Mookie Betts selected by Harlem Globetrotters in 2020 player draft

by Rowan Kavner

A Dodger star was selected Monday in the Harlem Globetrotters’ 14th annual player draft, which included five players from various sports backgrounds.

Mookie Betts joined Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson, University of North Carolina at Pembroke basketball player and dunk specialist Shaun Kirk, viral internet star Sister Margaret Ann and posthumously honored actor and star of “Black Panther” and “42” Chadwick Boseman as this year’s draft picks.

“The Globetrotters have always chosen to draft players that are exciting and can captivate fans,” Globetrotters head coach Barry Hardy said in a release. “Our players need to be more than just their incredible athletic skills. This group of draftees embodies everything that it means to be a Harlem Globetrotter.”

Each celebrity has a tie to the game of basketball. Betts, in addition to being a star baseball player and bowler, was also a standout high school basketball player who could dunk despite standing at 5 feet, 9 inches. Sister Margaret is a longtime fan and coached the sport at the high school and collegiate levels. Boseman starred as a high school basketball player, while Wilson was a three-sport high school athlete. Kirk is one of the nation’s top college dunkers.

Some of the past draftees became future Globetrotters, including five current Globetrotters — “Sweet Lou” Dunbar II (2018), Money Merriweather (2017), Hawk Anderson (2013), Thunder Law (2013) and Bull Bullard (2018) — and 18 players overall.

Betts is among a handful of Major League Baseball players to become Globetrotters draft picks, a group that also includes Mariano Rivera (2013) and Aaron Judge (2017).