Published By: Sayan Paul

Chadwick Boseman's Death Anniversary: Did You Know The Late 'Black Panther' Actor Was A Skilled Basketball Player?

Basketball (yes, not acting) was Boseman’s first love.

"His (Chadwick Boseman) performance as T'Challa wouldn't just be a demonstration of craft. It'd become a piece of history." - Robert Daniels (Critic)

It's been exactly four years since we lost Chadwick Boseman - still hard to believe, isn't it? However, while the actor is no more with us, his legacy lives on and inspires one and all. Beyond an actor, he was a cultural icon with a phenomenal influence on people. Variety wrote in an article that "the significance of Chadwick Boseman [...] to the African American and Black community is immeasurable." BBC Culture called him "a film icon who changed Hollywood", while author Steve Rose wrote that his career was "revolutionary and left behind a game-changing legacy".

Chadwick Boseman is best remembered for his role as T'Challa/Black Panther in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Besides, the late actor's other notable works include '42' (his breakthrough), 'Get on Up', 'Marshall', and 'What If...?' among others. And during his two-decade-long career, he received various accolades including a Primetime Emmy Award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, and a Golden Globe Award, along with an Academy Award nomination.

But it's also worth noting that there was much more to Boseman. To mark his 4th death anniversary today, we share an interesting fact about him that you didn't know.

Chadwick Boseman was a skilled basketball player

Basketball was Boseman's first love. And he played it sincerely throughout his growing-up days, and even after becoming a global star.

As a kid, he was a part of the basketball team at T. L. Hanna High School. Later, he also played on an Anderson, SC-based Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) basketball team that qualified for a national tournament in 1993. In fact, he once went head-to-head with NBA legend Kevin Garnett in the AAU.

(Credit: Hoops Nostalgia)

Although Boseman immensely loved playing basketball, he never wanted to become a professional basketball player. Hence, although he was recruited to play basketball at college (Howard University in Washington, D.C.), he chose 'arts' instead. However, he never stopped playing the sport. He played in the NBA All-Star Celebrity game in 2015, along with several other tournaments.

(Credit: NBA)

His former coach Marion Tarrant later shared in an interview that Boseman had a very humble spirit that helped his basketball team at school. In his words, "I think he enjoyed basketball but it was just something to do... he wasn't one of those guys who would live it, sleep it, dream about it."

When Boseman's basketball skills helped him secure his breakthrough role in '42'

As an actor, Chadwick Boseman had his breakthrough in 2013 with the film '42', in which he portrayed the lead role of baseball legend Jackie Robinson.

According to reports, around 25 other actors were also considered for the role. Part of the audition process involved athleticism; and Boseman turned out to be the best among all of them – thanks to his basketball skills. Director Brian Helgeland later shared in an interview that he had also liked Boseman's "bravery in choosing to read the most difficult scene, in which Robinson goes down a stadium tunnel and breaks a bat in anger".

(Credit: Bleacher Report)

The late actor trained for five months with professional coaches, and went on to deliver a performance so good that it took the world by storm. Robinson's widow, Rachel Robinson, said that his performance on the screen "was like seeing her husband again".