5 Things To Do While You’re at Summer League
If you're at Summer League to find a job, here's 5 things to do
Summer League is a game-changer. For many, they go with a dream of working in the NBA to walking away, with that dream in hand. For others, they take a step closer to that dream. And for the rest, hopefully you at least had an amazing time and got to meet some great people!
After working in the NBA for 15 seasons and helping to hire interns and entry-level positions in the NBA, here are…
5 Things To Do While You’re at Summer League
1. Connect, connect, connect
Okay, I’m not much of a networker but when you’re at Summer League, well, that’s the time to connect! And as one of our Draft Cohort teachers, Bret Burchard, put it, not just up but out. Don’t just connect with those you think can get you a job. Connect with those who are going to Summer League, just like you. You never know what connection will be the one to get your foot in the door. While everyone is scrambling to meet NBA personnel, take the time to meet each other as well.
2. Handshakes and Greetings
Handshakes and eye contact are more important than resumes and business cards. My apologies, but most all resumes and business cards handed to me have ended up in the trash can. But when you meet someone you like, you follow up. As I’ve said before, you don’t have to go from introduction to getting a job. You just want to take the next step.
3. Be Your Own Portfolio
One of the questions in our Summer League Crash Course was what to do about a Portfolio, whether to bring it or not. And as one of our teachers Jamal Gross shared, “Be your own portfolio.” You don’t have to carry everything around, most people aren’t going to want things handed to them. But you can be that bastion of knowledge yourself. And if someone wants to see your portfolio, have it with you at the hotel, and have it somewhere on your computer where you can easily access and send it. Consider having your own website where you can simply send the link.
4. Scout
If you’re at Summer League, there’s a good chance you want to Coach or Scout. Well, you can’t coach but you can scout! This gives you the opportunity to do live scouting of NBA players. Write your reports. Post them on your site. Post them on Twitter. You never know who might take notice of your work.
5. …and Keep on Connecting
Working in the NBA is about relationships. People want to be around people they like as much or more than they want to be around people who excel at their work. Get yourself some translatable skills (coaching, scouting, analytics, video, etc), gain experience wherever you can, and then go meet people, and hopefully, in time, you’ll find someone who likes you and finds value in your skillset.
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If you missed our Summer League Crash Course, we did a 2-day course answering Summer League questions and more, including how to approach SL to get an NBA job or internship (the classes included NBA Personnel vets and others who attended SL last year and used that experience to help land jobs and internships in the NBA). The recordings, along with one of our Draft Cohort Sessions (including Jonathan Tjarks, Ben Falk, and others) is available for viewing.
You can visit the link below for access to the 3 classes ($49.99). You will receive the recorded links via your e-mail.
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/nba-summer-league-crash-course-on-line-videos-tickets-382739402857