Adrian Mahringer will never forget his vacation in Canada with his family during this year’s autumn break: the 13-year-old from Linz was there live for the first time at a game in the NBA, the strongest basketball league in the world. And during a break in the game he was also able to show off his freestyle skills – in front of around 20,000 fans in the hall and millions of people in front of the screens. “I didn’t expect it to really work,” the young basketball player still couldn’t believe it the next day.
A little nervous
Adrian admits that there was a bit of nervousness in the run-up to the game between the Toronto Raptors with Austria’s only NBA export Jakob Pöltl and the Denver Nuggets. “However, I became more relaxed when I was allowed to warm up with the real NBA ball,” says the student at Europagymnasium Auhof Linz.
In the second quarter, when the score was 38:32, the 13-year-old from Linz made his big appearance during a break in the game. The Toronto Raptors mascot passed him the ball and he thrilled the hall with a short freestyle show. The 125:127 defeat of Pöltl and his Raptors didn’t spoil the evening.
This special campaign came about because the U14 player from Linz-Steg asked the show organizers shortly before he went on vacation. “I was then invited at short notice to give a small performance,” said the talent, also known as “Adri_MC” on YouTube, who couldn’t believe it.
Harlem Globetrotters as a destination
For Adrian, a ball is always part of sport. “Ever since I could walk, I enjoyed playing football,” says the student. However, this stopped when he turned eleven: “Then I tried to throw the football into the basket. Then I quickly realized that I was going to do that for longer,” Mahringer told the OÖN.
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Image: Mahringer
Source: Nachrichten
