Home/NBA
Home/NBA
feature-image

via Imago

feature-image

via Imago

How many NBA stars of the current generation admired Michael Jordan? Countless, isn’t it? Well, with time, we’re slowly now witnessing middle schoolers immerse themselves in the hoops culture. His Airness, though, randomly caught something you would call a ‘naive stray’ a few hours ago. Overtime caught up with future basketball stars at a recent camp, and one kid won the internet hands down.

Watch What’s Trending Now!

All of them answered an aspirational question. ‘Who would you want courtside at your first NBA game?’ Now, keep in mind, if they made it to the NBA draft, that would be in 2032. One precocious boy, dubbed the ‘2032 lottery pick’–a little premature, but gave Antman vibes with his manner of talking!

The boy first joked he’d like Taylen Kinney, the Kansas Jayhawks commit, at his NBA debut.

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

Then, he gave his real answer. “I’d probably say Michael Jordan…” wait for it, “in his wheelchair.” Kids, amirite!

MJ is 62 now. In 2032, he’ll be 69. Hardly wheelchair age. Jordan’s pretty fit, playing golf and even marlin fishing on Catch 23. It doesn’t look like he’d need a wheelchair ever. But he’s old enough to be this kid’s grandfather, who quipped, “I’m gonna have to give him the VIP wheelchair.” How can His Airness resist!

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

View this post on Instagram

A few other kids said LeBron James and Luka Doncic. Only one kid named their mom. Other kids surprisingly picked Drake because they liked him ‘since their childhood’ as if they literally aren’t in their childhoods… Can’t blame the kid who remembered MJ, though. He’s too young to know about Jordan’s trauma about wheelchairs.

Read Top Stories First From EssentiallySports

Click here and check box next to EssentiallySports

Michael Jordan’s history with kids and wheelchairs goes way back!

History is a witness that MJ and kids aren’t a great mix. He’s been heavily criticized in the social media age for refusing to sign autographs or get pictures with children. It tends to contrast Shaq or Chuck, who never refuse fans, and especially kids.

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

The 6x NBA champ had made headlines at his own basketball camp for kids. Chris Paul challenged him to make three buckets or every kid gets free Air Jordans. But the namesake didn’t choose mercy. Where the likes of Shaq would try to lose, MJ made all three shots and none of those kids got free sneakers…

“We were in Santa Barbara and he damn made them shots and they just said to hell with the kids, man. So forget him, man. He wrong for that,” CP3 told the media in 2020.

But a forgotten part of history was when a kid torched the Black Cat on court. This wasn’t a future lottery pick. Eric Barber was 16 when he appeared on the memorable TV show, Sports Fantasy. A condition named scoliosis had paralyzed him from the waist down and made him dependent on a wheelchair. That didn’t stop him from playing basketball. He grew up in Chicago, dribbling and shooting at the asphalt park courts.

Eric Barber’s wish came true, and he got to witness his sports fantasy in a one-on-one game against MJ. To level the playing field, His Airness also used a wheelchair. However, he could barely get by. The score was 16-4, not in favor of the NBA star! But instinct then kicked in.

MJ was able to get five shots in a row at a certain 45-degree angle on the chair. But it wasn’t enough as Barber won 20-14 and years later, won two bronze medals across four Paralympics for the US!

This little glimpse featured on The Last Dance in 2020. It just reminded us that kids, wheelchairs, and Michael Jordan aren’t the best combination.

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT