Sports Column: NBA Draft Is Dream For Many

The NBA is my dream like so many others. The draft means you have worked every day to hear your name called and to see your name pop up on the board. It doesn’t happen overnight, but to see people like Cole Anthony, Kira Lewis Jr. and Nico Mannion get drafted last week puts it all into perspective.

The sacrifices it takes to get to your dream is something that needs to be a conscious decision. It’s a willingness to put aside things to reach your dream.The people in this year’s draft are examples of this. They understood that they didn’t have all the time in the world so they would sacrifice parties, movies, even time with friends to grind and work toward their goal. A perfect example of this is the 15th overall pick this year. A perfect example of this is Cole Anthony, going into college at North Carolina, Cole was one of the top high school players ranked number two in the 2019 Class however, his college career was nowhere near the perfect experience. Cole suffered many injuries to the point he felt like he wasn’t going to be able to declare for the draft, but he worked and sacrificed time to his body, mind and developed the skills to get drafted and now has reached his dream.

Time is probably the most important factor when talking about reaching your dream. Knowing that you don’t have all the time in the world is a step in the right direction. My coach always told me that you could be sitting down watching TV and not getting better at the same time some kid on the other side of the world, even a kid on your block, is working hours to get past you. Kobe said “If you wake up at 4 o’clock everyday those hours will turn into days, those days will turn into years. Eventually you’ll be years ahead of everyone else.” That’s the time you put aside and sacrifice to reach your goal.

The NBA Draft is a place millions of people hope to reach. To hear their names called by Commissioner Adam Silver saying that you have been drafted by this team. But, you can’t ignore the work and the grind to reach that goal. It feels like yesterday I was watching Cole Anthony face off against Cam Reddish on the EYBL Circuit. This should be the prime example of using every second to the fullest to not just to build to your goal, but to also build what’s most important—family.