Whats my endgame?

I get a lot of questions thrown at me. How do you play basketball with only one arm? Did you win the game? How’s your team doing? There was one question that someone asked me the other day that threw me off. What’s the endgame? What do you want to accomplish by playing basketball. At first it sounded like a simple question, but then I thought about it and figured out it’s a really deep question. I had to think about it really hard. At first I was going to say win a championship, but I didn’t.   

    When I decide to hang up my jersey I don’t want to be known as the guy who won a championship. When I die I want people to talk about what kind of player I was.. I think the biggest thing you can earn from someone is respect. I want to earn the respect of my coaches, teammates, opponents, family, friends, and my fans. When it’s all said and done at your funeral people won’t talk about all the buckets you scored or how many people you stuffed on defense. They will talk about the impact you made on them personally. How you changed their lives. Your records will be broken, your stats will fade, but the impact you have made on others will be remembered.

    I remember when I was younger I watched this amazing movie called When The Game Stands Tall. It's about a football team that was the best in the nation with 151 game win streak. One game they lost and broke the streak. I will never forget what the coach said to the players after the loss he said “don’t a game define who you are, but the way you live your lives do that.” Even though our coaches and fans put a lot of pressure on us to win the game, it’s just that, a game. You play to the best of your ability and that’s all you can really do.

 A lot of things aren't in your control during a game. “The only thing you can control is you.” Do you know who said that? My mom. She’s right. You can’t control the game, the fans, or the refs. You can only control yourself.  So don’t cheat, taunt, or showboat. When you knock someone down pick them up. When you mess up admit it. Doing all this won’t guarantee you winning a championship, it will help you win something so much better. Doing this will help you earn respect in whatever sport you play in. It will help you earn the respect of your teammates, coaches, friends, family, and your opponents. I believe that is the endgame we should strive for each day in our own race in life. In the end I don’t want to be a great basketball player. I want to be a great person. So I’ll ask you the same question that guy threw at me. How do you want to be remembered?