NBA — Pay Your Dues
Working in the NBA
Everyone wants to know, “How long do I have to pay my dues?” 1 year, 4 years, 10 years?
One of the challenging things when looking to break into the NBA is there is no correct answer. And that goes for a lot of common questions.
Benjamin Disraeli said, ‘”The secret to success is being ready for your opportunity until it presents itself. Until then, pay your dues.”
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This is one of the reasons I always say to… Enjoy the Journey. Basketball is fun. Working in basketball is fun. Find the space and place you enjoy so paying your dues isn’t something that is making you miserable.
I paid my dues by volunteer scouting, learning how to break down game film, sleeping on couches, working around the clock, doing the dirty work and the jobs no one else wanted… and I loved every bit of it. Would I still want to do those things today? Hell no. But at that time in life, I did enjoy it. I paid my dues, embraced the journey, and received my opportunity along the way.
For me, it was less than a year of paying dues in college basketball, two years of paying dues as an Intern, but in the same realm… the dues never stop if you want to achieve your goal. That meant 15 years breaking down game film in the NBA, hoping for that next opportunity.
And it was in that 15 years that I finally stopped trying to climb a ladder and decided I needed to enjoy where I was. Enjoy the day to day. Be grateful in the moment. Because that was what was there, the moment.
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There is no answer to how long you’ll have to pay your dues. Or even if you’ll ultimately get where you want by paying your dues. Which lends to the popular phrase, ‘Control the controllables.’ You can prepare yourself and stay ready. You can control the things you can control. You can gain experience. You can hone your skill set. You can make connections. All of those things are controllable, all of those things can be enjoyed. Find a place you can pay your dues and enjoy hoops and life while you’re at it.
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