Tag: Bernie Lee

Bernie Lee: A few days later, he played his first game back in Los Angeles. Minnesota had to win their last three games to make the playoffs. I walked into that arena with no clue what was about to happen and very nervous beyond, but also super mindful of how far the path to even get to that point was. I stood in the tunnel feeling like I was going to puke, but very early in that game, it was clear that Jimmy was the best player on the floor and it wasn’t even close. A few days later, he scored 31 points in a must-win game against Denver to get Minnesota into the playoffs for the first time in 14 years. The entire ordeal taught me the lesson and value of perseverance and appreciation of the process itself, what made the other side of that experience so enjoyable was everything it took to get there and it’s a lesson I’ll never forget and it’s a lesson that I apply to now.

Bernie Lee: What we are missing right now is leadership. For the most part, we don’t know who to look to or listen to, who will help us navigate this all. As easy as it is to exchange information right now, we have never been more disconnected. Never! But again, with every void comes opportunity and into that void will come the adaptability of the NBA and its players. The leadership that composes the NBA is second to none, especially when challenged, and no professional sports league has been as challenged in recent memory as the NBA has been this year. Coming out of this, the NBA is going to play 3-on-3 with some low-minute guys and some interns and it is going to show up at its first game back in two months and within four minutes, it is going to scream to its own bench as it runs back down the court after completing a back door alley-oop, “I’m f****** back.”