Latest news with #AlvinGentry
Forbes
21 hours ago
- Sport
- Forbes
The Mind Of A Champion: Inside The NBA Sports Medicine Series
OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLAHOMA - JUNE 22: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander #2 of the Oklahoma City Thunder ... More celebrates with the Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player trophy after defeating the Indiana Pacers 103-91 in Game Seven of the 2025 NBA Finals at Paycom Center on June 22, 2025 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by) It takes a comprehensive team to bring out the best in an NBA player and organization. In addition to the team focused on maximizing the performance during the game, a team of clinicians, executives, and scientists that spans sports medicine professionals. Data analytics, physicians, physical therapists, athletic trainers, nutritionists, and many more collaborate to bring out the elite performance in world-class athletes. Sometimes this work is done in silos, and best-in-class tips may not be shared effectively across a team or across a league. That is where the vision of the NBA Summer League Sports Medicine Series enters, led by Dani Lonford, Manager of Player Rehabilitation Golden State Warriors. Dani Langford The goal is to break down walls, create dialogue between NBA and non-NBA professionals, and support those helping athletes guests included NBA veteran Brook Lopez, Orlando Magic guard Jalen Suggs, and league executives that included Alvin Gentry, Vice President of the Sacramento Kings, and Tommy Sheppard, former General Manager of the Washington Wizards. I had the opportunity to sit down with several of them during the event to discuss the intricate ecosystem of team sports and the specialized career skills that are essential to develop in order to advance in this pathway. INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - MARCH 23: Head coach Alvin Gentry of the Sacramento Kings looks on in the ... More second quarter against the Indiana Pacers at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on March 23, 2022 in Indianapolis, Indiana. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by) The following are five key takeaways from the Sports Medicine Series that may redefine how you think about success in the arena of sports. 1. Learn the Language of the league The most effective professionals can connect their expertise with others around them. In sports, silos between athletic trainers, data scientists, and medical staff can slow down performance improvement. In business, similar gaps exist between strategy, operations, and execution. This rapid and efficient communication is critical when it comes to managing or preventing injury, maximizing team dynamics, and staying ahead of potential challenges throughout the season. Brook Lopez & Mena Mirhom NBA veteran Brook Lopez emphasized that the most trusted people on his care team are not always the ones with the most credentials. They are the ones who communicate clearly and collaborate across roles. Danielle Langford said it best: 'Creating more fluidity between levels, departments, between people, is how we grow. Getting everyone in the same room shifts the conversation.' One of the key panels of the conference highlighted the importance of this efficient, effective, and thorough communication across the organization. MIAMI, FLORIDA - DECEMBER 28: Alize Johnson #27 of the Washington Wizards talks with general manager ... More Tommy Sheppard prior to the game against the Miami Heat at FTX Arena on December 28, 2021 in Miami, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by) Tommy Sheppard, a veteran executive of the NBA for over 30 years, emphasized the importance of being great at the specific role that we have. We must all embrace how important it is to understand our roles. The professional athlete needs support in so many areas, and it is crucial that everyone embraces their role to provide support to the best of their ability. Career takeaway: Learn your craft deeply, but also learn how to speak the language of others. Progress often happens in the spaces between specialties. 2. Focus on the Players, not the Prestige Across every panel and conversation, one idea kept resurfacing. If the athlete does not feel seen, none of the work matters. There is a lot of glamour that comes with being around professional athletes. It's important to go beyond the show and focus on the humans themselves. Dani Langford puts it this way when asked about the most important career skills needed in this work: The top ones are adaptability and flexibility. Your schedule can change the night before a game. Communication and teamwork are also huge. At the Warriors, the people make the place special, so connecting with others and checking your ego at the door are important. You need to be here for the people, not the principle extends beyond sports. In leadership, entrepreneurship, and healthcare, people are more likely to thrive when they feel personally understood. Career takeaway: Beware of fandom in professional sports careers. In order to create a sustainable career, the player must be central to your work, not just the prestige of the role. 3. Translate complex data into daily insight Sports science is advancing rapidly. Metrics like heart rate variability and sleep efficiency are now standard in elite environments. But what happens when the data says one thing and the person says another? Jalen Suggs & Mena Mirhom MD Jalen Suggs offered a candid insight: 'The numbers help, but sometimes you just know your body's not there yet.' Danielle Langford added: 'You can bring positive energy, create a good environment, and contribute. But in the end, it's really about the athlete.' In complex fields, numbers provide clarity, but intuition and relationships built from experience still plays a vital role. Career takeaway: Data should inform your decisions, but it cannot replace judgment. The best professionals learn how to blend both.4. Respect the Complexity of Recovery Recovery is a major theme in professional sports. This goes beyond a specific injury but expands to the daily process that involves micro-recovery of the sleep schedule, managing difficult headlines, and maintaining an elite routine. This process is often not just physical but engages the entire team. The process involves timing, focus, and comprehensive recovery. Jalen Suggs explained it well: Trusting your body again is a whole different level of emotional and mental layer is true in professional life outside of sports as well. Reentering after burnout or disappointment requires more than just reengagement. It requires self-awareness and support. World-renowned Senior Sports Psychiatrist, Derek Suite, MD, who has over 15 years of guiding elite athletes across the NBA, NFL, NHL, and MLS, explains how he trains the next generation of sports psychiatrists to approach helping players with sports injuries navigate the recovery process: Derek H. Suite, MD, senior sports psychiatrist and performance consultant with 15 years of ... More experience across the NBA, NFL, NHL, and MLS, specializing in injury recovery and return-to-play diagnostic precision- distinguishing grief over lost ability from clinical depression, because the interventions are worlds apart. Second, somatic integration-the body keeps the score of injury trauma, so we rebuild neural pathways through graded exposure, not just positive thinking. Third, ecosystem leadership, an athlete's recovery lives in the spaces between medical appointments, so we orchestrate care teams like conductors, not consultants Career takeaway: Growth and recovery are not linear. Understanding the dynamic ecosystem of a team allows you to become indispensable to an organization. 5. Understand that information is currency The balance between privacy and transparency can be a difficult one to strike. One of the most important principles in professional sports is that it must always be player-driven. I spoke with Maggie Bryant, President of Performance Health and Wellness, who often navigates this nuanced approach to keeping staff informed while fiercely guarding players' Bryant, President of Performance Health and Wellness, Los Angeles Clippers 'Information is gold. The ability to communicate at a high level and know when to share something, and who needs to know, is key. Having a clear-cut process in mind establishes trust. The more trust you can develop with players, the more effective you will be. She discussed that at this level, you can be a very skilled clinician but be entirely ineffective if players do not trust you or buy into your approach. She credits her father as well as key mentors, who walked her through foundational skills of establishing these long-term relationships with authenticity. Career takeaway: The discipline of developing trusting relationships is a career skill that is sometimes even more valuable than the technical skills of a position. Bottom Line The Sports Medicine Series was more than an event. It was a snapshot of what sustainable, fulfilling careers look like in high-performance fields of sport. Building a great career in sports is about learning across disciplines, respecting the complexity of team dynamics, and never losing sight of the people you serve.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
"You're not supposed to do anything. You can't" - Alvin Gentry on what he told Pelicans guard during Stephen Curry's 53-point night
"You're not supposed to do anything. You can't" - Alvin Gentry on what he told Pelicans guard during Stephen Curry's 53-point night originally appeared on Basketball Network. There are only a handful of players in NBA history who were so good at putting the ball in the basket that all defenders could do was shrug and trot back down the court. At the top of that list is Michael Jordan, who made a career out of frustrating opposing defenses with his incredible shotmaking ability. Another player was Kobe Bryant — the player closest to replicating Jordan's style of play — who could hit the most difficult shots with ease, leaving defenders grasping at air. In this generation, one of the rare players who has entered this exclusive club is Stephen Curry. Former New Orleans Pelicans head coach Alvin Gentry witnessed it firsthand when the Golden State Warriors superstar exploded for 53 points against them in late 2015 Curry haunted the Pelicans A few months after leading the Warriors to the 2015 NBA title, Curry entered the 2015-16 season full of confidence. The first team to get a taste of that were the Pelicans, who the superstar point guard destroyed with 40 points — 24 in the first quarter — during the season-opening 111-95 win. Four days later, the two teams squared off again, only this time it was at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans. Eager to atone for their earlier loss, the Pelicans went toe-to-toe with the Warriors in the first half and held a 65-64 lead at halftime. Then, the third quarter started and the whole game got flipped on its head. Curry alone outscored the Pelicans, 28-26. It was a scintillating display of shooting accuracy as he cooked any defender placed in front of him, going 10-for-13 from the field during that stretch and making five 3-pointers. One defender Gentry tried out on Curry was Toney Douglas, a 6'2" career backup guard who played well that night and scored 17 points off the bench. "He's doing a great job, not a good job, a great job," Gentry recalled. However, during that game, "great" defense was not enough to put a dent in Steph's confidence. The Warriors superstar sank three straight triples over Douglas, leaving the latter so dumbfounded that all he could do was look at Gentry and ask for anyone could do at that point While some coaches might offer an encouraging word or two to keep their players motivated, Gentry knew that there was no point sugarcoating it: Curry was in human torch mode and the best they could do was weather the storm. "You're not supposed to do anything," Gentry bluntly told his point guard. "You can't. Just roll with it, OK?" The Pelicans tried as hard as they could to "roll" with the punches, but Curry's haymakers proved too powerful. He shot 17-for-27 from the field, drained eight shots from deep, dished out nine dimes and had four steals for good measure. But this was far from a one-off night. Curry left many defenders exasperated that season. He would go on to lead the league in scoring (30.1 points on 50.4 percent shooting) and steals (2.1) and become the first unanimous MVP in NBA story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Jul 27, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
08-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
"Finally, I belong in this league" - Goran Dragic on the game that put him on the NBA map
"Finally, I belong in this league" - Goran Dragic on the game that put him on the NBA map originally appeared on Basketball Network. It took Goran Dragic a while to find his footing in the NBA, but it couldn't have come at a better time. At 23, "The Dragon" unexpectedly took over a 2010 playoff game against the San Antonio Spurs, and that was all the validation he needed. "That was the game that kind of put me out there," Dragic said in an interview with Basketball Network, referring to his huge Game 3 performance vs. the Spurs. Dragic detailed how the 2009-10 season differed from the previous year and how things finally started to click for him as a young player. It started with the Phoenix Suns' coaching change implemented by Steve Kerr, promoting Alvin Gentry in place of Terry Porter. Under Gentry, the Suns had won 54 games in the regular season and made a deep postseason run. They faced the Spurs, the team that eliminated them in four of their previous five playoff appearances (2003, 2005, 2007, and 2008). "The Spurs at the time were tough, but we swept them four to zero. It was something unbelievable. Definitely, the game that I went off kind of put me on the map. I even said to myself, 'Finally, I belong in this league,'" added Dragic. At a glance, winning a series via a sweep gives the impression that one team was simply outclassed by the other. That wasn't exactly the case. The Spurs were the 2007 league champions and a conference finalist in 2008. They had a rock-steady core led by Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili, not to mention Gregg Popovich manning the sidelines. To no one's surprise, the Silver and Black kept most of the games close. They had a chance as they were down by single digits in the final minutes of Games 1, 2, and 4. Game 3, however, was a total takeover by Dragic. Goran made nine out of his 11 shots in the fourth quarter, including all four of his three-point attempts. He scored 23 of his 26 points in the final frame, turning a 71-72 deficit at the start of the fourth into a 110-96 victory. Dragic's performance was so sensational that the Suns kept Steve Nash on the bench until three minutes left in the game! "Coach said 'Don't be shy, just be aggressive, attack the basket,'" Dragic said, per Deseret News. "Third and fourth quarter, I just did it." At one stretch, Dragic had 16 of Phoenix's 22 points. The last of this explosion included back-to-back triples, including a four-point play off a foul from Spurs guard George Hill. Dragic made another trey and a layup to effectively put the game out of reach, 100-86. "I work hard for this moment, so I'm really happy for this," stated an ecstatic Dragic in the postgame interview. "It's great in playoffs against San Antonio. San Antonio is a great team, so I'm just really happy for that." The sweep over San Antonio marked Phoenix's first playoff series win against the Spurs since 2000, when Duncan was sidelined with an injury. This time, the Suns did it with both teams at full strength, and Dragic's fourth-quarter takeover in Game 3 helped swing the series firmly in their favor. That game convinced Dragic he could build a fruitful career in the NBA — and he did. Goran earned the Most Improved Player award in 2014, made the All-NBA Third Team in the same year, and became an All-Star in 2018. But for Dragic, everything traces back to that night when everything finally story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Jul 7, 2025, where it first appeared.
