Michael Beasley sprained his ankle, still called for the ball on one leg

On a Knicks team that’s given New Yorkers few reasons to be excited, Michael Beasley became a fan favorite before ever wearing the uniform. He declared himself “your favorite player’s favorite player” and one of the NBA’s best who will lead the Knicks to a fifth seed and play until he’s 43 years old. He then went on television wearing a “GOAT in New York” sweatshirt and posed the question, “Who was the guy that used 11 [percent of his brain] that made it OK to say that everybody’s just using 10?”

They finally traded Carmelo Anthony, and Kristaps Porzingis is the franchise player in waiting, but the Knicks were Beasley’s team, and it was genuinely exciting to see what kind of weirdness awaited.

[Now’s the time to sign up for Fantasy Basketball! Join for free]

Then, 36 seconds into his Knicks career, Beasley’s left ankle landed awkwardly on Oklahoma City Thunder Russell Westbrook’s foot, and he hobbled around the Chesapeake Energy Arena floor for a full two possessions before anyone called a timeout or committed a foul to stop the clock:

Finally, Knicks guard Ron Baker committed a foul on Westbrook to stop the clock a full 36 seconds after the injury occurred. Beasley, still hobbling, was helped off the court and into the locker room.

In peak Beasley form, though, before the stoppage in play, he found his way back to the same corner he injured the ankle, and as teammate Kyle O’Quinn barreled his way to the basket, he called for the basketball. That’s right. Unable to stand on two legs, Michael Beasley still wanted to get some buckets:

For the record, Beasley made the shot he took before landing on Westbrook’s foot. He’s now shooting 100 percent and averaging 144 points per 36 minutes. The legend of the GOAT of New York grows.

Get well soon, SuperCoolBeas.

– – – – – – –

Ben Rohrbach is a contributor for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at rohrbach_ben@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @brohrbach