3 Things You Need to Land an NBA Job

My journey to a 13+ year career with the Portland Trail Blazers

Seemingly every day, I receive a message in my email, on LinkedIn, or even Facebook and Instagram where someone has tracked me down and asks, ‘How do I get a job in the NBA?’

Sometimes I’m sent a ‘copy and paste’ (they’re easy to spot and rarely responded to) and sometimes someone simply has done their research and found someone with a story they can relate to.

My story is that I grew up in the cornfields of Indiana where my first word was ‘dada’ and my second word was ‘ball.’ Like millions of other young kids, I dreamed of playing in the NBA one day and dedicated my life to that goal. But at some point in life, athleticism, speed, and strength catch up to you… or better yet, you don’t catch up to it and you realize that making the NBA is likely not possible. My dream transitioned from playing in the NBA to working in a Front Office and being a General Manager of an NBA team one day.

Fast forward through my high school playing days, trying out for a D1 college team and being passed on, and then simply becoming a ‘regular’ student with a Business degree and winding up working in a college Admissions Department.

After about 6 months of working in Admissions, I opened my Bible and saw a note I had written in it. It was my Mission Statement I had written 5 years earlier where I had written about my calling to the NBA. It felt like more than just…