I feel for those going through #TheLastDance withdrawals right now. I for one avoided it like the plague. Wasn’t about to re-live the trauma of my own mid 90’s basketball experience. But for anyone bored at home still looking to fill their sports history fix, maybe I can help.

Why me? Well, sure, MJ shared a couple neat stories from his basketball days. Cool. But I doubt he gave you the full perspective. That’s where I can help by sharing a story from the REAL NBA. The one that chews you up and spits you out before you even start.

I wouldn’t share my story of entering the 1996 NBA draft, an event that contributed to the NBA re-writing its rules, if I thought it couldn’t entertain a few of you still sheltering in place. And my feelings won’t be hurt if you hop off here, it’s LONG. TLDR: I went undrafted.

Looking back, my first mistake was using the talent rich 1996 draft as my jumping off point. I should have waited a year or two. Slight miscalculation on my part. But I got antsy watching those Bulls teams and wanted my shot.

Another mistake was not being a basketball player. And I don’t mean “not a basketball player” on a deep level where I struggled seeing the game within the game. I mean never had played beyond my city’s youth league or learned how to dribble left handed.

But I took my shot. And who knew the ever-evolving NBA would stay true to form and draft actual players like Allen Iverson & Shareef Abdur-Rahim, while shying away from the more unproven, non-basketball players like me? Lesson learned.

If you’re wondering at this point, what the heck is this guy even talking about? Is this guy serious? He's an idiot, right? Well, yes. And yes.

I did officially declare eligibility for the 1996 NBA Draft and am likely, still to this day, the youngest ever to do so. And I learned a lot in doing it. And yes, I knew I would not be drafted.

Without Google or social media back then, most accounts of the event rest in newspaper archives or offline in boxes in my parent’s attic.

In 1996, there were no apparent age restrictions to enter the NBA. After seeing high school senior Kobe Bryant’s announcement air on TV, an event that mirrored Kevin Garnett from the year before, I wondered where the NBA was going with its “boys to men” trend.

Could ANYONE declare themselves eligible? I was interested in finding out and decided to test what the NBA's stance would be if I raised the bar, and, as a 16-year-old high school JUNIOR, without any legitimate basketball experience, declared for the upcoming draft.

After discussing with my parents, I wrote a letter to the NBA that night stating my intent to forgo my senior year of high school, something fairly unheard of in 1996, then faxed it off. Some time passed, but sure enough, the league office responded by calling my home directly.

If you’re wondering: yes, it was pretty cool to pick up a random phone call (no caller ID back then) and have an NBA exec on the line asking if it was a good time to discuss my future. “Umm, yeah, I have the time.”

We talked, and the exec ended the call by stating that a letter would be sent documenting my declaration. Sure enough, a couple days passed, and the letter arrived on official NBA letterhead and all.

With letter in hand, I did what any 16-year-old high school junior with authorization from the NBA does – I had fun with it.

I acted like a future NBA star and announced a mid-week lunch time press conference that was attended by students, faculty, and some local reporters. I walked the hallways with a giant smile on my face and an air of importance despite having no basketball talent to fall back on.

Following the press conference, the story grew some legs. I would go on to do some interviews throughout the week, sports segments aired clips from the press conference and subsequent shootaround, and the story was even picked up on the national news wire.

(Here’s a short blurb from a newspaper in Biloxi, MS, 2,250 miles away from my hometown.)

When pressed on my lack of basketball experience, I would brush off my limited resume by explaining that my focus had been on other sports (true) and that playing for the school basketball team, without any legit NBA rivals to push me, would have been counterproductive (not true)

While it was quickly obvious that I was not NBA material- the fact that I was referencing stats from my youth league was a pretty big tell- most people seemed to have even more fun with the story once they realized I wasn’t a legitimate NBA candidate.

People often asked what came of the declaration. Did teams call? Did I have workouts? Uhh, no. On the NBA side, from what I understand, they were attempting to compile some basic information for my draft profile and quickly became alarmed about my legitimacy.

When the league called my home to clarify, I was unavailable, and this time, my mom took the call. Shockingly, her saying “he’s a great player to me,” was not enough to account for my nonexistent resume, and my NBA future died shortly after.

Though my basketball career ended with a thud, I will admit it is fun every time the draft comes around, as it seems my situation had an effect on NBA league dynamics.

Whether the reason is officially noted or not (it's not), the NBA adjusted the age eligibility rule immediately after and made sure not to let that happen again. And sure enough, the topic of age restrictions still remains a hot issue for most pro sports to this day.

And fittingly, or ironically, depending on how you look at things, I have gone on to have a lasting career centered around evaluating and guiding young people (both amateur and pro) that are far more qualified and deserving than I was as they pursue greatness.

Having gained such unique exposure opened my eyes early, teaching me how much attention gets placed on student athletes. Players today, and their families, whether they want it or not, deal with pressures and expectations that begin almost immediately out of the womb.

While my ability to understand what families and recruits are going through is not always obvious, I hope my experiences help me as I continue to guide and relate to the true talents while they navigate the gauntlet of the recruitment process and dreams of playing in the pros.

And if I can do that, along with providing some light-hearted entertainment during this down time, then something positive will have come from my buffoonery.

And before I sign off, I want to wish everyone a meaningful and healthy Memorial Day. Thank you to all those who have given their lives to serve. #GoBears