Before Sheryl Swoopes became a celebrated athlete that she was, the WNBA legend had endured lots of struggles and criticisms on her way to the top.
But the first player to be signed in the WNBA, nonetheless, sucked it up, worked extremely hard, and went on to become one of the greatest basketball players of all time.
And the ‘female Michael Jordan’ as some people call her, wants aspiring NBA/ WNBA players to do the same – ignore the naysayers and just keep on pressing forward to achieve their dreams.
“Believe in yourself, be who you are, and don’t worry about what others are going to say,” Swoopes, who’s visiting the Philippines for the first time, told local reporters Friday at the Gatorade Hoops Center in Mandaluyong City.
“If playing basketball is what you’re passionate about then you should do that. I also had people telling me that I wouldn’t be very good at it, that I shouldn’t play and if I listened to those people, I wouldn’t have this opportunity that I have today.”
Swoopes is currently here in the country for the Jr. NBA program National Training Camp and alongside Sacramento Kings Center Willie Cauley-Stein, the four-time WNBA champion would coach and identify the top eight boys and girls aged 10-14 to be named as 2018 Jr. NBA Philippines All-Stars.
The players to be selected would be given a trip to Shanghai together with the other Southeast Asian Jr. NBA All-Stars to watch the 2018 NBA China Games featuring the Philadelphia 76rs and the Dallas Mavericks.
“Participating in sports and having proper nutrition are both integral parts of a child’s holistic development as it touches on physical, emotional and mental well-being,” Swoopes said.
“Through the Jr. NBA program, I look forward to this opportunity to contribute to our goal of getting more kids, especially girls, to play the game of basketball and help them understand how working hard on their craft in the same way it opened doors for my career, can unlock greater opportunities in life,” she added.
Swoopes also talked about the potential of Filipinos of making it to the NBA/ WNBA and she said that the chances of Filipino ballers who wants to reach the grandest stage of basketball is ‘as high as it is for anyone else’ as long as they are hard at work.
“To me, it doesn’t really matter who you are or where you come from. Basketball is basketball and if you’re passionate about something and you believe in yourself and you set goals and dreams, I always believe that the sky is the limit,” Swoopes related.
The three-time WNBA MVP used Filipino descent Jordan Clarkson’s case as a supporting point.
“It’s never going to be easy, you gotta put in the time, you gotta put in the work but I think the opportunity for Filipinos is as high as it is for anyone else. You look at Jordan Clarkson who is playing for the Lakers (now for the Cavaliers), I think he is a prime example of what hard work can do for you.”
She also advised the aspirants to not fear failure and making mistakes as it’ll help them to get better and most importantly, ‘have fun’.
“Don’t be afraid to fail, don’t be afraid to make mistakes and not just in basketball. I think all of us today probably make a lot of mistakes that we learn from, we grow from, that continue to evolve our lives, the member of the 2016 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall-of-Fame said.
“And just have fun, whatever it’s that you choose to do, work hard at it and have fun because if you’re not having fun doing it, then it’s not worth it.”
Meanwhile, Swoopes, who’s also a three-time Olympic gold medalist and a member of the 2017 Women’s Basketball Hall-of-Fame truly appreciates the love she’s been receiving from Filipinos since she arrived here Tuesday so much so that she broke into tears while talking about the matter.
“You guys are awesome,” Swoopes said with excitement. “I had so much fun from the time I got off from the plane and everyone was so welcoming and so warm.”
In a moment, she found herself wiping the tears dripping from her eyes.
“I know it’s not my home (here) but I felt like you guys have showed me so much love and I really appreciate it.”
Follow the writer on Twitter: [social link=”https://twitter.com/mambaniel24″ icon=”62218″]
