00:01 JAHMANI: Don't believe the height, believe
the hype.
00:03 COMM: Basketball stars are known for their
giant stature but Jahmani Swanson is showing that size isn't everything on the court.
00:22 JAHMANI: When I'm on the court and I'm standing
next to a 6ft dude, your no different than me, your just taller and we are both on this
court for a reason, I'm here for a reason, don't judge me by my size, you know after
you see me play, after you get to know me then you can judge me.
00:45 COMM: Jahmani from New York was inspired to
play basketball by his hero, Michael Jordan and now he has his own army of fans
00:54 JAHMANI: I feel like I have the skill, the
confidence of Michael Jordan, I'm able to play with tall people because I have the skill,
they step on a court their doubting me already, I'm 4ft 5 and I wouldn't trade my height for
the world and all it takes is the first shot or first move and the fans are speechless
to the point where its like um Michael Jordan walked into the room and people call me the
Michael Jordan of little people.
01:26 JUSTIN: He taught me how to play basketball,
he's my role model, i do aspire to be just like my brother.
01:33 ANTHONY: He's wonderful like I've never seen
nobody like him, he plays with his heart, he has a lions heart and I respect him.
01:40 ARTHUR: In a tall man's game it was hard but
he was, he was strong, he worked hard on his game and he got where he was at by dedication,
to see him play good against tall people is amazing.
01:58 COMM: Jahmani has been playing basketball
since he was just a toddler and showed great promise from an early age
02:04 SABRINA: When he was little, he used to bounce
the ball late, all hours of the night that was the one thing that made him happy, it
made him confident, when he had a ball he was very confident, the thing i told my child
was being a dwarf is just a part of life and you can do anything anybody else can do if
you put your mind to it.
I'm very proud of him, he's very inspirational to a lot of people, even to me, though he
is little, look what he has done, he's making the world look at him.
02:35 COMM: Jahmani travels all over the world to
play basketball but when he's not on the court, he does his best to inspire others to follow
their dreams
02:43 JAHMANI: when I'm on tour I talk to kids in
schools, my message to kids is "anything in this world you want to do, you can do it."
BAsketball is my skill to display to catch peoples eyes and anything in this world you
want to do you can do but you have to love it
03:02 COMM: And for Jahmani this is just the beginning
03:04 JAHMANI: I wouldn't change the way I am for
nobody, I wouldn't trade it, I'm blessed this way for a reason and I love it, this world
is the stage and I'm ready to perform.
Good work out fellas