Productive Overthinking

Big week for us as a team in terms of taking another step towards becoming the unit we want to be.

We played the best team in Europe with the biggest budget (40 million) this Saturday.

Real Madrid.

A test, a huge test, a test unlike any test I have ever taken in my career.

A very strange task to navigate, when my experiences have not necessarily prepared me for this level of challenge.

Fun challenge.

Fun week.

Let’s talk…

Why I Do This:

After each game, I make sure to take pictures and sign autographs for any fans that stay extra to get them.

It was surreal to see the amount of people waiting for me.

I will never take it for granted.

I will never let it inflate my ego because it is not about me.

It is about inspiring others to become the best versions of themselves through following my journey navigating everything this pro basketball life brings.

If I even have the smallest chance to positively impact another human’s life, then I am going to try my best to do it.

Thoughts From This Week

Teach Yourself to Fish

As you elevate to larger, bigger and more complex challenges, the tendency is to rely on solutions that have worked in the past.

A few times you can get away with this.

In these scenarios, you might get lucky because the challenge is similar to a previous one you have faced.

The majority of the time, you can’t.

Maybe it’s moving from JV basketball to varsity, from high school basketball to college or even college basketball to pro, the challenge is much different.

There is huge value in our learnings from previous challenges. This value is not necessarily in the exact solution, but rather in understanding the process of finding a solution.

This quote by famous Chinese philosopher, Lao Tzu, embodies the essence of what I am getting at:

I mention this quote and this idea because this week I faced a challenge in Real Madrid unlike any challenge I had ever faced.

This team was by far the most talented, skilled, and athletic team I had matched up with so far in my career.

Would I get another fish?

Would my game translate?

Those questions were uncertain, but there were two things I knew for certain, I could fish and shit I could hoop too.

So in preparing for this challenge, I was rather calm due to my confidence in my processes that had got me to this point.

Would there be some adjusting to the higher level?

Yes, of course, but my belief in the work I have put in to learn how to play the game would translate.

In the early years in my career, I played basketball, and often played really well, but a lot of the times I could not tell you why I would play well one game and poorly the next. I had not narrowed down a formula or a system that would yield consistent results. Some days I would catch a fish (score 20 in a W) and others I wouldn’t (score 4 in a L).

As I matured as a professional through daily commitments to my systems and my basketball hard wiring, I grew to understand how to play. I found my blueprint, my “why’s”, and this blueprint is now my system that transcends levels of challenge.

I had to find my system myself. A coach could not do it for me. It took my curiosity and willingness to go all-in.

It was a matter of becoming my own teacher.

Constant self-reflection and evaluation.

Question everything.

Have a “why” behind every day, every practice, and every drill.

It’s not what you do, but how you do it.

Once you have this dialed, you will come to a place where the challenges are not as intimidating anymore.

You have foundation to stand on.

How’s Your Relationship?

As athletes we have the tendency to really play up moments in our heads. We exaggerate storylines. We daydream about the triumphant victory while narrowly escaping crushing defeat.

It’s why we love sports.

The simple chance at those special moments where all our hard work pays off, where we feel seen and vindicated.

Sport gives us the chance to be the hero that we have always dreamed of becoming.

It is a beautiful thing and should be revered and respected as such, but there is another parallel truth to the majesty of sports:

Sports are not everything.

That game is not life or death.

Basketball is not as important as we often make it.

I don’t say this to crush your enthusiasm or dreams, but I say this to give you some perspective that should steer you to a healthier relationship with your sport.

I was the kid that used to cry after bad games. I was the college hooper that would drink away my frustrations with injuries. I was the pro that would isolate myself from my friends and family when I was in a shooting slump.

This was all until I realized that these actions stemmed from an unhealthy relationship with the game of basketball. I was placing my whole existence in a game that was inherently unpredictable and volatile.

Every moment felt so pressurized because my whole being was wrapped up in whether I “failed” or not.

It was toxic and it is an extremely common mindset I see in young athletes.

I followed this realization with some serious self-reflection about the type of human I wanted to be.

I strive to be consistent, dependable, strong, resilient, and tough in all areas of my life.

If basketball was my foundation, then I could never be those things both for myself and for the people around me like my wife, friends, and family.

Basketball had to become just another thing that I systemized so that I could be that consistent, dependable, strong, resilient, and tough person, but also as a player.

The key was switching what I put my value in. No longer was it in the results of the game, but instead in the characteristics I showed throughout the game.

My evaluation was centered on how I played (mindset), and not the results of my play (statistics).

A pleasant byproduct of focusing on how you play is that the results will usually take care of themselves.

A healthy relationship with sports is one that makes you a better human, if your sport is not doing that then it’s probably time to look in the mirror and ask “why?”.

I share this in hopes of helping you guys realize the source of your pain before more unnecessary pain continues.

Respect yourself, protect your well-being and prioritize your growth over everything else.

YouTube Drop

First game day vlog of the year was a wild one… if you guys missed it, check it out here:

This was an absolute dawg fight against one of the top teams in Europe, Unicaja Malaga. The travel was crazy, the gym was scorching hot, and the basketball was high level.

Hope you guys enjoy…

There should be another video dropping either tomorrow or Tuesday… more of an informative type video, but one with a lot of value for you hoopers who aspire to play pro basketball overseas one day.

Be on the lookout.

I’ll Leave You With This:

I unintentionally got philosophical on you guys this week.

I wanted to show you guys that even pro players really think and over think about this stuff.

I promise what you guys are going through in your basketball adventure is not isolated to just your journey.

We all go through similar stuff.

I am with you.

The Atypical community is with you.

We will talk more X’s and O’s next week because this Real Madrid game had a lot to unpack…

Trey