4-year-old Maryland basketball prodigy inspiring kids on and off the court

CAPITOL HEIGHTS, Md. (7News) — Four-year-old Amari “Chopo” Maybin picked up a basketball the moment he started walking, his father, Rashad Maybin, recalled.

Amari is shooting for the sky, literally. The Capitol Heights native plays with lowered and average-sized rims, making 10 shots before going to the next drill.

The kid prodigy is turning heads one game at a time. His dribbling and shooting ability appear to be far advanced considering his age. But Amari’s love and interest in the game caught his dad’s eye.

“He started getting into dribbling around when he first started walking, from about nine months to one, he started playing,” Rashad said.

Rashad coaches other local AAU teams, including basketball.

“He [Amari] was always in the gym with me. He would see me with coaching, and he’d be sitting on the side. He picked up a basketball and started dribbling,” he said.

Rashad said that his son is competing in several basketball conferences, including the 8-year-old age group.

“I practice so I can get better,” Amari told 7News.

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Rashad said while coaching other students and growing up playing with athletes who now compete in the NBA, he has never seen anything like Amari.

“When we go to basketball games, he’s watching the game. He’s saying, ‘Oh, they traveled,'” Rashad told 7News. “I never seen it at that young, at any other age, and I have other children. They’re older, but he’s a little different when it comes to sports. It’s just he has a genuine love for it,” he said.

Amari said his favorite techniques are shooting and defense.

“We come in the morning, and he goes to school, goes to daycare, and he says, ‘Dad, are we practicing?’ He practices after school, then he has his other practices,” Rashad said.

Rashad said great athletes come out of the DMV all the time, such as Kevin Durant — with Amari’s size, his parents said he tends to get “picked on” sometimes, but nevertheless, he’s still an inspiration to dozens of kids in his community.

Maybin celebrated his birthday this past Saturday. As much as he loves basketball, he said he wants to become a firefighter. Rashad added that while professional basketball could be in the cards, his main focus for Amari is college.

“To be honest, he’s so young, and he picks up so fast, the biggest thing is just for him to continue to play, to continue to have a love for the game, and I don’t want to want him to ever lose that,” Rashad added.