Why do you help those looking to get into the NBA?
Getting a job in the NBA
To be honest, I don’t answer every email or LinkedIn message, but I do answer a lot.
When I was an intern with the Portland Trail Blazers, in a sense, I felt like I had made it. I deserved the opportunity.
And I wasn’t really looking to help someone that might end up taking my job. It was a scarcity mindset for sure.
I was getting all kinds of calls and messages from other people looking to get an internship… while I was still an intern. I was trying to get a job myself so I wasn’t too anxious to start helping others take my job.
On the other hand, Tim Grass, the Trail Blazers Assistant Video Coordinator at the time was calling back every student who reached out to him.
And if you know Tim, he gave the most honest, brutal feedback that I’m sure was incredibly valuable to those who reached out. He told me there were others who had done that for him, so he was passing it along.
And if I thought about it, well, same. There were those who had helped me. Sure, ‘I’d made it.’ But not on my own and not without help, a lot of help.
I started doing the same. As my Inbox piled up with college students asking for advice and tips, I started returning their messages and answering their calls.
And occasionally I’d find ‘one’. I’d try to get them hired by the Blazers or I’d call one of my buddies with another team and let them know I’d found ‘one.’ The Video guys in the League are like a fraternity and are always looking out for one another. Sometimes, it’s the only way to make it.
As I took calls, and as I recommended guys and gals to other teams, some of them would get hired and then… we’d be friends. It wasn’t a scarcity. There was enough room for all of us. In fact, it can’t hurt to have more friends in the League, right?
And then I wrote my first article and well and a bunch of people read it. So I wrote another. And another. And here we are.
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It always gets a little tricky charging people or knowing what to charge. Do I want everything I share to be accessible to everyone? I do.
But sometimes charging a bit, is what actually makes it accessible. It makes me know what I’m doing is valuable for others. And it allows me to pay others who can help me make the content available as well. Because Lord knows, I need some help.
So for those of you subscribing, thank you. Whether you’re ‘paid’ or not, it helps me know you’re there. And for those who are paying, honestly, it keeps me motivated to put out more content.
When I only had content on my website, I didn’t have a lot of subscribers, a faithful few. And when I lost my job in January l, I didn’t even know if I wanted anything to do with basketball. But I didn’t want to let the guys and gals down who subscribed. So I kept putting out some content the best I could. And then I decided to try Substack… and that’s where things took off. I tripled subscribers in 1 week. And I knew something was working. It energized me.
And before I knew it, we were starting our first course. I set a goal of at least 10 students, and we hit that in a week, with minimal marketing. Once again, giving me energy that what I was doing was helpful and mattered.
I was talking with my friend Ben Falk, I told that after I was fired I didn’t know if I wanted to do anything with hoops at all. …but what I did know was that I loved helping people and I loved the NBA Draft. And that’s where the cohorts were born.
If you’ve been thinking about joining one, I hope you will. I believe in what we’re doing. I want to add more value than you have to pay. Ultimately, I want to see you achieve your dreams, and I know myself and our team have insights that can help.
So whether you’re a subscriber, a paid subscriber, a reader, or a cohort member, I’m rooting for you and you’re the ones making all this happen!
And that’s why I like to help, because it makes me happy to see your success and know that hopefully, I was a small part of the process along the way.
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To join on of our cohorts, beginning on May 17, sign up at Eventbrite
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