Lifestyle

I Made A Prank Video And Now LeBron James Is Turning It Into A Movie

by Connor Toole
Elite Daily

Whenever someone asks me what it's like being 6' 10, my default response is: It's just like being famous, only without the fame or fortune.

It's hard to complain about being incredibly tall, but it can get tiring knowing it's virtually impossible to go out in public without someone blatantly staring at you, taking your picture or blurting out "Wow he's tall" as they pass you on the sidewalk.

I've met more than a few people who assume I am a famous basketball player based on literally nothing but my height, and they always seem disproportionately disappointed when they discover I'm just a regular tall person.

I might never be a star athlete, but when I found out the NBA Draft was going to be held a few blocks away from my Brooklyn apartment last summer, I made it my mission to finally find out what it would be like to live that life.

I showed up to the Barclays Center with a camera crew a half hour before the start of the selection process and proceeded to have the craziest night of my entire life:

I woke up with the hangover I deserved based on the number of free shots I received over the course of the night, and after watching the footage I'd recorded on the floor of the NBA Draft, I suddenly realized the magnitude of what we'd actually pulled off.

That afternoon, the video began to gain traction, and for the next few days, I finally got a brief taste of what is life when you're tall and famous.

For the first time in my life, I was stopped on the street by someone who actually recognized me for more than just being tall.

Neil Everett used the story as a segue on SportsCenter and I was informed by my older relatives the video was also covered by "The Today Show."  I even did an AMA on Reddit and no one told me to kill myself -- a fairly rare occurrence in my experience.

Of course, I knew this would only last so long. My modest gain in Twitter followers finally leveled off, and after my 15th identical radio interview, I began to sympathize with any celebrity who's ever had a breakdown on a press junket.

Sadly, fake draft picks also get fake draft contracts, so my life returned to normal fairly quickly. My brush with fame might not have lasted long, but at least I'd always have a mildly entertaining story I could use to make myself seem more interesting at bars and parties.

Earlier this week, the video was honored by the Webby Awards, which I assumed would be the biggest story of the week until someone sent me a link that led to the following story:

Deadline

While walking to the draft last year, I was genuinely concerned we wouldn't be able to get enough footage to make the video in the first place -- I was skeptical we'd be able to fool the average fan, never mind the professionally trained security staff at an NBA arena.

Thankfully, we did, and we even convinced one of the greatest basketball players of all time to get behind a movie inspired by a video starring someone who hasn't played a competitive game of basketball since his sophomore year of high school.