The Portland Trail Blazers had a snake in their locker room on Thursday. Not a backstabbing, treacherous teammate – a real live snake.
The reptile, believed to be a baby rattlesnake, was found coiled up in reserve forward Thomas Robinson’s locker ahead of their playoff game against the San Antonio Spurs.
Robinson, who stands 6’10” (2.08m) and weighs 237 pounds (107.5kg), was unnerved by the find.
“I screamed,” he said. “I saw something curled up. I screamed. I jumped. I yelled.”
Security personnel removed the snake from the locker.
Robinson scored only two points on Thursday as the Trail Blazers were beaten 114-97 to fall 2-0 behind in their best-of-seven Western Conference semifinals series.