Michael Beasley passed on dinner with Kobe due to anxiety: ‘I was too scared’

Although former NBA forward Michael Beasley never fully lived up to the hype of being the No. 2 overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft, he still stuck around in the league for over a decade and had some solid seasons.

During his time in the league, he crossed paths with some legends. Beasley, who last played in the NBA with the storied Los Angeles Lakers franchise in the 2018-19 season, revealed that he was invited to go out to dinner with Lakers legend Kobe Bryant earlier in his career but passed on the opportunity due to anxiety.

He seemingly was playing for the Miami Heat at the time. He had multiple stints with Miami across his time in the league, but the Bryant situation came during his first stint with the team when he was near the beginning of his NBA career.

“It was a brief interaction on the court, maybe my second year in the league I think,” Beasley said when asked about interactions he had with Bryant. “After the game, in Miami, he just — I ain’t think he knew me. … He just dapped me up and was just like, ‘I’m pulling for you,’ which surprised me.

“Then, D-Wade (Dwyane Wade) invited me to dinner with him afterwards, which I didn’t go ’cause my anxiety wouldn’t let me. I was too scared to go.”

Beasley confirmed that Bryant was going to be at the dinner, which made him nervous he was going to say something “dumb.”

“At that point in my career, I was just f—— everything up being me, and I ain’t wanna — I just rather him think I was too cool to hang with him than sit in his face and say some dumb s—,” he said.

The 36-year-old has been candid about his mental health struggles over the years, including his battles surrounding anxiety. He is among a number of athletes who have helped expand that conversation over time and bring more attention to it. Hopefully, he knows how many basketball fans support him.

Beasley played more games with the Heat than any other NBA team, but he was at the peak of his powers as a player in the league while playing for the Minnesota Timberwolves.

In his first season with the Wolves, he averaged a career-high 19.2 points per game while shooting 45.0 percent from the field and 36.6 percent from 3-point range. It’s worth noting that Minnesota won only 17 games in the 2010-11 season, however.

It’s brave of Beasley to be so honest about why he declined to attend a dinner with Bryant. There are some people who maybe would feel too embarrassed to make such an admission, especially considering how beloved a figure Bryant is. But Beasley is certainly making a positive impact by speaking about his mental health in such a vulnerable way.

It’s unfortunate that Bryant isn’t around for Beasley to tell him that story, as the former passed away in a tragic helicopter accident back in the year 2020. All these years later, there are still plenty of people who are broken up over his passing.