Michael Beasley is remembered as one of the biggest troublemakers in NBA history. The ex-Lakers forward had several run-ins with the law, including incidents involving speeding, drug possession, and assault. His first arrest? Fifth grade. So it’s no surprise that his pattern of legal trouble continued as he got older. But there’s one wild story involving his mom actually helping him break the law — one that ultimately set him on the path to the NBA.
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Beasley’s issues with the law started early. He grew up in the hood in Cheverly, Maryland, constantly bouncing from place to place, which created a lot of instability. At times, he was even homeless. His mom worked multiple jobs just to keep the family afloat, but that also meant Beasley and his siblings were exposed to street life from a young age.
Beasley has openly called himself a hoodlum and admitted to being arrested well before he was even close to legal age. In fact, he got locked up for the first time at just 14 years old — and ended up on house arrest.
“I was a hoodlum. I had a case, my first case was in fifth grade, try to blur his name out because I don’t know. That was the first time I got arrested,” Beasley shared on The OGs podcast. “They locked me up and put me on house arrest. I just turned 14.”
It must have been scary for Beasley’s mother to learn that he was getting involved in illegal activity, especially at such a young age. But what could she do? As mentioned, she was busy working two jobs. Yet, she knew she had to put him on a better path. That’s why Beasley’s mother ended up taking a massive risk he’ll never forget. While he was on house arrest, she met Curtis Malone, otherwise known as “The Godfather of D.C. Basketball.” He liked Beasley’s dimensions and wanted him to play in a tournament for a team in Atlanta. So, she indulged and helped cut her son’s ankle monitor off.
“I started playing basketball seriously when I was 14. I was locked up, I did house arrest for two weeks, and my mother met Curtis Malone. And he convinced her to cut the ankle bracelet off, and I flew to Atlanta [to hoop],” Beasley revealed on 3’s and Ones.
It ended up being a good decision because Beasley balled out in the Atlanta tourney—so much so that he caught the attention of legitimate scouts. He even landed on a list alongside Dwight Howard, LeBron James, and J.R. Smith as one of the top upcoming players at the time. And when Beasley finally got to sit down with Howard, he didn’t hesitate to remind him of that ranking. “It was a ranking that you were on—you were number one. Top 10 regardless of class. And I was number 10. That was my first tournament,” the ex-Los Angeles Lakers man shared.
Why does the former Laker remember this so clearly? Because when he got home from the tournament, he had to appear in court for cutting off his ankle monitor. At the time, Beasley was staring down a potential 7-year jail sentence. But his mother came through once again — this time by using that very same player ranking to plead his case. She showed it to the judge, hoping they’d see the potential in her son. In the end, it worked. He got a slap on the wrist.
“Instead of locking me up until 21, she gave me probation,” Beasley said. That decision turned out to be a turning point in his life. After that, he took basketball seriously, went to Kansas State, became an All-American as a freshman, and was later selected second overall in the 2008 NBA Draft.
While Beasley never became a game-changer in the league, his story is a testament to fortitude. It’s also a reminder that an unstable upbringing doesn’t define your ceiling. Just don’t keep making the same mistakes—like Beasley did once he got to the NBA.
