Iman Shumpert reveals how wife Teyana Taylor reacted to him joining Dancing With the Stars

NBA star Iman Shumpert is trading his his basketball sneakers for dancing shoes as part of Dancing With the Stars Season 30, which his wife, pro dancer Teyana Taylor found quite amusing.

The 31-year-old Shumpert, who currently plays for the Brooklyn Nets, opened up about joining the ABC reality show in a new interview with E! Online.

The basketball star revealed his wife, who started her career as a dancer and choreographer as a teenager, laughed when she first found out.

Dancing: NBA star Iman Shumpert is trading his his basketball sneakers for dancing shoes as part of Dancing With the Stars Season 30, which his wife, pro dancer Teyana Taylor found quite amusing

Laughs: The basketball star revealed his wife, who started her career as a dancer and choreographer as a teenager, laughed when she first found out.

‘Teyana laughed. She laughed but it quickly turned into her competitive spirit to say I better win,’ Shumpert said.

While Shumpert’s partner has not yet been revealed, it’s been rumored to be Daniella Karagach, who took third place with Nelly in Season 29. 

Shumpert wouldn’t reveal his partner, but said that, ‘Rehearsals are going good. I think that having the partner that I have is making it really easy,’

He added that his partner is, ‘fun and I think she does a really good job of understanding where my comfort zone is and doing a lot of the choreography that I’m able to look good rather than look like I don’t know what I’m doing out there.’

When asked what the most surprising part of his training was, he said that he wasn’t expected to sweat as much.

‘There’s a lot more sweating than I thought. I thought me being a basketball player I’d come in and have some fun, a little sweat here and there,’ Shumpert said.

Partner: He added that his partner is, ‘fun and I think she does a really good job of understanding where my comfort zone is and doing a lot of the choreography that I’m able to look good rather than look like I don’t know what I’m doing out there’

He also revealed that Dancing With the Stars is a show him and his wife have watched, but, ‘we’re not all sitting down glued to the TV watching the show.’ 

‘We’ve seen it and the times that she’s seen it the way she critiques it she just feels like it’s something I’d be able to win as long as I actually focus on the art form and dancing and not so much staying in my comfort zone,’ Shumpert said.

‘I’m looking to go outside my comfort zone a little bit,’ the basketball star added.

Unglued: He also revealed that Dancing With the Stars is a show him and his wife have watched, but, ‘we’re not all sitting down glued to the TV watching the show’

Shumpert and Taylor have been married since 2016 and they share two children together, Iman Jr., 5, and Rue, 1.

Taylor announced in December 2020 that she was retiring from the music industry, stating she felt, ‘overlooked’ and ‘under appreciated.’

Shumpert makes his debut on Dancing With the Stars with the Season 30 premiere on Monday, September 20 on ABC. 

Debut: Shumpert makes his debut on Dancing With the Stars with the Season 30 premiere on Monday, September 20 on ABC