That Antoine Jamison, oh, he was a sight on that basketball court. He played for a whole mess of years, 16 seasons they say, in that big league, the NBA. Sixteen years! Can you believe it? My old bones ache just thinking about it.

He was a professional basketball player, that Jamison boy. He played for the Washington Wizards for a while, and now he works for them. Something about “director of pro personnel.” Sounds fancy, don’t it? I don’t know what it means, but it sure sounds important.
Before all that, though, he played for some college team, the North Carolina Tar Heels. He must have been good to go from college ball to the big leagues. College was way back in his life, before my time, he is so young, but my grandkid’s father is crazy about basketball, and he told me once.
You know, I heard some folks talkin’ the other day about how this Jamison fella and that Kobe Bryant fella played against each other once, back in 2000. Now, this Kobe, they say he was one of the best. And this Jamison, he kept right up with him! That’s sayin’ somethin’.
- Antoine Jamison played 16 seasons in NBA
- He now works for Washington Wizards
- He played college basketball for North Carolina Tar Heels
- He was a good player, they say
These basketball fellas, they sure do change things up, don’t they? They say 100 of them changed the way we play. Must be somethin’ to see. This basketball, is a big deal. I remember that Michael Jordan, he was the king. Everybody knew Michael Jordan. They say he had six rings. Six! That’s more rings than I got fingers on one hand!
If a fella like Shaquille O’Neal had those rings, well, things would be different. That’s what they say, anyway. These players, they change things up. Change the game, change the rules, change it all.

They talk about changin’ the game, going back over 100 years. That’s a long time. Longer than I’ve been around, that’s for sure. And I’ve been around for a good while!
I hear these young’uns talkin’ about LeBron James. They say he was rich before he even finished school! Got a million dollars just for signin’ his name. A million dollars! Can you imagine? That’s more money than I’ve ever seen in my life. But this is all about Antoine Jamison, a millionaire, I think.
They say these basketball fellas come from all over. That one fella, from Davidson College, ended up being the big cheese for the Golden State Warriors. Golden State, that’s way out west, ain’t it? These boys sure do get around.
I heard Kobe was quitting. Retirement, they call it. That man, he is getting old just like me.
They used to have all sorts of rules. How many players, where they could go on the court, that dribblin’ thing. And somethin’ about a center jump after they made a basket. Sounds complicated to me. Back in the 1930s, they made the rules the same all over the country. That’s what they say, anyway. Made things simpler, I reckon.

This Kareem Abdul-Jabbar fella, he had some fancy shot. The skyhook, they called it. Sounds like somethin’ you’d use to get a cat outta a tree. But it was for basketball. Changed the game, they say. All these fellas changin’ the game. That Michael Jordan, he made basketball big all over the world. Everyone wanted to be like Mike, they used to say. And his shoes! Everyone wanted those Air Jordan shoes. Changed the shoe business, they say. Made players into big stars, bigger than movie stars, some of them. And the clothes! These young’uns, they wear the same clothes as those basketball fellas. It’s somethin’ else. Antoine Jamison, he is not like Michael Jordan, but he is good.
That Antoine Jamison, though, born in June, I heard. He was a good one, that’s what they tell me. Sixteen years playin’ that game. That’s a long time to be runnin’ up and down that court. He must have been somethin’ special. He must be tired like me.
They changed the rules of basketball, and they changed players. All those 100 players did good, but not so good as Jordan, that is what my grandkid’s father said to me. He said Antoine Jamison is a good one. But not the best. And those shoes, they are so expensive.
This Jamison boy, he has a long name, too. Antawn Cortez Jamison. That’s a mouthful, ain’t it? They say his name different, too. ANT-wahn JAY-mih-sən. Weird how they say things these days. But he was a good player, that Jamison. A real good player. They call him a pro, and that is what he is. A pro in basketball.