8th-grader born without legs makes school basketball team. ‘I’m just as human as you’

Born without legs, Josiah Johnson is proving that grit and determination matter when you want to play the sport you love.

That determination — coupled with his unique skill — helped Josiah make the eighth-grade varsity basketball team at Moore Middle School in Louisville, Kentucky.

His head coach, Daquan Boyd, said Josiah made the team for basketball reasons and has shown he belongs on the court.

“We didn’t put him on the team because of no sympathy reason or anything like that,” Boyd said in a video shared on social media by Jefferson County Public Schools. “He actually showed up to every tryout. He gave it his all.”

Josiah played his second game of the season on Thursday, Nov. 17. He made his presence known with steals, a rebound and an assist, WDRB reported.

He has yet to enter the scoring column, but the eighth-grader is not short of confidence.

“I don’t want you doubting me because I don’t have legs,” he told WLKY. “I want to show you that I’m just as human as you, and just as good as you are, if not better.”

Josiah moves up and down the court by using his hands and swinging his torso, even dribbling the ball and passing to teammates.

He told Jefferson County Public Schools he fell in love with the sport when he began playing with older kids at the park.

“Having that environment and being able to be comfortable and have fun with it with people I know, it’s just something I really like,” he said.

His skill set has even impressed his friends.

“At first, I didn’t think he was going to get on the court,” teammate Malakei Loveless told WDRB. “But when he got on the court, he was hitting threes and stealing the ball from people ... He’ll take the ball from anybody ... He makes practices fun, even the hard ones, and makes you want to work harder, no matter what the struggle. He’s a threat to teams we play. They’re caught off guard. They don’t know what he can do.”