Thursday, July 8, 2010

A pick-up game some years ago.

Some years ago when I was in my mid-30s I played basketball Tuesday and Thursday evenings at the New York Urban Professionals Basketball League. The league was a rag-tag collection of middle-aged men like me, mostly guys who just liked playing ball, with a couple of ex-collegiate players tossed in.

I won't say that the games were of the highest quality, but we played a hard, nose-to-nose brand of New York basketball, no blood, no foul and it didn't hurt to have a pair of sharp elbows.

One night after the festivities were over I stayed on the court, cooling off and shooting around. The gym was empty so I was surprised when a skinny black kid came over to me and asked if I wanted a game. "Sure," I said, though I was tired and he couldn't have been more than 13 or 14.

Against the kid I was on the wrong end of speed, agility and athleticism. He was quick, could leap and was a dead eye shooter. Still, I had a couple inches on him, was a bit stronger and possessed two of those aforementioned sharp elbows.

When all my huffing and puffing was over, the kid beat me 12-10.

"What's your name, kid," I asked him as I left the court.

"LeBron James," he whispered. Then he too left the gym.

That's right, LeBron James.

LeBron, kid, New York needs you. And you owe me a rematch.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Did LeBron fly in from Akron, Ohio just for that?

Anonymous said...

Did LeBron fly in from Akron, Ohio just for that?

Anonymous said...

i've seen that movie ...

or was it a commercial?

Anonymous said...

Was Lebron with Larry King and Sandy Kaufax?