"Watch Me Now."
It was a headline that came off as something much more, along the lines of a statement or proclamation, boldly placed on the cover of the most well-known and widely-read sports magazine in the world.
On the cover was not an NBA superstar, an imposing NFL middle linebacker, or even a standout collegiate athlete. What it was was a high school senior, a legend in some circles who already had the basketball world buzzing about his playmaking ability, and his acumen and comfort with the game that was usually only exhibited by the NBA's best players.
That skill and the growing lore about his game molded him into a Sports Illustrated cover boy, tenderly grasping a ball while leaping over the Coney Island Pier and surrounding skyline, all at the tender age of 18.
His name was Sebastian Telfair and he was poised to become the next big thing in the NBA and in the game of basketball itself.
His story began as a familiar and oft-repeated one, growing up as an underprivileged youth in the rough-and-tumble Brooklyn housing projects. The unfortunate circumstances that Telfair and his family found themselves in fueled a desire for him to make something of himself, and his means of escaping poverty were found in a game he used as a circumvention from his daily life: basketball.
Telfair honed his game on New York City's famed playgrounds, and quickly developed into not only a schoolyard legend, but also a phenom whose reputation was beginning to expand far beyond the Big Apple.
He led his Lincoln High School team to multiple PSAL city titles, and ultimately became the all-time career points leader in New York high school basketball history (a record that was recently surpassed by another Lincoln product, Lance Stephenson).
To many, it seemed like Telfair was living a life similar to that of the fictional Jesus Shuttlesworth in the movie "He Got Game", only this was happening in real life before our very eyes.
Celebrity status soon followed, as stars like Derek Jeter and Jay-Z began showing up in high school gyms just to watch Telfair play. During his senior year of high school in 2003, Telfair was followed around by a film crew that was working on a documentary that was released a few years later, titled "Through the Fire".
The film documented the trials and tribulations of Telfair's rising star, and was centered on his looming decision as to whether to follow his college commitment and play for Rick Pitino at Louisville, or to test the waters and enter the NBA Draft.
For months, many people figured Telfair would stick to his commitment and spend maybe a year or two in college, but Telfair's tone soon began to change. A murder that happened down the hall from his family's residence in their housing complex began to make him think that for the health and welfare of his family, it may be for the best that he begin collecting NBA paychecks as soon as possible.
In the end, Sebastian accepted a lucrative shoe contract from Adidas and subsequently opted to skip college and enter the NBA Draft.
After all of the workouts and team visits, the Portland Trailblazers decided to take a chance on the high school wonder, selecting Telfair with the 13th overall pick of the 2004 NBA Draft.
Few would have considered at the time of the pick that Draft Night would have been the highlight of Telfair's career at this point five years later.
Given the gift of hindsight that we as sports fan possess, we have seen Telfair's professional career morph into what it has become, which has quite frankly been nothing more than a disappointment, especially given the umbrella of hype that he entered the league under.
Telfair ended up spending only two years with Portland, posting unimpressive numbers in points and assists, and shooting an embarrassingly-low percentage from the field. At the end of this two-year period, the Blazers effectively gave up on Telfair and shipped him to Boston in a trade.
His averages dropped in his lone season with the Celtics, as he was buried on the bench on a squad that at that time was one of the worst in the NBA.
In the following offseason, Telfair was one of many pieces in the blockbuster Kevin Garnett trade, bringing Telfair to a rebuilding Timberwolves franchise. He put forth two lackluster seasons in Minnesota, and about a month ago, was sent to the Los Angeles Clippers, which for those of you keeping score at home is his fourth team in his six-year career.
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