January 26, 2020
2 days ago marked the anniversary of the passing of Kobe Bryant.
It's one of those moments for sports fans where you'll remember exactly where you were for the rest of your life.
In my case, I was on my second interview as a finalist for my job with the Raptors.
When we found out Kobe's helicopter had crashed, I was sitting 5 seats away from Marc Gasol, who's brother was one of Kobe's closest friends, and a colleague who'd been Kobe's PT in LA.
No amount of interview preparation is adequate for the complete and total shift of experience that accompanies something like that.
I remember the scramble to comfort players with the existing psychologist. I remember players not wanting to play. I remember talking to the GM about whether or not we'd play our game against the Spurs… it would be the first game to tip after the crash.
And I remember, more than almost anything else in sports, watching Fred VanVleet dribble out the 24 second clock in honor of Kobe, the Spurs committing an 8 second violation in honor of Kobe, and then starting the game over. It might be the only NBA game in the history of the sport to start and start over.
That day was the first day of the rest of my career.
Take a beat to reflect on a transformative moment in your life.
What did you learn?
How did it make you better?
Then, see if you can apply that today.