When It’s Time to Leave the Party

Working in the NBA

On Tim Ferris’ Podcast, guest Hugh Jackman had a line that resonated, “Be stoic, be hopeful, work your ass off and know when it’s time to leave the party.”  I think that is fitting for many areas of life, and particularly for your work in the NBA.

In my 15 years in the NBA, I had a lot of success (I mean, I got to rush a court twice with Playoff clinching baskets!!, thanks Damian), a lot of great times, and a lot of misery and hardship.  A couple of years ago, after the death of a co-worker, my joy in my work along with my respect of the organization I worked for started to take a descent. 

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As much as I grasped on to my job at the start of the 15 years, I began to hold on to it looser and looser as time went by.

When I got an internship in the NBA, it meant everything.  It was a dream come true.  A culmination of hard work and vision.  And I didn’t want to let it go.  When my internship was over, I went back home to Indiana.  I was applying for college jobs but my heart wasn’t in it.  My manager, Kaleb Canales, called and asked what I really wanted to do.  I told him I wanted to go back and work with the Trail Blazers.  He told me I should come back then and just start showing up.

He didn’t have to tell me twice.

I bought a plane ticket.

I landed at PDX and called someone I knew who picked me up.  They told me they were actually crashing with a buddy.  “Can I crash too?”  It was year 2 of staying on a couch with a friend (Thanks Kurt and Robbie!).

And the next morning, I walked back into the Trail Blazers Video Room.  A Coach walked in, asked if I could help on the court, and it was business as usual.  I walked by Assistant General Manager Tom Penn’s office who stopped me and said something to the effect of, “You getting in a little bonus time here John?”  Timid and slightly intimidated, I’m sure I mumbled something and kept moving. 

I got a second-year internship.  And then my third year, I was hired as the Assistant Video Coordinator, another dream come true.

I couldn’t imagine my life without working in the NBA, without working for the Trail Blazers.

But over time, the grind of the NBA season, the ups and downs, and the pursuit of other missions and goals caused me to loosen my grip on my NBA career.  Probably from around Year 5 through 15, each summer, often traveling and serving through Africa (Zimbabwe), I would ask myself, “Do I still want to do this (NBA)?”  I would take time and reflect and make sure my heart was all in, and each year, I came back with a “Yes,” and I was refreshed and ready to go.

And then a pandemic hit.  And then a co-worker took his life.  And then parts of the organization that I didn’t agree with started to show more and more.  And I started to feel a pull away. 

I ended up not getting to leave on my terms (I was let go in January on a 30-second Zoom call).  The party was over.  I never did get to win a championship in Portland with Damian Lillard, my lasting goal and NBA dream. 

But I was okay being on the other side of the party.

I held my work loose enough to when it was over, I could say that none of my identity was there.  I knew who I was.  And I was ready for the next chapter.

I had a great career with the Trail Blazers.  I’m thankful for the many incredible people who I got to work with along the way, many who’ve become family.  And even amidst the disdain I have for much of the franchise, I have just as much love for many of the people there, for the RipCity fanbase, and certainly for Damian Lillard himself.  I’ll definitely be rooting for things to get back on track there.      

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I often get calls from people who are looking to get back in the NBA, they want to join the party at all costs.  At the sacrifice of family.  At the sacrifice of their community.  And take a pay cut, a demotion, anything to get back to the Party. 

And my advice, it was a good party, I hope you worked your ass off and made the most of it, cherish the people you met along the way… and find another party.  Take what you learned, take who you know, and invest in the next thing.  It may be back in the NBA, it may be somewhere else in basketball, or it may be something completely different.  But you don’t have to long for what once was, because that time has passed, that party is over.  But the next one is just beginning.