What Basketball Players Can Learn From Vincent Chase

Entourage may be one of the most unrealistic television series of all time. In the final episode last night, Vince got married, Ari revived his broken marriage, and Sloan and Eric got back together. Let’s be honest: Life does not always have a happy ending. And most of the time, neither do basketball careers. That is why basketball players should not model their career after Vincent Chase.

Vince’s acting career actually should, believe it or not, serve as a lesson to young basketball players: Do not believe everything you watch on television. While his life may have seemed glamorous and fun after his acting career fizzled, that is far from realistic. As a basketball player, it is constantly emphasized that you should live in the gym. You should eat, drink, and breathe basketball.

While it is certainly fine to play basketball constantly, if you are aiming at playing basketball as a career, you cannot take the career path that Vince took in acting. Chase relied on his acting ability and looks to carry his career. This worked for a few years, but eventually his career came crashing down. And if it weren’t for his friends, he never would have been in the position he finished the series in.

The average NBA career is three-to-four years long. No matter how much you are getting paid during that time, you are going to need to do something other than play basketball after your career is over. Shoot, that is even if you are lucky enough to make it to the League.

A guy like Charles Barkley could have easily been like Antoine Walker and gambled all of his money away, but he did not. Because Barkley has such a great personality, he was able to have a successful announcing career after his basketball career was over. That shows that Barkley is a well-rounded person. Jay Williams, who only played one season in the NBA, did the same thing as Barkley. Kevin Johnson, another former NBA All-Star, is now the mayor of Sacramento. These are all guys who were more than just basketball machines, which allowed for them to have long successful post-NBA careers.

If you are a basketball player and you want to have a career in basketball, look for a back-up plan too. As cruel as this may sound, you are mostly likely not going to be paid to play basketball. Such a small percentage of the population gets to play basketball for a living. And if you are good enough to make it, good for you, but you still need to plan for the worst.

What do you think?

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