3 Ways to Turn an NBA Internship into a Full-Time Position
How I turned an unpaid internship into a 13-year NBA career
As I set my sights on a career in the NBA, I applied for everything. I kept telling myself, “Just get your foot in the door.” I applied not only for basketball operations internships but for business internships, marketing internships, and anything else that would get me in. When the NBA preseason started and I still hadn’t gotten an internship, I turned towards the G-League before finally being offered a public relations internship with the Philadelphia 76ers.
I was set to start on a Monday when I got a call from my would-be boss, Sean McCloskey. “Can you delay your start by a week? I got flown out of town.” “No problem,” I said. I went back to my job as a university admissions counselor, answering phones for another week.
A week later, I got the same phone call: “Can you come in next week? I got flown out of town again.” “No problem,” I said again. “I’ll come in Monday. If it’s a good fit for both of us, I’m ready to go,” I continued. And Sean echoed, “That’s great, we’d love to have you start as soon as you get here.”
In the meantime, Kaleb Canales, the Video Coordinator from the Portland Trail Blazers called. It was Friday night and he said, “What would you do if I…
