KINGSTON (Reuters) - The world's best
basketballers have little hope of catching him in a race up the court
and now Jamaican Olympic sprint champion Usain Bolt is getting to ready
to show them he can jump as well when he appears at the NBA's All-Star
weekend in Houston.
Bolt was invited to
play in the Celebrity Game, featuring a mixture of well-known people
from all walks of life, including some former NBA players at the
showcase weekend from February 15-17.
"I'm very excited,
you know," Bolt said after opening his track and field season with a
low-key race in his hometown of Kingston on Saturday.
"It's something big and something good for me, so I'm
just going to go out there to try and enjoy myself, try to dunk a few
times.
"(I'm) not a good shooter, but hey."
Bolt, who won three
gold medals at each of the last two Olympics and holds the world record
for 100 and 200 metres, has all the physical attributes of an athlete
who could make it in several sports and his appearance in Houston is
sure to attract plenty of interest.
Not only does he
run a like a thoroughbred, he says his 6ft 5in (1.95 metre) frame allows
him to leap high enough to reach the basketball hoop.
"I can't say I'm
any good right now because I stopped playing basketball and started to
play football (soccer) so I'm really rusty," he said.
"But one thing, I'm sure I can dunk."
Asked if he was
worried about getting injured during the game, he laughed off the
notion, saying he was only playing for fun.
"It won't be anything aggressive," he said.
"It's just all guys
who know nothing (about basketball) or just play ball with their
friends, so it should be easy and just fun."
