Usain Bolt has some basketball game, after all.
When the Olympic sprinter was named to the roster for All-Star Weekend’s Celebrity Game, folks wondered if his track and field skills would translate to the basketball court. Then Yahoo! Sports found video of Usain Bolt playing basketball that made it appear that his balling skills were just a bit lacking.
But when it came time for the game itself, athleticism trumps shooting touch. Though Usain Bolt still struggled in the game (which his East team lost 58-38), he did provide the highlight of the night. As the 6-foot-5 Bolt was streaking down the court, he took a long range pass, took a good three steps in traveling toward the hoop and unleashed a big two-handed dunk.
The Olympic gold-medalist sprinter has some game in other sports. After the 2012 London Olympics he got a tryout from the Manchester United , and the Jamaican has said if he wasn’t a sprinter he would probably play professional cricket.
Though Usain Bolt’s basketball play may not earn him a tryout in the NBA, the play does show is awesome athleticism, Yahoo! Sports ‘ writer Eric Freeman notes.
Freeman writes:
“Despite the fact that he’s not very good at the sport, Bolt managed to run up the court ahead of all others (admittedly not that impressive considering that group includes Hunger Games star Josh Hutcherson), caught the ball on the run, slowed down, and jumped up soon after for the dunk. That’s not an easy thing to do, but Bolt made it look simple enough. There aren’t many people outside of high-level basketball who can do that.”
Here is a video of Usain Bolt playing basketball from the Celebrity All-Star Game.
