Manny Pacquiao Drafted Himself Onto His Own Team

In the summer of 2014, Manny Pacquiao held down two jobs most people would consider mutually exclusive. He was boxing's reigning WBO welterweight champion. He was a sitting congressman representing Sarangani province in the Philippines. And that August, he added a third title: head coach of a brand new professional basketball team.

A Coach With a Loophole

The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) was welcoming an expansion franchise, Kia Sorento, for its 2014-15 season. Pacquiao, a lifelong basketball fan who said the idea had come to him in a dream, signed on as the team's playing coach. The role gave him control over the roster he would build from scratch, including who to pick in that year's rookie draft.

He Picked Himself

On August 24, 2014, Pacquiao used that control in the most literal way possible. With the 11th overall pick of the 2014 PBA Draft, Kia Sorento selected Manny Pacquiao.

He was 35 years old, making him one of the oldest rookies in league history. Two rounds later, Kia added a second Pacquiao to the roster: his cousin Rene, a 6-foot-4 forward.

52,612 People Showed Up

Pacquiao's playing debut came on October 19, 2014, when Kia Sorento opened the PBA's 40th season against Blackwater Elite at the Philippine Arena in Bulacan. The game drew a crowd of 52,612, a new attendance record for the league, with many fans there purely to see the boxing legend in a jersey.

Seven Minutes, Zero Points

Pacquiao started the game as planned. He played the first seven minutes, committed two turnovers and a personal foul, and never attempted a shot.

He then subbed himself out, just as he had promised his longtime boxing trainer Freddie Roach he would. The crowd cheered every time he simply touched the ball.

Kia Sorento won the game 80-66 behind other players doing the actual scoring. For a few months in 2014, the same man held a world boxing title, a congressional seat, a head coaching job, and a spot on the roster he had drafted himself onto. He walked away from his own debut with zero points.