Dazzle Kidon

Pawel “Dazzle” Kidon grew up watching videos of the Harlem Globetrotters on Youtube which inspired him to practice ball handling and tricks 11 years ago. In 2019, Dazzle had the opportunity to see the Globetrotters while they were in Poland where he dazzled the players with his ball-handling skills at one of the team’s Magic Pass pre-game meet and greets. He couldn’t pass up on the chance to showcase his skills to the same team that inspired him in the first place. He captured the moment on video and it went viral. The YouTube video of his performance has over one million views. Now he's one of the star ball handlers on the world's most famous team making him the first Harlem Globetrotter player ever from Poland and the first Globetrotter ever to be discovered at one of the team’s pre-game Magic Pass events.

In 2024, he had the incredible opportunity to play in Poland in front of his family and friends for the first time since joining the team. It was a special moment for him to have his parents in attendance as he credits them as his heroes for their unwavering support. Throughout his time as a Globetrotter, he’s performed at the 2023 Emmy Awards with teammates where they received a standing ovation for their freestyle basketball performance and was a part of a first-ever visit to the United Nations headquarters in New York City with his Globetrotter teammates in November 2019. 

Being from Poland and having the chance to travel around the world and play in arenas like the Wells Fargo arena where his idols Allen Iverson and Wilt Chamberlain played in or the Crypto.com arena in California, a place he had only seen on TV and the Internet, he loves being able to follow in the footsteps of people he looked up to and see his dreams come true. He admires Stephen Curry and Kyrie Irving for their gameplay and fellow Globetrotter Kris “Hi-Lite” Bruton who played with him during his first season who remembers fondly saying “I’ve never met someone like him. He was great athletically, always prepared, he was just professional. It was a pleasure to play with him.”

When he’s not on court, he enjoys breakdancing and acrobatics. Off season, through his initiative School with Passion, he travels to schools around Poland to do basketball shows for kids and talk with them “to inspire them to find something they love and find a passion.” 

Dazzle understands the power of the Internet and where it can take you. Now, he sees his videos and online presence serve as a source of inspiration for young people wanting to start learning tricks and get into basketball. “The biggest reward for me is when someone sends me a message or comes up to me to tell me that I’m their inspiration or started playing basketball or doing trick shots because they saw some of my videos. It’s an amazing feeling to be a role model for someone,” Dazzle says.