3 Things – September 2023
Working in the NBA
When I worked with the Trail Blazers, one of the aspects of my job was listening to Podcasts. Yes, listening to Podcasts.
The Assistant General Manager brought a few of us in the room and said, “Hey, there are all these basketball podcasts out there now, can you guys listen through them and find Intel?” Listening to podcasts while breaking down game film fit seamlessly for me and I started devouring podcasts daily and sending out monthly reports to the Front Office and Coaching Staff of my findings.
The Assistant GM called me back into his office. “With all the podcasts you’re listening to, can you send out some leadership tips and other things you’re learning?”
I now have over 500+ pages of what I call, ‘Podcast notes.’ Not to mention my ‘Libby notes’ (recommend downloading the Libby App – connected to your local library for free audio books).
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A frequent request or ask that I get from those reading GITG101 content is “What Podcasts are you listening to?” and “What books are you reading?”
I was lying in my bed reading a book on breathing, my 3rd book I’ve read on breathing in the last couple of years. I wished I had read them years earlier. I wished I could share with others what I was learning. And here we are…
This is my first edition of 3 Things. 3 Things that I’m listening to, reading, watching, buying, etc.
What I’m Reading: Breathing
The Breathing Cure by Patrick McKeown, Breath by James Nestor, The Wim Hof Method by Wim Hof
If you’re working in basketball (or professional sports), I am assuming at least 98% of you deal with some kind of anxiety. It’s a high-pressure industry. Win a few games, you may get a promotion… lose a few games, you may get fired. Work for the GM or Coach? Better be by your phone 24/7. And by 24/7, you know it’s not metaphorical, you may get a call at 2, 3, 4 in the morning and need to have something ready for the Coach/GM to review at 6am for the 8am meeting. And don’t expect a Thank You, but do expect another assignment for the afternoon and evening before lying in bed next to your phone at night. Doesn’t seem healthy, does it? It’s not.
But it is somewhat necessary, part of the game we all play to work in professional sports. If I could go back 15 years ago and start to add more healthy practices and balance to my life, I would add breathwork.
I was first exposed to Wim Hof during the Covid years. I started practicing the breathing techniques you can find here as well as taking cold showers. They were life changing and life invigorating. I’ve continued to study breathing and incorporate practices into my daily life.
At least once a day, I will go outside, and spend 10 minutes doing breathwork, calming the nervous system, bringing life and healing into my lungs and body.
Due to the stress and anxiety I was under in the last few years of my job, I had garnered a sinus infection that I couldn’t shake for 1.5 years. I went to doctor after doctor, sinus specialist, dentists and heard the same thing… it’s a sinus infection, here’s some antibiotics. The infection never left, eventually, I had a tooth explode from the pressure and the infection was near my brain as they performed an emergency surgery to clear the infection.
Stress and anxiety will add up and do crazy things to your body. I knew the infection I had in my body was stress-related. Even the dentist recommended me doing more yoga, meditation, and getting massages.
One thing I could control was practicing my breathwork. Which I continue to do today, tomorrow, and every day.
What I’m Listening To: GM Shuffle
There are so many podcasts that could be listed here, and we’ll get to some of those eventually. But one that I love that I am guessing many of our readers aren’t listening to is The GM Shuffle with Michael Lombardi and Femi Abebefe.
Lombardi was an NFL Executive who worked for the Patriots, 49ers, Browns, Eagles, Broncos, and Raiders. Although many of his insights are football-related, they are applicable all the same. Often giving another lens to see scouting, management, and coaching from.
Some nuggets from the GM Shuffle:
Hire slow, fire fast. You must train the employees, you cannot retrain them. “Train people well enough so they can leave, treat them well enough so they don’t want to.” – Richard Branson
This is a lesson in leadership. When you have an opportunity, when your team is down, you must stand in front of them… when your team is successful, you must stand behind them and let them take the glory.
When you have groupthink… we like this guy, everyone is on the same page. When you have that much consensus, something is wrong. ‘If we’re all thinking alike, we’re not thinking.’ Bill Walsh
College football is not about how much tape you watch, it’s about the right tape you watch.
If you want to know a really good player… watch the best matchups. There are certain games you have to watch. There are certain games you don’t care about. There is false evidence. In scouting you can collect false evidence. It’s not about how many games you watch but the right games to watch.
Watching tape is what most people do. Studying tape is what professionals do.
It does not matter where we pick them, it matters how they play.
“They built an organization based on the premises of asset management. Based on we’re gonna acquire talent and then we are gonna kiss talent’s ass to make sure they do whatever they wanna do whenever they wanna do it. And they’ll end up with a team that has 0 mental toughness.” They don’t believe in culture- they believe in asset management. (ML on the 76ers)
Tyreke Hill, Travis Kelce, Jones, Frank Clark…
Andy Reid knows his value of getting players where he is picking is so low, he has to take risks. What Andy does so well, once he gets a player in his building, he manages risk. They manage the problems they get in the building. You’re not gonna find 22 choir boys. I’m all about culture but part of culture is how do we develop a player with our culture. We can’t expect every player to be adherent to our culture, we have to teach them our culture. That’s the challenge. That’s why we have support staff, player development staff. You have to handle the hard problems, that’s your job.
What I’ve purchased: Ultima
Speaking of the 24/7 grind of the NBA. There are 3 things my body was perpetually deficient in. Protein, Vitamin D, and Electrolytes.
People who know me know that I always have Ultima on hand. I take it everywhere. It’s a zero-carb, zero-sugar option with all the essential electrolytes you need. It’s so good, I recommended it to my nutritionist and she started using it. Do I sound like a commercial yet?
I have a glass every night that I put Ultima in along with added Magnesium (for rest), a squeeze of lime or lemon (antioxidants, digestive support), apple cider vinegar (antioxidants, probiotics, skin), and Utah Sea Minerals (or Himalayan Salt). I drink one glass at night and then make a glass to drink the next morning to replenish hydration after a night’s sleep.
When working long hours and long days, it’s essential to take as good of care of your body as you can, for the short-term and the long-term.
Thank you for reading 3 Things! I am an Amazon affiliate but will only link to products I use and recommend. I welcome any feedback from you as we continue to dive into different books, podcasts, shows, and other ways to learn, grow, and be our best, healthy selves.
Would you like a sample of my Podcast Notes? Send me an email at info@getinthegame101.com and I’d be happy to send you a sample.
GITG 101’s next course, NBA Training Camp will be on Zoom Wednesday’s on October 4, 11, 18, 25 at 5p PT / 8p ET. For a short time only, use Promo Code: EARLYBIRD for $75 off