'Making that comeback???' Why a photo of Mike Bibby has the internet all pumped up
There are certain things that are said to get better with age. Wine. Cast iron skillets. Mike Bibby's muscles?
The former Kings guard on Thursday posted a photo on Instagram that got people talking. In it, he appears to be much more muscular than he was in his playing days.
"Light workout with my Son," he wrote along with several hashtags, the first one referencing the Kings.
<blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/BkBWQvxgWaU/" data-instgrm-version="8" style=" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:658px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);"><div style="padding:8px;"> <div style=" background:#F8F8F8; line-height:0; margin-top:40px; padding:50.0% 0; text-align:center; width:100%;"> <div style=" background:url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAACwAAAAsCAMAAAApWqozAAAABGdBTUEAALGPC/xhBQAAAAFzUkdCAK7OHOkAAAAMUExURczMzPf399fX1+bm5mzY9AMAAADiSURBVDjLvZXbEsMgCES5/P8/t9FuRVCRmU73JWlzosgSIIZURCjo/ad+EQJJB4Hv8BFt+IDpQoCx1wjOSBFhh2XssxEIYn3ulI/6MNReE07UIWJEv8UEOWDS88LY97kqyTliJKKtuYBbruAyVh5wOHiXmpi5we58Ek028czwyuQdLKPG1Bkb4NnM+VeAnfHqn1k4+GPT6uGQcvu2h2OVuIf/gWUFyy8OWEpdyZSa3aVCqpVoVvzZZ2VTnn2wU8qzVjDDetO90GSy9mVLqtgYSy231MxrY6I2gGqjrTY0L8fxCxfCBbhWrsYYAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC); display:block; height:44px; margin:0 auto -44px; position:relative; top:-22px; width:44px;"></div></div> <p style=" margin:8px 0 0 0; padding:0 4px;"> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BkBWQvxgWaU/" style=" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;" target="_blank">Light Workout With My Son @lilbibby #sacramentokings #Appstate #shadowmountainhighschool #atlantahawks #miamiheat #newyorknicks #jordan #memphisgrizzlies #vancovergrizzlies #NBA #Espn #foxsports</a></p> <p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;">A post shared by <a href="https://www.instagram.com/mike_bibby_10/" style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px;" target="_blank"> Mike Bibby</a> (@mike_bibby_10) on <time style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;" datetime="2018-06-14T22:00:12+00:00">Jun 14, 2018 at 3:00pm PDT</time></p></div></blockquote> <script async defer src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script>
As of 9:45 p.m. Thursday, the photo received well over 11,000 likes and could be found on several other social media posts.
Even one of his former teams took notice.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">On a scale of 1-10, how JACKED is Mike Bibby <a href="https://t.co/cnjLHJpe4n">pic.twitter.com/cnjLHJpe4n</a></p>— Sacramen2 Kings (@SacramentoKings) <a href="https://twitter.com/SacramentoKings/status/1007449831093108737?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 15, 2018</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Bibby's Instagram post had more than 600 comments. Among them:
"You still look game time ready"
"Making that comeback???"
"if you was this big with your skill set no one wouldn't of been able to guard or get around u"
Not every response was complimentary, as some accused him of using enhancements.
Bibby played 14 years in the NBA, including six full seasons with the Kings. He'll soon get a chance to show if his new physique helps him on the court. He's a member of the Ghost Ballers team in Ice Cube's Big 3 basketball league. Action tips off June 22 in Houston.
This story was originally published June 14, 2018 at 9:55 PM with the headline "'Making that comeback???' Why a photo of Mike Bibby has the internet all pumped up."