TORRINGTON, Conn. – There’s Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant and Lebron James — and then there’s Brayden Ledoux, a two-foot Torrington toddler with a surprise swish.
“Mom, dad, ball. Those were his first words,” said Kaleigh Ledoux, Brayden’s mother.
The 21-month-old got his mini-basketball hoop on his first birthday.
“He barely could start walking yet and he would just throw it in the hoop and of course he was missing for a long time,” said dad Chris Ledoux.
Brayen plays basketball for at least an hour a day, and now the baby baller is upping his game.
“He’s on the couch. He’s on a stool, he’s really anywhere. You think he’s trying to do trick shots sometimes,” said Chris Ledoux.
“Now he’s progressed into throwing two balls in the hoop at the same time, making them in. I mean, it’s just unbelievable how good he is for his age that he is,” said Kaleigh Ledoux.
Brayden will make multiple shots in a row, take a break to play with his trucks, then return to the hoop.
“You give him a ball, he’ll shoot ten times. He’s probably gonna make it 7, 8 times,” said Brayden’s dad. “He’s got good depth perception. If it’s close, he throws it light to make it. Far away — he knows how hard to throw it to make it in.”
It’s talent of course, but also a lot of practice and a good bloodline.
“I played volleyball, I did basketball for a little while,” said Kaleigh Ledoux.
“I played sports my whole life, from I was maybe like, 8 years old,” said her husband. “It’s kind of just like a family thing. Everybody is very athletic.”
Even so, the junior jock’s skills continue to surprise mom and dad. Brayden’s even catching on to football and other sports these days — all before his second birthday.
“He can hold a golf club, like in a perfect stance of how you swing a golf club, it’s amazing,” said Kaleigh Ledoux.
Brayden’s parents aren’t sure what his future holds, but they have no doubt athletics will play a big role.
