Antonio Daniels

Work Ethic: The $20 Million Upgrade

At His Summer Basketball Camp

I wanted to impress upon an older group of basketball camp participants what a privilege it was to receive valuable instruction from Washington Wizards guard Antonio Daniels. AD is committed to utilizing his degree in education and NBA experience to provide the quality product that bears his name. More importantly this morning’s theme was Work-Ethic and I wanted to speak about a man who leads through example. Their instructor for the Help Defense session was also someone who has a championship ring and a successful NBA career going into the third year of a 5 year $30 million contract. I wanted to offer the campers insight to the professional that they do not see on television or in arenas.

Hungry Yet Humble

"Working with Walter has been incredible for me. He is very observant and knows what he's talking about. His opinion is important to me."

I approached AD back when perception was that he might be caught in between the one and two guard positions. I told him that as an instructor what that meant to me, is that he is good in both positions and that if we focused on skill development in those areas he could become a modern day 1-2 guard combination. So we went to work and what I learned about work-ethic and professionalism was impressive. After one HoopDamentals work-out, AD said he wanted to see me three times the next week. After that week he said, let’s do five times next week, than he asked to see me twice a day for a month before he returned to Seattle when he played for the Sonics. Our “Student of the Game” attitude cup’s were being filled with opportunities to learn, yet there were still obstacles to be addressed. Summer was coming to an end and I was returning to my middle school teaching/coaching position and work-outs would have to take place at 6:00 a.m. Ball Handling and after 7:00 p.m. Shooting. AD said, just tell me where I need to be, and more often than not he was laced-up and ready to go upon my arrival. What I also learned is, that in between those skill development sessions AD often ran sprints on a football field, played full court games and lifted weights. I asked AD if he had always worked so hard in his profession. He said he had always run, lifted and played and that this was the first time he had committed to skill development. I told him that no one will ever be too good of a ball handler or shooter and I respected his professionalism and the opportunity to work with such a talented athlete.

There Are No Cinderella’s

The next May AD returned to San Antonio with the Sonics and averaged 18 points and four assists in the second round of the Western Conference Playoffs that were one basket from going to a game seven. There’s no doubt that his playoff creditability upped his stock as a dependable one/two guard and his reward would come later that summer. Instead of returning to Seattle for $2 million in the third year of his contract, AD accepted the $30 million offer from Washington. I went on to explain to the campers that Antonio Daniels maturity to invest his time and focus as a businessman into his profession was the way he worked himself into a $20 million upgrade. That same Work-Ethic he was teaching Help Defense with is the same as the 6:00 am or multiple day workouts, practices, regular season games or playoffs. Most of what they have not seen about AD is a great example of what he represents by leading through example and what makes him successful. Add to that AD’s efforts to share the true values of sports with our youth in my opinion is what makes him special.