The definition of “NBA Journeyman” is somebody relatively expendable who hops around from team to team, trying to find a niche and a comfortable situation. Those who call the Sacramento Kings’ Shareef Abdur-Rahim by this moniker are naming the man inappropriately. He’s entering his 11th season with his fourth team and still looking for some postseason success. Last season was his first time in the postseason, and it doesn’t take a genius to know he’d love to get back there.
Abdur-Rahim recently talked with BNS’s Joel Brigham about Sacramento’s postseason chances, as well as his thoughts on the Kings’ young guys and his veteran experience in the NBA.
You’re one of the lucky NBA players to have had a ton of experience, yet who are still under 30 years old. Where do you feel like you are on the timeline career? Is “prime” still an appropriate word to use?
“I guess I’m prime age, but when you think of prime you think of young. Just getting your experience, I think I’ve got a lot of experience playing the game as long as I have. But I feel like I’m still in my prime, yes.”
Prime can mean “seasoned,” too—not just “young.”
(laughing) “Yeah.”
What’s the most important thing you’ve learned in your career so far?
“You just have to keep rolling with it. Keep fighting, keep battling because you never know what can happen.”
When did you start to think, “Wow, I’m actually a veteran player now!”
“I think a couple years ago. It was just a couple years ago because for a long time I had more years than guys and I was younger than them (you know, guys that stayed in school four years).”
Do you remember what team you were on when that happened?
“Probably Atlanta.”
Who of all the younger guys on this team do you see having the brightest future?
“A lot of them. You know, Kevin Martin, Francisco Garcia, Ronnie Price, Quincy Douby. You know, all of these guys have very bright futures.”
The league is wide open this year; a lot of teams are very evenly matched, so this is definitely not a team anybody should be counting out. What’s it going to take for the Kings to not only get into the postseason, but to have some success once you’re there?
“Just continue to build our continuity. Just keep getting better and better.”
What was the key to you guys winning tonight (in Friday night’s win against the Bulls)?
“We just kept fighting. It was kind of an ugly game, but it’s kind of like I said: you never know what’s going to happen. So we just kept playing, kept playing and it worked for us.”
Great game tonight man, thanks for your time.
“No problem.”
The Kings are off to a 1-2 start, but the one win came in dramatic fashion and showed what kinds of things this Sacramento team is capable of. As long as Abdur-Rahim is on the roster, you can be assured that at the very least, there’s some veteran presence and know-how on the front lines.
http://www.hoopsworld.com/article_19289.shtml
http://www.hoopsworld.com/article_19289.shtml
Abdur-Rahim recently talked with BNS’s Joel Brigham about Sacramento’s postseason chances, as well as his thoughts on the Kings’ young guys and his veteran experience in the NBA.
You’re one of the lucky NBA players to have had a ton of experience, yet who are still under 30 years old. Where do you feel like you are on the timeline career? Is “prime” still an appropriate word to use?
“I guess I’m prime age, but when you think of prime you think of young. Just getting your experience, I think I’ve got a lot of experience playing the game as long as I have. But I feel like I’m still in my prime, yes.”
Prime can mean “seasoned,” too—not just “young.”
(laughing) “Yeah.”
What’s the most important thing you’ve learned in your career so far?
“You just have to keep rolling with it. Keep fighting, keep battling because you never know what can happen.”
When did you start to think, “Wow, I’m actually a veteran player now!”
“I think a couple years ago. It was just a couple years ago because for a long time I had more years than guys and I was younger than them (you know, guys that stayed in school four years).”
Do you remember what team you were on when that happened?
“Probably Atlanta.”
Who of all the younger guys on this team do you see having the brightest future?
“A lot of them. You know, Kevin Martin, Francisco Garcia, Ronnie Price, Quincy Douby. You know, all of these guys have very bright futures.”
The league is wide open this year; a lot of teams are very evenly matched, so this is definitely not a team anybody should be counting out. What’s it going to take for the Kings to not only get into the postseason, but to have some success once you’re there?
“Just continue to build our continuity. Just keep getting better and better.”
What was the key to you guys winning tonight (in Friday night’s win against the Bulls)?
“We just kept fighting. It was kind of an ugly game, but it’s kind of like I said: you never know what’s going to happen. So we just kept playing, kept playing and it worked for us.”
Great game tonight man, thanks for your time.
“No problem.”
The Kings are off to a 1-2 start, but the one win came in dramatic fashion and showed what kinds of things this Sacramento team is capable of. As long as Abdur-Rahim is on the roster, you can be assured that at the very least, there’s some veteran presence and know-how on the front lines.
http://www.hoopsworld.com/article_19289.shtml
http://www.hoopsworld.com/article_19289.shtml
