A Finish to Remember…

Many who know me know that I’m an avid sports fan.  I consistently follow a few teams on several different levels.  I follow the Brigham Young (BYU) Cougars men’s basketball team as well as football team.  I also follow the Utah Jazz (NBA).  Recently, a guy named Sundiata Gaines was called up from the NBA Development League to play for the Utah Jazz as the Jazz needed to fill a roster spot.  Due to injuries and other circumstances, he played a significant amount in one of the first games he was on the roster.  Having only practiced a handful of times with the Jazz, he wasn’t the best known by the fans or by the players nor did he have the knowledge of Jerry Sloan’s system.  Yet, he found himself in the game, down 2 points with seconds left, against the Cavs and Lebron James, who single handedly took over the game.  Why am I sharing all of this with you?  I want you to watch this video!

[youtube]PI6iQgMp-nA[/youtube]

Gaines is living his dream.  We see it as happening overnight.  But did it really?  What do you think?  Let me know in the comments!

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  • Ryan R

    When I saw this I thought who is this kid? Then in the post game show they were talking about this kid on the 10 contract called up from the d-league. The more I heard of the story the more impressed I was by this guy. I was glad that the Jazz signed him at least to the end of th season.
    Here is a guy that realizes that it takes hard work to get where he wants to go. He has made sacrifices and worked hard to get where he is at. It seems to me that he appreciates the opportunity more then alot of these guys that seem to have fallen into the opportunity to play in the NBA. I do not doubt that they work hard but I dont think they appreciate how fortunate they are.
    I hope that Sundiata has a long fruitful career in the NBA.

  • Ryan R

    When I saw this I thought who is this kid? Then in the post game show they were talking about this kid on the 10 contract called up from the d-league. The more I heard of the story the more impressed I was by this guy. I was glad that the Jazz signed him at least to the end of th season.
    Here is a guy that realizes that it takes hard work to get where he wants to go. He has made sacrifices and worked hard to get where he is at. It seems to me that he appreciates the opportunity more then alot of these guys that seem to have fallen into the opportunity to play in the NBA. I do not doubt that they work hard but I dont think they appreciate how fortunate they are.
    I hope that Sundiata has a long fruitful career in the NBA.

  • http://dustingtaylor.com/ Dustin Taylor

    Ryan – I agree with you. Just seeing how excited he was to do something he had worked so hard for where he’s at right now. I’m sure that he’s now living the dream that he had as a middle school kid shooting hoops in his high school gym.

  • http://dustingtaylor.com Dustin Taylor

    Ryan – I agree with you. Just seeing how excited he was to do something he had worked so hard for where he’s at right now. I’m sure that he’s now living the dream that he had as a middle school kid shooting hoops in his high school gym.

  • http://dustingtaylor.com/ Dustin Taylor

    Just watched this again… I got the chills…

  • http://dustingtaylor.com Dustin Taylor

    Just watched this again… I got the chills…