Just got back from All-Star Weekend in LA. Been going the last couple years for Tech Summit, but this was the first time I really immersed myself in the weekend.
Here are my personal highlights:
A. Got to see Jason Richardson for the first time in a while: @jrich23 is one of the best players of our era who never made an All-Star game, and I mean that as a real compliment. We talked about our battles, the game now, and what it's like having sons in it. He's got one headed to D-I next year and one in the league already, so his perspective isn't just a former player's. It's a father's...and it's interesting!
B. Went to Dwyane Wade's Spades party: I live in the midwest, and I don't go to many hoop parties, and I've been living under a sports rock before recently getting into the social space. So to walk in to @DwyaneWade's epic event and see Kenyon Martin, a friend going back to our teenage years, plus Wade and CP3, guys I grew close with on the 2008 Olympic team, plus Jemele Hill and a bunch of others... that room reminded me that some relationships don't need maintenance. They just pick right back up. And, now they need tee times! @CP3 ha.
C. Over at the Panini suite I got to chop it up with Allan Houston and Kings rookie Dominique Clifford. Shocked @NiqueOtn even knew who I was, ha. But this kid asked all the right questions. Sharp, humble, locked in. You can tell a lot about someone's ceiling by the questions they ask, and his ceiling is high. And, then, to have H2O come in right after Nique left was a perfect circle! After all, follow this: Houston mentored me, I'd like to think I had some small role in DeMar DeRozan's journey, and now DeRozan is pouring into Clifford. Four generations of basketball in about 15 minutes. The importance of vets, importance of mentorship, visible in two quick convos.
Lot of other great moments at @NBAAllStar too, especially with fans who made me feel welcome and, dare I say, missed. Y'all are everything.
See you in Phoenix!
"I was super excited. I had a lot of adrenaline, a lot of excitement going into it. Just being able to play in front of all of the people that have seen me grow up โ to get to where I'm at now โ I think that was the coolest part."
Nique Clifford on his return home to Colorado.