NBA legend Brian Keith Shaw was on his first trip to India to promote basketball recently. After three stops in the country — at Noida, Jaipur and Mumbai — the former Los Angeles Lakers star went home impressed with the hospitality and grand reception he received.
“Everyone in India has been extremely kind to me and it is humbling to be here,” the two-time NBA champion told this paper before his departure. Over his 14 years in the sport, Shaw played for seven different teams, including the Los Angeles Lakers, where he won three consecutive NBA championship pennants from 2000 to 2002.
Following his retirement, Shaw joined the Lakers’ coaching staff before being named head coach of the Denver Nuggets in 2013. After quitting the Nuggets in 2015, Shaw says he spent time fishing and grilling barbeque at his home in California.
“I love to unwind while fishing. This is the most cherished activity for me these days, and I love the grill as well... I have about five barbeque grills at home,” the 49-year-old said, adding, “My wife, Nikki and our three kids, we as a family ensure that we share at least one meal daily where we sit around and talk about everyone’s day.” Shaw, whose philosophy in life is to live simple, idolises boxing legend Muhammad Ali and former baseball star Jackie Robinson.
Asked about the most memorable moments of his career, the soft-spoken NBA TV analyst shared an interesting story. “When I was playing for the Orlando Magic, we were going to the NBA Championship to play the Houston Rockets, whom we had beaten 12 times earlier, and so we thought it was going to be an easy victory. However, they beat us in every game and swept the series 4-0. That humbled us and taught us not to count our chickens before they hatch. That was my first time in the Finals and we lost.”
The manager now loves to travel and has a special preference to sea-side resorts in tropical regions. “These days, I don’t follow any fitness regime. It’s just the journey from fork to mouth everyday and I love to travel and taste new food. But for mental strength, I take out time maybe five minutes sometime during the day to reflect — some kind of meditation to gather my thoughts and calm myself.”
Recollecting his childhood memories and how he fell in love with basketball, Shaw said, “My father put up a hoop above our garage when I was five years old and that is when I started playing. Every day, I would get home from school, go outside and shoot hoops and eventually I started watching professional basketball. I fell in love with the game at a very early age and I knew this is what I want to do for the rest of my life. Basketball was my motivation for everything. If I didn’t do well in school, I wouldn’t be allowed to play basketball. It helped me put everything in perspective, do chores at home too, otherwise I couldn’t play. The thought that something I love would be taken away from me was my motivation to balance my game and education.”
The popularity of the sport is in a nascent stage in India. But after Satnam Singh Bhamara became the first Indian to be drafted into the NBA, there is a rise in the popularity of the sport. Shaw is confident that the sport will get more exposure in India in the coming days.
“I still think there is a way for basketball. Obviously, cricket is No 1 here and basketball is relatively new. But I think with some of the programmes such as NBA Jump, NBA Jam, basketball is going to get the required exposure and open up opportunities for the kids to learn a new game, to fall in love. It will become a popular game after some time.”
