Today, Michael Beasley is remembered for his exceptional scoring ability and amazing career in the NBA. But his path to the league was not an easy one.
On “The Pivot Podcast,” the 11-year basketball veteran got into detail about his past and even described what life was like for him while he was a teammate of Kevin Durant in grade school.
“We was bouncing around because we was getting evicted every six months, living in shelters and sh*t like that. Homeless, whatever. So when I turned like 11, 12, I stopped playing with KD, that’s when my uncle stopped paying attention.
At the time, KD was who he is right now. From day one, like ‘I’m gonna score, I’m gonna score, I’m gonna score.’ My job on the team, I’m gonna get 30 rebounds, I’m gonna pass them up to KD. I don’t watch them score that b*tch cause at the time, I ain’t no basketball I was moving to the street side of life.”
Beasley would go on to explain his troubles with the law, and the decision he had to make when he was 14.
“I got a rap sheet that started in fifth grade, my first time getting locked up and all that type of stuff. I’m saying, so I stopped playing basketball when I was 11 because I just wanted to do what the dummy is doing, you dig? But like 14, I had to make a decision. I was on house arrest and it was either I get locked up until I was 21 or I play basketball.”
The whole story is really intense and highly emotional. At several points, Beasley can be seen and heard struggling to get the words out.
It’s not often we hear a player be so open about his dark past, but it seems Beasley learned from his past mistakes and deserves a lot of credit for how far he has come.
In 11 years in the NBA, Beasley earned millions as a wing scorer, with averages of 12.4 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game on 46.5% shooting.
