((Note of the editors: During the week, Athletics The Harlem globetrotters and their contributions emphasized basketball, vision of entertainment and general dedication to goodwill.)
All he wanted was a photo.
When Pawel Kidoń attended his first Harlem Globetrotters game in Poland in 2019, the ticket was a gift for his 21st birthday, only he wanted a photo before he left Tauron Arena Kraków with one of the players willing to borrow their time. He had a Magic Pass ticket, so fans could meet the Globetrotters 90 minutes for Tipoff and his girlfriend had her phone ready for a photo.
Kidoń had practiced tricks for years with his basketball after discovering the Globetrotters on the internet. He had viewed the players, world travelers and basketball icons on a worldwide stage. But he also knew his own skills. If he could get that one photo with a player, his birthday would have been complete.
Kidoń left the Arena with much more than a photo. He left with the respect of some of the best ball handlers on the planet. He left with a reputation.
Kidoń met Globetrotter Joe “Jumpin” Ballard during the Magic Passpregame. He wanted Ballard to transfer a rotating ball from Ballard’s finger to his, the move that many globetrotters make for fans, but as soon as Kidoń got the ball, it was his chance to show that he was no ordinary fan – or a normal person with a basketball.
“Like, I can stand on the one hand and do something with my other hand with the ball,” said Kidoń, a former world champion Freestyle Basketball.
Kidoń’s girlfriend recorded the moment on video, which eventually went viral. That one clip led the Globetrotters to make a decision that would change the life of Kidoń – and also released the way for history.
Kidoń, once only a fan of Globetrotters, is now the first player in the franchise history that comes from Poland. He learned to play basketball himself while living in the small village of Zubzyca Dolna, the home of fewer than 2,000 people and at the southern end of Poland a few minutes from Slovakia. Kidoń has earned the nickname “Dazzle” on the podium of Globetrotters.
It is quite the change for Kidoń, who once worked in Poland in an amusement park that performs basketball tricks before they were discovered.
Dazzle Kidoń is the first Harlem Globetrotter player ever from Poland, and the first to be discovered at our pre-game Magic Pass event. 🔥
Only then when he revealed that he was actually a World Freestyle Basketball Champion! #PlayerProfile pic.twitter.com/A1D0H1HKGJ
– Harlem Globetrotters (@Globies) February 26, 2021
In some respects, Kidoń regards himself as a home -made product. He fell in love with basketball for the first time after looking in disbelief YouTube height points of the Globetrotters. Before Kidoń put on the red, white and blue, he had never played in an organized basketball team, learned under a coach or even played a good game of five-five.
“To his honor, he is probably the most difficult worker we got there,” said “Sweet” Lou Dunbar, the Globetrotters director of player staff and a member of the team as a player and executive for more than four decades. “Every day he works on his game because he knows that he knows as far as ball handling, he is in a different stratosphere.”
The pinnacle of his basketball experience grew up was able to turn the ball on his finger. Then he started to practice simple trickshots and freestyle -handling movements.
The movements became Vibes. And then the vibes became a full show.
One of the first real love of Kidoń was breakdancing. Because of that, he made a lane as one of the most unique globetrotters – who says something given the long -term history of the team of merging basketball with entertainment.
“When I started making my own tricks, I noticed that I could do everything with a basketball,” said Kidoń. “I could stand and do some tricks, but I could also move my body, such as do a cartwheel or stand on my head or control a basketball between my legs. So I just started exploring, not just basketball, but dance, hip hop, break dancing.
“I was looking for some elements that I could combine with basketball. That’s how I started, actually. I started breakdancing because there are elements of breakdancing that are possible to make contact with basketball. “
For Kidoń, member of the Globetrotters meant more than adapting to a new passion. He got used to a new team, a new language, a new culture and demography of people. Kidoń is the first person from his family who flies to the United States, let alone to build a life that is so far from home.
He still remembers his first day with the Globetrotters, who included MediaPlinger with newspapers, TV networks and radio stations enthusiastically to meet him. That made waves back in Poland because the Globetrotters not only allow everyone to try for his selection. Once he was an official member, Kidoń went to his current name of the nickname ‘Child’.
And “Dazzle” has been dazzling.
“If I could hear someone bouncing the ball, I knew it was blinded,” said Dunbar. “He works every day and he competes with these guys and plays one-on-one every day. He tries to reach their level. “
Pawel “Dazzle” Kidoń, a Freestyle-Ballhandler in the world champion, is the first Polish member of the Harlem Globetrotters. (Aldara Zarraoa / Getty images)
By combining all adjustments to one life-changing transition, what has been most important to Kidoń from a Freestyling entertainer to a full-time basketball player? For the Polish star, preparation is more than essential.
“I try to practice all the time because I know I have a lot of work,” he said. “I’m not as good at basketball as other players. In short, I wake up, I eat breakfast and almost every day I start my day with stretching and some movements. Then we usually have to travel, such as three, four hours to the next city.
“I try to be prepared for every game. I practice my tricks, like my old tricks to keep my shape. I will also take some pictures to be a better shooter. We play a few two-to-two games, three-on-three matches. I am aimed at improving my basketball skills, my basketball -iq. … If you see me in the Arena all the time, you can see me all the time with the basketball in my hands. “
Much of what the Globetrotters do is entertainment, but it requires that it knows the foundations of team basketball to work. In his adjustment time with the team, Kidoń has grown as a player and showman, and he is able to become a WOW factor on the field. Once a shy child nervous about speaking English, Kidoń has tightened his use of the language by using Duolingo -language lessons and listening to rap music while traveling to new cities. Since he came to the team, he has carved a top-five list of his favorite American cities: New York, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Chicago and Dallas.
Kidoń admitted that he was not a big fan of traveling before he became a Globetrotter, but that started to change as soon as he started touring through the United States, Africa and Asia. Adjustment to American life introduced him in a stable basketball experience, new food and music that helped him become comfortable in a new culture.
Kidoń is a big fan of NBA star Steph Curry. He is also a big fan of hip-hop and super bowl half-time show headliner kendrick Lamar. His choices from his kitchen vary from steak to chicken wings to hamburgers.
And his freestyle skills are welcome. They are always more fun if he has someone to practice with.
The Globetrotter manner has grown on Kidoń. He has taken the franchise mission to return to the community back to Poland. He now holds free basketal camps and shows in his home country.
For everything Kidoń has enjoyed being a Globetrotter, he still keeps a modest basketball bucket list, which includes his wish to meet Curry. He remembers that he had viewed the four-time NBA champion in 2016 when Curry became the very first unanimous MVP in competition history. Kidoń described that version of Curry as ‘unavailable’, which is a lot of praise from such a well -traveled Hooper who is familiar with achieving what some people consider the apparently impossible.
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But such life lessons are the reason why Kidoń has obtained more than a photo when he attended his first Globetrotters game. He went out of life in a small village and an amusement park to sold -out arenas for one of the world’s most renowned basketball franchises.
“(I want) to show children that it is important to have goals in your life,” said Kidoń. “It is important to find something that you like to do and just do it because everyone has a talent. It is important to find some hobbies, some passions and just to do something, because you never know how far you can go with your passion.
“I got the Harlem Globetrotters team and I lived in a small village with fewer than 2,000 people. If I had made it and it was possible for me, why is that not possible for you? “
(Illustration: Kelsea Petersen / Athletics; Aldara Zarraoa / Getty images)