The 13-year-old boy, who was born without LEGS, wins a spot on his school’s basketball team – and teammates say he’s great at stealing the ball from rivals as they dribble it across the court
- Josiah Johnson, 13, was born without legs but made it onto the basketball team at Moore Middle School in Louisville, Kentucky
- Johnson could have played in a wheelchair but said it would have been too easy and he wanted to prove something
- The teenager’s team-mates say he’s excellent at stealing the ball from people, dribbling it around the court and making shots
A Kentucky teenager turns out to be a secret weapon on his high school basketball team despite being born without legs.
Josiah Johnson, 13, picked the basketball team at Moore Middle School in Louisville, Kentucky that fall.
He was accepted on merit and is now the toast of the team.
“He started taking the ball off people,” one of his teammates told CBS News.
“He took the ball from me. I was mad.
“You would have thought Steph Curry was in the gym.”
Josiah Johnson of Louisville, Kentucky has become a star on his high school basketball team despite being born without legs
The teenager has become an unexpected star on the high school basketball team
Johnson could have played in a wheelchair but said that would have been too easy
Johnson could have played in his wheelchair but said it would have been too easy.
“He made it into the team – we didn’t put him into the team for reasons of sympathy or anything,” said one coach.
“He appeared at every trial, he gave everything.
“He brought himself into the team by making the squad.”
As a child, Johnson participated in gymnastics but said basketball was his love.
His mother Whitney said Josiah was confident and stubborn.
“Josiah is very competitive and if he feels like something is too easy, he won’t do it,” she said.
Johnson competed in gymnastics as a child but said he loves to play basketball
Johnson has refused to let his disability hold him back: his mother said he was stubborn
Johnson plays on the Louisville high school courts
The teenager’s position on the ground means he’s a natural at catching, dribbling and passing.
Opponents find him difficult to beat.
“People feel sorry for me when I play basketball,” he said in an interview with Jefferson County Public Schools.
“I want to show them that you don’t have to feel sorry for me. I want to play with you as equals.
He underlined his worth a few weeks ago at the end of a hard-fought game.
Seconds from time, Johnson got the ball from outside the three-point line and scored.
His teammates were ecstatic and threw themselves at Johnson in a fierce embrace that was caught on camera.
“It was just a moment that I will remember forever,” said a teammate.
Johnson said he hopes other people will be inspired by his tenacious determination.
When asked what he wanted others to learn from him, he replied, ‘To do something they thought they couldn’t do.’