Terry Rozier
Terry was born in Youngstown, Ohio, where the only workplaces are prisons and the crime rate is one of the highest in America.
His father spent his entire childhood in prison. Terry’s mother struggled to feed him and his brother. Often they received death threats because of a murder his father had committed. For safety, he moved in with his grandmother.
Young Terry’s psyche was broken. He ended up at a school for troubled kids, where his coach told him at his first practice that the Lightning had a better chance of hitting him than Terry would end up in the NBA.
Rosier didn’t give up. Student league teams began to take interest in him, but his grades forced him to transfer to Hargway Military Academy (Virginia), whose conditions were not much different than those of a prison.
Once, for cheating, Rozier was sent on 25-hour duty in full uniform. He didn’t sleep for several nights, and the next day he scored 68 points.
Already in his second year playing for Louisville, he was averaging 17.1 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2 steals per game, which made it clear he was an NBA draft pick.
In the Celtics’ preview, Terry showed his true colors. Boston was looking for a number one with a good dribbling game. According to club co-owner Steve Pagliuca, Terry beat two guys like they weren’t even there.
Rosier becomes a Boston player and gives his all to the team. After a while, he realized he didn’t want to warm the bench and the third point guard role wasn’t for him. In the summer of 2019, he moves to Charlotte, goes to the lineup 63 games out of 63 and shows progress in every statistical indicator.
Terry Rozier’s character, work ethic, and perpetual desire to move forward has made him the man we know him to be today. And that’s just the beginning!
Jimmy Butler
At the age of 13, Jimmy Butler’s mother kicked him out of the house, leaving him homeless and destitute. The teenager struggled to survive on the streets of Tomball. He wandered from one friend to another until he met Jordan Leslie, with whom he once competed in long-distance throwing. They became real friends, and Jimmy often spent time at Leslie’s house.
Leslie’s parents were so attached heart and soul to Jimmy that they offered to become a member of their extended family. That’s how he got a home. Jimmy began to work on himself, realizing that he was an example to his younger siblings. Feeling supported by his new family, Butler worked hard on himself and became a star on the school’s Tomball High School Cougars team. But it wasn’t that, it was his college debut at Tyler Junior in which Butler scored 34 points. By season’s end, he was already the top scorer among colleges.
This was probably the first time in his life that Jimmy had a choice, with three universities looking at his game. He settled on Marquette.
Things didn’t work out with head coach Baz Williams, and Jimmy often polished the bench. Despite the coach’s harsh criticism and poor performance, he gained valuable experience. Williams’ ruthless attitude helped build Jimmy’s tenacious character. In his third year, his dedicated style of play and good defensive skills interested NBA scouts. Before the draft it was the coach who convinced Chicago’s general manager to pay attention to Jimmy Butler.
Butler spent his time on the bench at first, but in the 2012/13 playoffs he showed off his defensive skills in all their glory. The next season Jimmy was already in the starting lineup.
After years with Chicago and playing for Minnesota and Philadelphia he finds himself in Miami, makes a great team and leads his team to a championship. “The Heat are definitely not a team you want to face in the playoffs.
Life has definitely taught Jimmy to be strong and motivated, but most importantly, demanding of himself rather than those around him.
SERGE IBAKA
It’s no coincidence that the path to the NBA for a native of the Black Continent is much longer and more difficult than for a peer from Spain, France or Germany. Many Africans can’t even dream of the level of living standards that have long been the norm in other parts of the world.
One such native (Congo) is Serge Ibaka. He had no sneakers, no proper court, and the ball was shabby and old. But the lack of light and food in the house didn’t stop him from waking up at 4 a.m. and going for a run. He had a goal in mind.
By the age of seven, Serge had lost his mother, and five years later his father was imprisoned. His grandmother took over his upbringing. However, after a while, Ibaka also lost the roof over his head after a fight with his uncles. During the day Serge washed the streets and begged, and at night he slept on the streets. There was simply no money for his education.
At the age of 18, Serge first aroused the interest of scouts. At the then African championships, he collected all the possible individual awards. By his own admission, until the age of 15 he had never played in normal sneakers or on a quality court.
Two years later, Serge was drafted by the NBA. At Eurocamp training camp, Ibaka showed off his skills, which further influenced the Seattle Supersonics to pick him.
In a matter of seasons, he has developed into one of the league’s most consistent centers. In the company of Harden, Westbrook and Durant in the renamed Oklahoma, he showed a great game, and in the 2012 Finals, he was a step away from the cherished dream, losing the series to Miami 4-1.
In 2017, Serge was traded to Toronto and won a long-awaited championship in the 2019-2020 season.
Allen Iverson
His father abandoned the family, and his stepfather received jail time for selling drugs. Allen’s mother struggled mightily to provide for her children. His family was evicted from their apartment for non-payment. Already as a child, Allen understood the responsibility that lay on his shoulders. He set a goal for himself to become an athlete and help his family get rid of poverty once and for all.
He was threatened with five years in prison for taking part in a mass fight. But later the charges were dropped. It was then that Allen made the decision to take his exams and go to university.
Iverson had several sports hobbies. Iverson’s choice between American soccer and basketball was influenced by the coach of the basketball team at the university. His coach believed in him despite his small stature for a basketball player – 183 cm.
Allen still preferred to play for himself and missed out on the teammates. But his game was recognized as special and he was in the starting five. He led his team to the playoffs the very next season in ’95/96 and became an NCAA All-Star, and was selected under the first pick by Philadelphia in the NBA Draft that same year.
The 76ers rookie stood out on the floor with his dribbling and looseness. He also tried to maximize his shooting, which obviously wasn’t at an adequate level.
Philadelphia was at its peak in the 2000-2001 season. The legendary final series against Shaq and KO. It seemed like Allen was unstoppable. The inexhaustible 183 centimeter engine gave big problems to a prime Los Angeles team that had not suffered a single playoff loss that season.
In addition, Iverson won the NBA’s top individual MVP award that season in addition to the league’s most prolific player award.
He didn’t manage to win an NBA title, and many can’t put him on the same level as Jordan or Bryant. But in his day, Allen was the league’s best player, an unstoppable scoring machine. And perhaps that’s hard to argue with.