Dalen of the Bulls Terry was ‘damn near in tears’ after meeting Kobe Bryant.
Dalen Terry, a Chicago Bulls rookie, believes his passion for basketball began at a young age.
That love and countless hours in the gym led to a personal encounter with his childhood idol, late Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant, who visited the gym Terry’s squad was playing in one day, along with fellow Hall-of-Famer Tracy McGrady.
Terry stated that he was several courts away from Bryant and that his “pride” would typically not have allowed him to pursue an autograph, but this was an exception.
“Kobe asked me, ‘What position do you play?'” “I was a point guard at the time,” Terry remarked on the “QMO Pod” on September 14. “‘Damn, you [6-foot-7] play point guard?'” You should have been on my team, s***.’ And I’m thinking, there’s no way Kobe just said I should be on his squad. You understand what I mean? I’m almost in tears, like, oh s***.”
Terry’s coach, Isaiah “J.R.” Rider, was instrumental in arranging the meeting.
Rider and Bryant were colleagues on the Lakers in 2000-01, and the former escorted Terry past the heavy security detail to meet Bryant and McGrady, whom Terry admits he didn’t notice at first.
“You know how they say people have an aura?… “To be honest, I didn’t even notice T-Mac, bro,” Terry admitted. “I saw Kobe and thought, ‘Bro, what’s going on here?'” That is my preferred player. Wow.’ … I had him tattooed on me… That is something I’ll never forget. “I’ve never felt like that before, man,” Terry admitted.
Joining the Bulls may have been a full-circle event for Terry had the Bulls been able to land Bryant, who is rumored to have wanted to join the team more than once throughout his career.
Dalen explains Terry Overcame a Lack of Playing Time
Terry already discussed the difficulties of not seeing much action as a rookie. But he went on to explain how he made the best of a bad circumstance.
Dalen Terry Explains How to Develop a Passion for Basketball
Terry, like Patrick Williams before him, trained with DeRozan in Los Angeles this summer. Terry, on the other hand, started doing something similar at the age of five, so the now-famous 5 a.m. workouts aren’t exactly new to him.
“I’ve always, from a young age, just stayed in the gym,” Terry explained. “I lived in the gym.” My auntie… had worked as a coach at Chandler-Gilbert Community College. And she coached the women’s team, and I would always go during the summers when I didn’t have AAU tournaments, 5 a.m. wake up, from when I was like five years old to probably my freshman year of high school.
