What clicked for you in that 2002 season?

Oh, man, 2002 was one of the toughest, uh, years of my life.

Um, I lost my grandmother in, in, in May.

Um, and I, I think for me, basketball was like the, the one thing where I just could get out there.

I didn't have to like think about, about much, you know? It was when everything became clear to me.

[lips smack] So I was just out there playing and having fun, you know? Uh, I think as a athlete, for a lot of us, you know, basketball is healing.

When we go through things, we just pick up our ball and go shoot and decompress.

[laughs]

Yeah.

Um, I was gonna say that.

But I think it's a, it was important because, you know, we, we hear a lotta stories, uh, about culture and player relationships, and I just think, you know, for myself, you know, here I am doing the games now.

A lotta people know my journey because I'm just very outspoken about it.

But it was a time in my life where, especially early on being a young player trying to figure it out, um, I didn't feel like that safe space or times m- where I may have told, you know, a coach or staff and I didn't feel, like, protected.

Um, when I told Sandy ...

Or, or, or also me not, um, being accountable because I'm young trying to figure out things too, right? But at that time in San Antonio, I had done, I did, like, a lotta work and I was able to communicate what I needed.

Yeah