The Most Important Part of Your Hoops Journey

Working in Basketball

I would assume that around 99% of those reading either are or want to work in the NBA one day.  It’s an admirable dream.  It’s a challenging path but one that you can always find rewarding.  Not by where the outcome takes you but by where the journey takes you and who you meet along the way.

When people would ask me what my favorite thing about working in basketball was, I would always respond, “The people I get to work with.”  Most people assumed the answer would be something with more glitz and glamor but in reality, the answer was the same as when I worked in a college admissions department.  The answer was the same for each step of the journey. 

And that’s one of the keys to your journey.  It’s the building of relationships along the way.  Not just networking for networking sake but being a part of a hoops community, a team, a franchise that you pour into and that pours back into you. 

It’s easy to get caught up in the outcomes and in the timelines.  But one of the most important things is to be present where you are.  Be present in your current situation, with your current team.  And let the journey grow out of the relationships you have and are building. 

“The best teams, the best organizations… do you want to go to work today?  How many people in the Practice Facility, how many of those people are the same people everyday? If the vast majority of those people are the same everyday, it’s gonna be a great day.  This group will be a great experience.” – JJ Reddick from Old Man & the Three Podcast   

No matter where you are in your journey, be a part of the environment around your workplace that makes it a great day for everyone every day.  And I can guarantee you will find success in your journey.  Not because of the outcomes but because of the relationships you will build along the way. 

We are currently finishing up Week 3 of the GITG101 Book Club with Atomic Habits. Whether you have started yet or not, we are having our first Book Club Zoom tomorrow, August 27th and would love to have you. We also share notes with one another on a Slack Channel. If interested, shoot me an e-mail at john@getinthegame101.com