One of the headliners for the NBA Celebrity All-Star Game is Cowboys star pass rusher Micah Parsons.
The Celebrity All-Star Game is typically a mixed bag of talent. You have the former NBA and WNBA legends who suit up and show they've never lost their skill. You have artists, musicians, actors and actresses, and internet personalities who can either really hoop or look like they've never shot a basketball in their life.
And then there are the professional athletes from other sports who sometimes dominate the competition — like 2023 Celebrity All-Star Game MVP DK Metcalf — or look like they should stick to the sport they specialize in.
What should NBA fans expect from one of the best defensive players in all of football on the hardwood? The Sporting News takes a look back at Parsons' basketball history below.
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Did Micah Parsons play basketball?
Parsons was a two-sport star at Harrisburg High School in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, playing both football and basketball.
Listed at 6-3 and 245 lbs., Parsons might be one of the biggest players in the NFL, but when it comes to basketball, he's the same height as All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell.
That didn't stop Parsons from playing bully ball in high school, though, holding down the center position for Harrisburg.
"The junior gives up a few inches to most centers he battles against in the paint, but he's finding a way to make an impact for Harrisburg," Penn Live's Ryan Baillargeon wrote of Parsons in 2017.
“Micah has made tremendous growth for us on the basketball court and hopefully he can keep it up,” Harrisburg's senior guard Chris Whitaker told Penn Live in the same article. “He’s dominant. He’s very, very dominant.”
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Parsons also gave Penn Live a little breakdown of his playstyle.
“I just played my role,” the future NFL star said. “I would get putbacks, grab rebounds, do a little bit of work down low.”
Parsons once competed against NBA player Lonnie Walker in a District 3 championship game. The two exchanged jerseys after one of Walker's games in 2021.
"We called this in high school," Parsons tweeted.
Blessings! We called this in high school! 🙏🏽🤞🏽 @lonniewalker_4 https://t.co/RG7sLqjXRt
— Micah Parsons (@MicahhParsons11) October 29, 2021
Last offseason, Parsons put some of his basketball skills on display while playing a game of knockout with kids at a Boys and Girls Club in Texas. You can catch a glimpse of his jump shot and powerful dunks in the interview below.
