MLB Icon Derek Jeter Revealed How His Confidence in Basketball Got Rocked by Two Future NBA Hall of Famers in 2004

The baseball legend Derek Jeter did not solely play baseball, even if it was his dream to be a shortstop. The other game that Jeter could have gone to if he wanted was basketball. 

He had played basketball in his college days to stay fit but never swayed away from baseball. He could have if he wanted to, but he didn’t. But one thing that Jeter wouldn’t have thought was that the people he used to play with, will one day become NBA stars. This thing goes both ways. The guys that Jeter played with wouldn’t have thought that the person who dreamt of becoming a Yankee one day would not only become a Yankee but a legend.

The shortstop was born in New Jersey and moved to Michigan when he was about four years old. He completed high school there and went to college there only.

When people used to tease Jeter as he dressed up as a Yankee, the shortstop made sure to tell them that they might not enter NBA, but he will be playing for the Yankees sooner than later, and he did. But two of the players that played basketball with Jeter were also the ones who had easily outmatched the shortstop.

Who did Derek Jeter got outmatched by?

Jeter was a decent guard, but he was not the best in the game. His big moment came during his Sophomore year at first fall at Ann Arbor. It was when he hit a three-pointer to beat Portage Central.

“I had played against Chris Webber and Jalen Rose in AAU games in eighth and ninth grades, and those weren’t even close. I remember being totally overmatched,” said Jeter in an interview with the Vault way back in 2004.

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The shortstop was in college at the time when he got drafted by MLB.  He was not able to complete his education because baseball was calling. Nobody knows what is going to happen in the future. But it’s also nice to know that a person once spent time with the people who are now great. 

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The shortstop still remembered the people he once played basketball with, as they became big names in NBA.