ORLANDO, Fla. – After more than six seasons on-and-off with the Orlando Magic, Bo Outlaw calls The City Beautiful home and remains a part of the Magic organization as its community ambassador.
“The city embraced me. When I first got to Orlando, they made it so that I didn’t want to leave. It’s a great city and I’m just trying to give back as much as it gave to me,” Outlaw said. “What keeps me motivated? Just the community. I’m in the position to help and I’m surrounded by people who also want to help.”
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Outlaw shares the importance of mentorship with News 6 anchor Ginger Gadsden in the second episode of Real Talk, Real Solutions.
“That might have been my first podcast. That was very entertaining ... Ginger made it easy, she was easy to talk to,” Outlaw said.
Outlaw was a natural, talking about his journey from the beginning of his professional basketball career.
“I didn’t get drafted. I came in on a 10-day contract. Playing that first game, I’ll never forget the Lakers,” Outlaw said. “I just went out there and did what I knew how to do: Run, jump and play hard and they liked it.”
Before making buckets in the NBA, Outlaw had to work hard to improve his skills on the court as a kid.
“In high school, I was on the B-team. You don’t realize it until later in life. When the B-team game started, everyone left, no one was there to watch,” he said.
He admits to trying just about every sport when he was younger but wasn’t as successful as he was playing basketball.
“I ran track and played football ... that didn’t go well. I played soccer, but I didn’t have enough money to keep paying the dues,” Outlaw said. “I played golf one year in middle school ... a complete accident. I was also on the swim team.”
Swimming topic of conversation captured behind-the-scenes after the recording of the podcast.
“It was because, in the summertime, if you brought Kool-Aid packs, you get in for free and the pool was close to my house,” Outlaw said. “My first race, it was a backstroke, I got third. After that I was struggling. I’m a lean guy, so muscle doesn’t float. So I had to kick a little harder to float ... I got tired real quick.”
We asked for photos, but Outlaw said back then, they had polaroids and those photos are nowhere to be found. Hopefully, one of those pictures will turn up one day.
Click here to watch Episode 2 of Real Talk, Real Solutions with Bo Outlaw exploring the importance of mentorship.