Derek Fisher has traded in a clipboard for some dancing shoes this fall, appearing on the 25th season of ABC’s Dancing With the Stars. The former Los Angels Lakers guard and coach is appearing as a contestant on the show this fall, and his first routine was a pretty direct homage to the game that made him famous.
Fisher’s routine appeared on the season premiere of the show earlier this week. In it, he wears a sparkling DWTS uniform decked in purple and gold. There’s some dribbling, a bit of dancing, and a whole lot of effort on his part.
Fisher was partnered with Sharna Burgess, a 10-season veteran of the show who has taken a variety of different stars under her wing over the course of the show.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1sfKGZHx_E
Included in the segment above is the training montage, as well as a special message Fisher gave to his family.
“This is literally my mom’s favorite show on Earth,” Fisher said. “She doesn’t know about this right now. When she finds out that I’m on this show, she’s gonna lose it.
Fisher’s mom then, of course, proceeds to lose it.
After a bit more of the training montage, we get to the big routine. The song Fisher picks to dance to, of course, is Kurtis Blow’s ‘Basketball. Fisher actually gets to dribble for a bit as part of his dance, which actually seems a bit unfair to me. Was Terrell Owens allowed to just run routes on stage for a few minutes while occasionally meeting his partner in the secondary for a quick spin? Then again, Nikki Bella was allowed to put some wrestling moves into her routine as well.
Anyway, the routine doesn’t look too bad, if a bit clunky in its transitions. The big finish is good, though, and the reaction from the crowd seems to be positive. I’m not sure if the couple can go to the basketball well for their next dance, but maybe Fisher will be more comfortable in the coming weeks and they can turn him into a contender. Basketball players, after all, tend to struggle on the program.