The Physics Major Who Became An NBA Hero
His journey and character outshine his incredible moment
A hero was born at the Staples Center in Los Angeles last night. After playing 384 games over a 10 year career in the minor league, Andre Ingram signed a two day contract with the Los Angeles Lakers. Ingram’s dream over the last decade was simple: to play in the NBA. Last night he got that chance and ran with it. He scored a record breaking 19 points in his NBA debut and didn’t miss a shot until the fourth quarter. The stadium was electric.
No one has scored more points in a Lakers debut than Magic Johnson. The highlights have gone viral and made national news, but the journey he took to get to this point outshines his incredible performance.
Andre Ingram is 32 years old. He graduated from American University with a physics degree, yet decided to pursue the much more risky — and less financially stable — dream of playing in the NBA. The average salary of someone his age with a physics degree is $98,000 a year. To contrast, his player salary in 2017–2018 was $19,000, and he has never made more than $30,000 a year as a D-League player over the last ten years.
On the side he tutors middle and high school kids in math to help them prepare for college application and SAT’s. “Math has always been a passion of mine” he said in a postgame interview. add more
There is a lot that I took away from his story that applies to much more than just basketball.
Inspiration comes from endurance.
Andre trained everyday for ten years, all the while making less than minimum wage, traveling by bus to secondary cities, staying in cheap hotels away from his family to get a chance to play in the NBA. To the internet he is an overnight sensation, but in reality his success was the result of a decade of hard work with no guarantee of reward.
“I was going to keep trying until I couldn’t anymore”
Ingram succeeded in fulfilling his lifelong goal because he simply refused to give up. This mindset applies to anything, try until there is no try left in you.
Be prepared and shoot your shot!
Whether it is your NBA debut or a big presentation, don’t be afraid to let it fly. Preparation is confidence.
Andre Ingram chose this path because of his love for basketball and his belief that someday he would get his chance to play in the NBA. I’m sure it was a great feeling when he signed the three-day contract with the lakers on Monday, worth $13,824. To Andre the money was never what motivated him, it was doing what he loved. His journey is the epitome of hard work, focus, and perseverance, but also one of humility, and giving back.
In case you needed another reason to love this story, check out his postgame interview. It’s good for the soul.
