https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ah0Vpeu7Ubc
*Professional baller Michael Beasley is preparing to enter the 2019-2020 NBA season as a new member of the Detroit Pistons, teaming up with his 2008 NBA Draft classmate Derrick Rose and Blake Griffin. The excitement around this Detroit basketball squad is the highest it’s been in nearly a decade.
While this is certainly a change of scenery from the bright lights of Hollywood where he donned an LA Lakers Jersey last season, Beasley plans to embrace the blue collar culture of D-Town and get straight to business both on and off the court. He is focused and determined. Eleven years into his career, he knows this is his defining moment.
“I’m looking forward to coming to Detroit and being a major contributor to the team and to the city,” he said. “I feel like me and Detroit have some things in common. We both have greatness within us. We had our down moments, but we’re resilient. Now, we’re on our way back to where we’re supposed to be.”
Beasley was drafted as the second overall pick, right after Derrick Rose, and has always been respected as a formidable athlete and a scoring machine. After all, it is documented that “B Easy,” as he is affectionately called, would regularly beat his former teammate LeBron James in one-on-one when they played for the Miami Heat. However, controversy has often clouded Beasley’s career – and while he takes responsibility for some of it, he believes that much of the way he is perceived is unjust.
“I think I’m often misunderstood because of my appearance and the fact that people think I am just this rough street dude,” Beasley said. “That’s not the case, but when these things are said about me, I haven’t done a good job of speaking up and telling my side of the story instead of letting the media paint a false picture. Also, I think I’ve made the mistake of trying to appease people and be someone I am not to fit in. The reality is, I can only be me. So, what people will get moving forward is the real me, raw and uncut.”
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Last December, Beasley lost his mother. Then just two weeks after, his cousin died. This was a very trying period for him, and as someone who admits to battling depression, it impacted his focus, leading to a few highly publicized sports moments, including one where he went on the court without his game shorts on. The whirlwind of events ultimately resulted in his departure from the Lakers.
“My mom died on Dec. 22nd, and the night I got back [from taking time off], I am going to the team meeting because we had a shoot-around, and I got a phone call that my cousin died. This was on January 6th. So, of course I’m messed up. I tell the team that I may have to leave and go to my cousin’s funeral, but from a professional standpoint, I didn’t know if it was a good move because I just got back from my mom’s funeral. The day I forgot my shorts, I was sitting there the whole time thinking if I was going to get on the flight to D.C. for his funeral and my mind just wasn’t there. I’m human.”
As Beasley looks forward to the upcoming season, he is intent on trying something different. Being himself, unapologetically. He wants to make a statement on the court with his play and also connect with his fans and the community. He wants people to know more about him, from him.
“People need to know that I’m a father who is very involved with my kids. I love dogs. I have a farm with chickens where we grow our own food…stuff most people would never know or expect from me.”
He continued: “I’m a gym rat and I absolutely love the game of basketball. I’m always going to leave it all out there on the floor. When it’s all said and done, I want my legacy to be that I am real and that I am a winner. That’s how I want to be remembered.”
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