Despite all the happy moments and success stories, the problem with the NBA is anyone can be the subject of gossip and rumors. In 2014, the internet went wild after Roy Hibbert’s wife, Valerie Cooke’s sleeping rumor with his teammate Paul George went viral.
When the well-performing Roy’s game suddenly began to decline that season, people speculated that the rumor was true and had taken a toll on him.
Nevertheless, both teammates decided to ignore it all and continued being “brothers.”
Meanwhile, Valerie Cooke denied all the allegations and told people to leave her and Hibbert alone. It has been almost a decade since the rumor, and everything is fine now.
Roy Hibbert is a retired basketball center who played for 10 seasons in the NBA, most notably with the Indiana Pacers.
Although his performances earned him a few honors, including the All-Star and a place in the NBA All-Defensive Team, Roy’s overall career was not that impressive. In fact, his career went downhill post-rumor.
On the other hand, Paul George is still going strong and plays for the Los Angeles Clippers. At 35, he is averaging over 20.0 PPG and was named to the NBA All-Star for the eighth time in 2023.
Roy Hibbert Wife, Valerie Cooke, And Kids
The former NBA basketball center has been married to his longtime girlfriend, Valerie Cooke, for over 8 years. Roy first met Valerie while both attended Georgetown University and dated for nearly eight years before getting married.
The couple engaged in 2012, and their wedding was initially scheduled on August 31, 2013, but was canceled for some undisclosed reason and postponed for a later date in 2014.
Despite all cheating rumors and gossip, the couple has never doubted their love for each other and, thus, are still together.
Valerie gave birth to their son named Trey, around 2017. They later welcomed their daughter, whom they have named Hayden.
Born in Connecticut, Valerie grew up in Maryland and attended high school there. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Marketing and International Business from Georgetown University.
Additionally, she has worked as a project manager at a firm and served at an event management company in Norwalk, Connecticut.
Valerie’s Rumored Affair With Paul George
In 2014, an online media BallerAlert.com disclosed that they had received a rumor surrounding Paul George’s romantic affair with Valerie Cooke.
According to the news company, they received an email about the affair from an anonymous source. However, there was no verification.
Soon after, people began circulating the news on the Internet, and it spread like wildfire. Coincidentally, Roy Hilbert’s performance that season was not great, and people guessed it was because Valeria cheated on him with his friend.
George, who was still performing well, denied all the allegations. Later, he made an Instagram post of him fishing with Roy and point guard George Hill.
He captioned, “These rumors have got to stop! It’s getting old now, and all of you that believe them are ignorant! #Brothers.”
During this time of rumor, Paul George was in a relationship with his present wife, Daniela Rajic.
