think now would be a good time for LeBron to show some humility and try to avoid the spotlight, or at least not do anything silly.

LeBron thinks otherwise.

Let's ignore his recent boasts on Twitter, and instead focus on his hiring of a rabbi as a business consultant. That rabbi, Yishayahu Yosef Pinto, who "has no formal business education, only speaks Hebrew and won't meet with women," has made himself into a business guru of some renown in New York, mostly as a kind of good luck charm. LeBron allegedly paid Rabbi Pinto "six figures" to sit in on a meeting with some retail executives.

Ruling: Too Cold

Rabbi Pinto is not exactly representative of mainstream Judaism, and whether it was his idea or not, LeBron met with the controversial rabbi with no apparent goal other than to end up with more money than he would have otherwise. Unlike Stoudemire's actions, a spiritual quest this was not.

Shaquille O'Neal

To be clear: The new Boston Celtic is by no stretch of anyone's imagination Jewish. Nor does he pretend to be. However, Shaq was recently spotted outside a steakhouse speaking some Hebrew. And we needed a third example to round out our list.

Ruling: Just right

Joining a religion is hard, and cheaply using it for your financial benefit is degrading. But learning a few phrases and interjecting them into conversation with paparazzi? Just (W)right!