Everything you need to know about 'Squid Game: The Challenge' player TJ Stukes

• Warning: Minor spoilers ahead for the first five episodes of Netflix's "Squid Game: The Challenge."
• TJ Stukes is one of the 456 contestants competing to win $4.56 million.

"Squid Game: The Challenge" player TJ Stukes may be familiar to some fans.

In the new Netflix reality competition show, Stukes is one of 456 contestants playing "Squid Game"-inspired challenges — without the murder element — in order to win $4.56 million dollars.

Stukes is first introduced to viewers during the "Warships" game in episode three. "Warships" is one of the few games that does not feature in the Korean drama that inspired "The Challenge."

In episode three, Stukes captains one of the teams, instructing his fellow players where to place their ships, as well as trying to find the opposite team's ships in order to eliminate them.

Here is everything you need to know about the standout contestant.

Stukes is a retired professional basketball player

According to Beatrice magazine, Stukes was born in the Bronx, New York, in 1984 and raised in the foster care system in both the Bronx and Mount Vernon, New York.

Stukes, who is 6 foot 18 inches tall, later ended up in Kansas, where he began his basketball career at Independence Community College. He then attended Kansas' Pittsburg State University, per his interview with Beatrice magazine.

After college, Stukes became a professional player, joining the Harlem Wizards in 2009 as TJ "Tomahawk" Stukes, according to KHQA News.

Stukes retired in March and now works as an assistant basketball coach on both the men's and women's teams at Northern New Mexico College.

Stukes met his wife, Samantha, in Kansas while he was studying, and the pair bonded over their love of basketball, per Beatrice magazine. They have two children together, Amare and Alana.

Samantha also works at Northern New Mexico College as the head coach of the women's basketball team, according to the university's website.

Additionally, Stukes and his wife run a gym together in Northeast El Paso, Texas, according to KTSM 9 News.

Stukes appeared in a movie with Adam Sandler

"Squid Game: The Challenge" is not Stukes' first brush with fame.

The former basketball pro has appeared in various movies, TV shows, and commercials in recent years.

For example, Stukes played a coach in the Netflix movie "Hustle" starring Adam Sandler.

In a TikTok video posted in March, Stukes said that he won a $100 Olive Garden gift card from Sandler while filming because the actor was amazed by his basketball tricks.

This is not Stukes' first time on a reality competition show either.

In 2021, Stukes and his wife appeared on "The Cube," and won $50,000.

They said they would use the money to renovate their gym, and also help fund scholarships for some of the at-risk youth who use it.