David Brooklyn (basketballer)

David Brookyln's basketball trading card

Charlie Dawnill Basketball Career Achievement award

David Brooklyn is a retired basketball player for the Star League team Farmo, two-time MVP and member of the Fickolean Basketball Hall of Fame, as well as member of the 'Satsumas' honourary team, made up of legendary basketball players. Brooklyn also has more points than any other player in history, known for his extraodinary accuracy which is unparalleled in scoring long-range baskets.

Brookyln has become a disabled icon, as he has suffered from birth from a defect that crippled his legs. Furthermore, on his legs, Brookyln suffered major burns in his youth. Since then, Brooklyn managed to reform his leg muscles to extraordinary levels, allowing him to jump incredibly high relative to other humans, however his skin remained melted and somewhat deformed.

David Brooklyn, between 1996 and 2016, (Mt) was one of the dominant players of the Star League, bringing Farmo into qualifying for the Fickolean Planetary Star and taking them to win their first ever Planetary Star. He is often considered the greatest basketball player in Farmo and some have considered him the greatest player of the game.

## Early Life

### Injuries

David Brooklyn was born to Yo Joian parents who were second-generation immigrants from Ficko City and Sobrim City respectively. His father, Allistair Brooklyn, was a small-time lawyer in their town, and funded Brooklyn's basketball lessons. His mother, Meg Brooklyn, was a nurse.

Brooklyn was born with birth defects that made his skin especially fragile and easily burnt or marked. His legs were also born a much shorter length than the average, and with certain joints misplaced. This condition, known *ballancothesia*, was the main reason for his legs being burned at age 3 during a hot water bath. This caused the skin to partly melt and multiple skin transfusions had to be made. Brooklyn also spent a number of months in hospital.

Brooklyn's childhood was largely spent playing basketball alone in spite of his injuries. He learnt to jump properly by age 6, and was surprisingly capable, his bone structure allowing a more spring-like jump. Brooklyn struggled to run fast for most of his life as a result of his injuries, but his ball-handling in terms of accuracy of long-distance shots and passes became unchallenged and he became known as 'The Grade'.

### Education

David Brooklyn was educated in the Tormix Outer Cav General School for those with disabilities, however he transferred in 1981 to the Brandon Obelix General High School upon learning there was no basketball team at his first school. Brooklyn then joined the Brandon Obelix basketball team and completed his education, awarded a diploma in basketball and a rushed degree in Dynamic Physics.

## Career history

### Los Grandmas (1993-1996)

After completing his education, Brooklyn joined the draft and was immediately picked up by the Hypil team 'Los Grandmas', which had made their way into the Regional League three years prior. There, he joined Alison Peterwhip and Gordon Bruvin to take the Regional Brandon Cup twice in a row in 1994 and 1995. Half way through the season of 1996, Brooklyn dropped out after the death of his father.

### Arrival at Farmo (1996-1998)

Brooklyn arrived at Farmo in 1996 after joining the 1996 draft. The team at that time had failed to qualify for any of the Fickolean Planetary Stars in history, and had only been founded in 1970. Brooklyn managed to win enough points in qualifying games that Farmo qualified. He was immediately hailed as Farmo's 'star player', and prospected to do well in the Fickolean Planetary Star. Sure enough, whilst not winning the 1996 Star, he did pass Farmo into phase two with 260 points, the second highest of any team. Farmo was then defeated by the Ficko City Dogs. During the 1996 season, Brooklyn also got to meet one of his idols, Fat Chance, and play against him. Chance blocked a number of Brookyln shots, however Brooklyn managed to score a few on Chance, and the Mill-Layers took the game 130-100 points.

In 1997, Farmo scored 170 points against the Cartillan Horses in 1997 Fickolean Planetary Star. Of these points, Brooklyn scored 71 points, a record for any player in Farmo and one of the highest single-game scores of any basketballer in history. This established his name as a fan favourite and a threat to other times within the basketball community. He was described by commentator Ashley Verdie, who commentated most of the Farmo games in the 1997 and 1998 Star, as "an incredible force with eyes of an eagle", and in late 1998 appeared on B-Ball Legends magazine alongside Boog Jefferson, the Mill-Layers star who had been the MVP 1997 and Fat Chance's chosen successor. The two were described as 'The major players that have other teams quaking in their boots'

### Glory Years at Farmo (1998-2010)

In 1998 Farmo won the runner-up position in the Fickolean Planetary Star of 1998, the greatest acheivement in the team's history. Furthermore, Brooklyn won the MVP award, the first time a Farmo player had ever done so. This moment was of major significance and almost more celebrated than the Alifcan Copters' overall victory. It proved the success of a disabled icon and one who was an underdog in playing a sport typically dominated by those with a physical or genetic advantage.

Brooklyn was rated number 1 in Greatest players in the Fickolean Planetary League of 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2008 and 2009 according to the *Loyal Star Guide* of Best basketball players in the Star. This was due to his dominance in shooting accurate shots. Across his long career, Brooklyn bested many opponents trying to block his shots and made many spectacular dunks in spite of his physical disabilities. Brooklyn was able to dunk on Bean Wilson, the 7ft 4 Phicrotus legend, and Lisa Rest, 7ft 8. In 1999, he was breifly joined by Charles Chickenshed and Thom Kellp, Charles Chickenshed the more established player. When Chickenshed moved to the Brandon Barbarians in 2001, Thom Kellp followed shortly behind. Brooklyn never worked particularly well with the two, and felt that their duo undermined his abilities. There was an absence of efficient teamwork between Kellp and Chickenshed and Brooklyn, partly motivating the move for both players.

Of Crashian basketballer Will Watcher, who played for Omega, Brooklyn suggested that he was "something else, something special" in a press interview. Similar views were echoed of Brooklyn by Watcher. At the time, the Mill-Layers and Dongan TIgers were in a fierce rivalry and looked like the two dominant teams, however in the early 2000s farmo posed an unprecedented threat to them. After a match between the Mill-Layers and Farmo, in which Jeanne Fougalstein was tasked with taking a free throw to win against Farmo, against the famously excellent shooter Brooklyn, in 2000, which Brooklyn ended up missing, losing the game, Fougalstein supposedly became friends with Brooklyn, and the two began attending outside games between Crashian and Apporrossian teams.

During his glory years, Brooklyn was fouled more times than any other player, which many speculated was due to his weak and frail build, his shooting abilities, and prejudice against his disability. Brooklyn himself made such speculations in an interview he did with *Fire Radio,* saying "I think people probably foul me more because they know it's easy, and they've got something against me. They just can't work out what it is", hinting to his disability.

In 2002, the Tommy-Dawnill Universal Trophy was one of the most anticipated sports events, due to the dominance displayed by some of the Fickolean players, Jeanne Fougalstein with the Mill-Layers, Charles Chickenshed and Thom Kelpp, the trio of Amarosa Jedney, Mark Saint-John and Boog Jefferson in the Dongan Tigers, Bean Wilson and Carrie Dodgers in Phicrotus, and Brookyln himself in Farmo. As well as this Lisa Rest and Will Watcher proved threatening Crashian opposition, as did Robert God from Apporross. The competition proved fierce, with Brooklyn prevailing as one of the most successful players, bringing Farmo to fourth place in the Trophy in 2003, Omega coming second and the Dongan Tigers first.