Michael Beasley’s career was full of highs and lows, but one of his most memorable moments came in a brief, unexpected interaction with Kobe Bryant.
In a recent conversation with Chris Haynes, the former No. 2 pick opened up about a postgame encounter in Miami where Kobe surprised him with a few encouraging words, and how anxiety kept him from accepting the invite. After the game, Dwyane Wade invited Beasley to join him and Kobe for dinner, but Beasley says he couldn’t bring himself to go.
“After the game in Miami, I didn’t think he knew me. But he just dapped me up and said, ‘I’m pulling for you.’ Which surprised me. Then Dwyane Wade invited me to dinner with him afterwards, but I didn’t go because my anxiety wouldn’t let me,” said Beasley in a chat with Chris Haynes. “I was too scared to go. At that point in my career, I was just f**king everything up being me, and I would just rather he think I was too cool to hang with him than sit in his face and say some dumb sh*t.”
NBA veteran Michael Beasley played for 11 years in the NBA, with career averages of 12.4 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game on 49.0% shooting. Beasley began his career with the Miami Heat, where he played for two seasons before being traded to the Timberwolves.
While Beasley was gone before LeBron’s arrival, he did eventually get to play with the NBA legend during the 2013-14 season. He also played with the Lakers in the 2018-19 campaign, but that was years after ghosting Kobe in Miami. There’s no telling what that dinner could have done for Beasley, but he was more worried about maintaining his image than looking lame in front of No. 24.
We’ve heard stories of players getting star-struck before when meeting their basketball idols. Former Laker forward Kyle Kuzma, for example, recalls being completely frozen with shock and excitement after hearing Kobe call his name for the first time as a rookie. Even LeBron James is familiar with the feeling, as he still remembers what it was like to come face-to-face with Michael Jordan.
For Beasley, his NBA fan-boy moment became the ultimate missed connection. Even after being acknowledged by Kobe in-game, he was apparently too nervous to hang with him and Dwyane Wade out in Miami. It was a major missed opportunity for Beasley, but the only thing he was worried about at the time was not looking like a fool in front of one of the game’s most iconic players.
Moments like these remind us how fragile opportunities can be in the NBA. For Beasley, that missed dinner will always be one of those “what if” stories; a night where a few hours with Kobe Bryant might have led to lessons, advice, or inspiration that could have changed his path. Instead, it became a reminder that even the most talented players sometimes struggle with the human side of the game.
