Sometimes it’s worth pausing to reflect on what has been accomplished, just appreciating shit. Last week was probably the first time in I can’t remember how long I didn’t write an essay for this newsletter. There was no real reason, I just wasn’t in the mood. Or course me being me I had to think about why I wasn’t in the mood, and though I have not come up with a good answer for that, it did give me a moment to pause and reflect on what I have accomplished here in the last year.
Welcome back to BASKETBALLWEATHER.
Jalen Brunson ⬆️ said something during an end-of-game interview earlier this season that stuck with me, and it’s relevant for what we’re talking about here. He said, “I’ll have time to think about it when it’s over.”
It was the answer to a question that came at one of those interviews that reporters give during the middle / or end of a game; where the commercial aspects of the NBA creep in an uncomfortable way, when it’s more than obvious the player doesn’t want to be there; when the reporter, Allie Laforce, or someone like that, is just doing her job, but she knows it too, so it can make for a bit of an awkward moment; but the reality is that the interview gets done anyway, and most importantly the people at home get what they need to wax poetic about it on their Subby stacks.
“I’ll have time to think about it when it’s over,” Brunson said. I love that so much.
Brunson had just come off another 40+ point game, carrying the entire Knicks team on his back, and it was a fair question in those circumstances. I mean, shit, I’m curious about it too, so it’s only natural to ask.
How does it feel to be so talented and awesome?
But to Brunson, there was really only one answer, and it’s the answer he gave. “I’ll think about it when it’s over.”
Basically:
“I’ll reflect on it when my NBA career is done.”
It might not be the natural response. I don’t think it is.
Perhaps the most natural response is to say I am obsessing over it every night. It’s been my dream to play in the NBA since I was four, and now I’m here, at Madison Square Garden; under the bright lights, in front of Ben Stiller and that blonde girl in the front row with the pink fur and Ugg boots, and it’s a damn dream come true.
But, that’s not realistic. If you let yourself do that, you’ll lose the moment.
You’ll duck the present because you’ll be busy rationalizing the drama, and therein lies the heartbreaking truth of living your dreams.
It’s not about you.
Brunson’s performances aren’t for him to soak up, at least not yet, he’s too busy doing them to get lost in all the fluff around them. If he allowed for that, he might lose his concentration. And concentration for a professional athlete on that level is everything. It’s the reason he’s on that level to begin with, guys.
So as much as we might want him to, you know, tell us “the truth” about how it feels to be so awe inspiring.
He can’t.
The ego is a little bitch, and it’s not worth letting her through. Even though she loves the spotlight, and would love to tell Allie Laforce that the money, fame, power, and acclaim are so much fun…
Then again, every once in a while, when there’s a break in the action, when things slow down for a week (before the Finals), and there’s a moment to breathe, it’s a good idea to take stock and be proud of what you have accomplished over the last year.
Just a little.
Thanks so much for being on the BASKETBALLWEATHER train for the last 12ish months. We’re in it together!
❤️,
Allen
"Brunson’s performances aren’t for him to soak up, at least not yet, he’s too busy doing them to get lost in all the fluff around them." Reminds me of the saying, "Write drunk. Edit sober." There is a time and place for each.