3 Things to do in the New Year to Land an NBA Internship

Getting a job in the NBA

There’s never a wrong time to be pursuing your NBA opportunity. But the New Year provides a time to set some goals and take some practical steps towards putting yourself in position to achieving your dream job.

1. Informational Interviews

One of the most basic things I always recommend is information interviews. What else can I do? Informational interviews. How can I connect with more people? Informational interviews.

To me, the power in an informational interview is that you are not asking for a job. You are simply acquiring… information. And acquiring information will be more beneficial to you landing a job than directly asking for one.

Informational Interviews can be done at any time throughout the year but now is particularly a great time to do so. There is a slight breath in the NBA season. The holidays have passed and the Trade Deadline / All-Star break have yet to arrive. Take the opportunity to reach out to NBA / WNBA / G-League teams, specifically those who have roles you are interested in and simply ask them questions. Don’t ask for a job or internship but do acquire information regarding if / when those will be available in the summer.

2. Get Involved

If you are not currently associated with a basketball team / program / organization, get on it! When you are applying for an NBA internship, telling them you have a dream to work in basketball won’t cut it. Showing them that you already work in basketball will. You need to gather all of the experience and connections you can to set yourself up for the best opportunity moving forward.

If you are currently with a basketball team / program / organization, continue to work on your skillset while diversifying it if possible. If you’re in ops, can you learn some video? If you’re in video, can you help out with analytics? If you’re in player development, can you chart some X’s and O’s? Look for ways to make yourself more valuable.

3. Invest in Yourself / Take a GITG101 Course

When seeking out a particular job, it is easy to get caught up in the pursuit. But in that pursuit, do not neglect yourself. I’d recommend against giving your 24/7 to anything. Continue pursuing your outside interests. Continue reading and developing yourself. Basketball teams aren’t looking for individuals who only talk / breathe basketball (we already know you can!). They’re looking for growth-minded problem solvers. When you land with a basketball team, they’re not going to be interested in your basketball knowledge at first but they will be interested in your ability to fix their computers, pick up their friends and family from the airport, watch their pets, carry on a conversation, know how to complete random tasks, have restaurant recommendations, know where the best coffee shop is, and more. Being a well-rounded individual will take you further than you realize.

Another great way to invest in yourself is by joining one of our GITG101 Courses. Not only do you have the opportunity to learn and interact with NBA personnel, you surround yourself with a basketball community to support you on your journey.

I could not be more thrilled with what we have set up for GITG101’s next on-line course which is Jan 29, Feb 5, Feb 6. This is our NBA Trade Deadline Course where you get to select the team you will be the GM of and make trades amongst classmates. This will be in tandem with sessions to hear from NBA personnel about what happens inside the NBA Trade Deadline and feedback on your trades. Classes are from 5-7p PT / 8-10p ET and are recorded.

Not only will you be making trades with your classmates as the GM of your franchise, you’ll have former NBA Trainer Kendra Chaney to let you know more in depth of a player’s health, whether that player would be green/yellow/red flagged for a trade. And we’ll have NBA salary cap expert Yossi Gozlan of The Third Apron to approve / deny your trades while offering feedback on the maneuverings of the NBA salary cap.

Trades and dialogue will take place on Slack throughout the week. Use Promo Code: NBATRADE for $30 off. Once you sign up, you’ll get an e-mail from me to have you select which NBA Team you would like to be the GM of for the Course.

E-mail us with any ?’s at info@getinthegame101.com (First come, first serve on the team you are the GM of!)