Category: The Ringer

The Ringer by Mirin Fader
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THE MANY DIMENSIONS OF DEMAR DEROZAN

Never break. DeMar DeRozan’s father used to say those two words, again and again, as his son was growing up in Compton, California. Many times, DeMar came close. Close to unraveling, close to shutting down. He couldn’t trust many people around him. As soon as he got attached to someone, they would disappear. Uncles, friends, classmates. He would come to school, see an empty desk that remained unfilled for days, and nothing more needed to be said. Gunshots, gangs, and funerals haunted his neighborhood. He almost became numb to the violence, the possibility of death. Every time he left his house, he knew he might not return. He understood, as his mother, Diane, puts it, “You’re here today, and maybe gone tomorrow. You have to make the best of it.”

The Ringer by Mirin Fader
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GREG ODEN’S LONG WALK HOME

Greg Oden is early. Earlier than most of the players he’s about to coach. He steps out of his Denali on this bright, windy February morning in Indianapolis and lumbers into Hinkle Fieldhouse. He slips a tiny red mesh jersey over his gray hoodie, which looks like a baby’s bib on his 7-foot frame, barely covering the top of his chest. But he isn’t the least bit bothered; he’s in his element. He joins the scout team on the court, whispering bits of advice to players between sets. He throws down a dunk, soft and clean, offering up a glorious glimmer of the player everyone in this gym, in this city, remembers him to be.

The Ringer by Mirin Fader
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Can Kara Lawson Build Duke’s Next Basketball Powerhouse?

There’s an urgency about Kara Lawson. You can hear it in the way she speaks, you can see it in the way she moves. Her eyes expand, her shoulders stiffen. When the Duke women’s basketball coach leans forward, you feel the power of her undivided attention. Each word has weight, a hidden parable.“There’s three things that can never drop,” Lawson says, “and that’s your work ethic and your focus and your discipline. Those have to stay high.”

The Ringer by Mirin Fader
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The Wait and Weight for Bronny James

A fan wearing a white LeBron James Lakers jersey arrives well over an hour before tip-off. Another man sports a wine-colored LeBron Cavaliers jersey here at Haas Pavilion in Berkeley, California. There are plenty of other James replicas on this Wednesday night in early February: James’s yellow Lakers jersey. His purple one. His black one. But everyone in the building is here to see a different James, Bronny James, the King’s eldest son and USC’s 19-year-old freshman guard. Bronny sprints out of the tunnel alongside his teammates to warm up ahead of their matchup against Cal. Drake and 21 Savage’s “Circo Loco” is blasting, but it appears Bronny can hardly hear it. He has white earbuds in, blocking out the noise. Blocking out the student marching band, drumming and screaming and clapping. It’s Cal’s first sellout since 2017, and it isn’t because of the competitiveness between the two teams; at the time, the injury-marred Trojans had dropped six of their past seven games, dwelling at the bottom of the Pac-12 standings. Fans came to see Bronny.

The Ringer by Mirin Fader
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Michael Porter Jr. Finds Meaning After Almost Losing Basketball

Michael Porter Jr. lay on a bed in a patient room, staring up at the ceiling, left alone with his doubts and fears. Not again, he thought. Not again. He felt as if he were in a dream. A terrible, agonizing nightmare. And he felt intense déjà vu. For good reason: He had indeed been in this exact room, in this exact bed, inside this exact Dallas medical facility—not once, but twice before.

The Ringer by Mirin Fader
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THE SUMMER OF AUSTIN REAVES

Austin Reaves stood off to the side as cameras flashed brightly in the distance. He was just out of frame, watching his teammates pose during the Los Angeles Lakers’ media day earlier this month. LeBron James and Anthony Davis, with 27 All-Star appearances combined, walked in front of a white backdrop, getting ready to take a photo together. Then a cameraman called upon Reaves, a third-year guard who went undrafted out of Oklahoma two summers ago, and signaled for him to join in.

The Ringer by Mirin Fader
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DAVANTE ADAMS AND THE RACE AGAINST TIME

Davante Adams anxiously awaited the news. Despite having played nine seasons in the NFL and being arguably the most decorated active wide receiver in the league, he eagerly awaited something most people would think is an afterthought at this point of his career. He needed to know whether he had made first-team All-Pro. Adams doesn’t ordinarily care for awards, for recognition. His motivation has always come from within. From seeing how far he can push himself past his own lofty standards. But this time was different.

The Ringer by Mirin Fader
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DAVANTE ADAMS IS PEAKING IN EVERY WAY POSSIBLE

Davante Adams could feel his daughter’s eyes on him. Watching him. Intently focused on his arms, his legs. His face. Then-15-month-old Daija couldn’t look away as her dad worked out in the middle of a gym inside their Danville, California, home last April. So he strapped Daija into a bouncer a few feet away that allowed her to jump and jump until her little legs grew tired. Normally, when bench-pressing heavy weight in front of his Packers teammates, Davante would struggle to complete one rep. But with Daija watching, he easily completed three. She’s watching me, he thought to himself. I have to show her that her daddy can do this. That her daddy is strong.

The Ringer by Mirin Fader
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IF YOU DON’T KNOW KEEGAN MURRAY YET, YOU WILL SOON ENOUGH

Keegan Murray calls for the ball. A sweat stain lines the back of his gray shirt. He’s been shooting jumper after jumper in a gym about 10 minutes away from downtown Chicago. Midrange off the dribble. Five spots of 3s. Jab left and pull up. He often won’t move to the next spot until he executes each drill perfectly. Until each release feels just right. It’s drizzling outside on this late-April morning. The sky is a deep gray-blue. A park sits across the street. This unassuming gym, which has a sign near its entrance that reads “To whom much is given, much will be required,” is where he’s been training for this week’s NBA combine in Chicago. Murray is one of the most intriguing participants in attendance. He leapfrogged from a barely recruited prep to a superstar sophomore at Iowa, to a projected lottery NBA pick in next month’s draft. Some mock drafts even have him projected to be a top-five pick.

The Ringer by Mirin Fader
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THE DRIVE BEHIND JABARI SMITH JR.

It was pitch black outside, but Jabari Smith Jr. didn’t need to see. He just needed to feel. His feet knew where to jump, his arms knew when to pump. It was 5:30 in the morning, an hour before Jabari, then in eighth grade, was supposed to wake up to get ready for school. But something tugged at him to hop out of bed and jump rope outside his home. To push himself harder. His mother, Taneskia Purnell, didn’t realize what was happening at first; she kept hearing a loud, persistent noise. It was cold when she went outside and found him, wiry body bouncing up and down, rope whipping in the wind. She wished he would let himself sleep just a little bit longer. But he was too determined. Too awake. “I’m OK, Mama. Don’t worry,” he told her. “I’m OK.”