Okay, so the other day I found myself thinking about that basketball player, Chris Andersen. You know, Birdman. Wild tattoos, crazy energy on the court. It started pretty randomly, I think I stumbled across some old Denver Nuggets highlights while messing around online.
So, down the rabbit hole I went. Started pulling up more clips, watching old games. It wasn’t like watching a superstar scorer, you know? His game wasn’t about fancy dribble moves or hitting threes. It was pure, raw hustle. The guy just flew around, especially on defense and going for rebounds. That energy was infectious, even just watching through a screen.
I got really focused on watching how he operated near the basket. His shot-blocking and rebounding. Yeah, he could jump, obviously, but watching closely, it seemed like a lot of it was about timing and just relentless effort. Always fighting for position, always anticipating where the ball was going to go. He just seemed to want it more on those plays.
Then I thought, huh, what about my own games? I play pickup ball sometimes, down at the park. Nothing serious, just for fun and exercise. I’m definitely not Birdman, not even close. My vertical leap is probably measured in inches now, maybe centimeters. But I wondered, could I bring a tiny bit of that mindset? Not the crazy dunks or blocks, but the focus on positioning, the boxing out, the sheer activity level on defense.
So, the next Saturday I went out to play. Didn’t say anything to the guys. Just decided I was gonna try and focus on that stuff. When a shot went up, instead of just standing and watching, I tried to find a body, box out, really make an effort to get inside position. On defense, I tried to be more active, anticipate passes, maybe try and time a jump a bit better if someone drove inside.
Man, it was tiring. Way more tiring than just playing my usual lazy defense! I felt kinda awkward sometimes, probably looked it too. Trying to be everywhere, bumping guys a bit more for rebounds. Did I suddenly become a defensive monster? Nah. Maybe grabbed a couple extra boards, maybe made someone think twice about shooting near me once or twice. Hard to tell for sure.
But you know what? It was interesting. It made me really appreciate what guys like Andersen did, night in and night out. It’s not just natural talent or athleticism. Maintaining that level of intensity and defensive focus for a whole game, a whole season? That takes incredible discipline and work ethic. It’s that stuff that doesn’t always make the highlight reels but wins games.
It kind of reminded me that in pretty much anything, not just sports, you got the flashy people who get all the attention. But then you got the grinders, the role players, the guys doing the less glamorous work that’s just essential to make things function. They deserve respect too.
Anyway, that was my little Birdman experiment. Didn’t magically make me a better player, and my knees still ache after playing. But it was a cool little exercise in focusing on a different part of the game. Made me watch basketball, and maybe think about effort in general, a little differently. Just a small thing I tried out.
