At only seven-years-old, Jaliyah Manuel has captured the attention of basketball fans world-wide with her incredibly unbelievable skills on the court. Dubbed as “the next Steph Curry” by fans, it is no wonder why this pint-sized straight-A student told Steve Harvey on his show, at the beginning of the year, that she is “going to be the first girl in the NBA when [she] grows up.”
Click on the video below that first garnered the attention of millions on YouTube for this New Orleans native.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ce-OcvlcKE
The Times-Picayune first reported that at 15-months-old, Manuel started shooting foam basketballs through plastic hoops. Fast-forward to today, and the talented young athlete continues to entertain her 99.7k Instagram followers as she dribbles with both hands while doing splits, catching tennis balls, and hitting three-point shots. Manuel is so good that she even caught the attention of one of her favorite basketball players, Lebron James, and got the opportunity to meet him. To round out her top three on the court, Manuel also says that she admires Steph Curry and Michael Jordan.
The young phenom told NBC Nightly News that she practices every day and there are “no days off, baby.” She’s serious about her game! On top of practicing every day, Manuel records college basketball games and watches them with her dog before bed.
Quoted on her most recent Instagram video, the young superstar gives sage advice to others. “Sometimes the best criticism comes from within yourself. If you can understand what needs to be done to fix the solution [you’re] ahead of the game.”
Check out Jaliyah Manuel’s video below and don’t forget to follow her moves on Instagram!
