![]() Because Pelinka was about to go on his journey, Pelinka recalls Bryant saying, he needed to read “The Alchemist.” Pelinka saw James reading it during the 2018 playoffs, and when the superstar signed with Los Angeles, the general manager saw a convergence. After he was offered the Lakers’ GM job in 2017, Pelinka went to Bryant’s office to discuss his new opportunity and saw Bryant had the book on his desk. Pelinka started it after a chance encounter with Bryant. I’m taking the omens and I’m pretty much just trying to learn from it.” I’m around different people, people who have things to tell me and wisdom to tell me, so I’m really listening. If you put it in my perspective, I travel a lot in different cities all the time. “It has a deeper meaning, because it’s a story about a kid traveling trying to find his destiny, talking to people. He began it before a midseason trade from Washington to Phoenix, hoping to find his purpose. He was given the book through a friend’s sister who studied numerology and crystals, which made Oubre immediately trust the recommendation. He read it as he struggled with injuries and the ups-and-downs of his seasons with the Bucks and found that it put his struggles in perspective. Ekpe Udoh, who’s hopscotched around the NBA, counts it among his favorite reads. Sasha Vujacic became a fan of Coelho and moved onto his other work.įor one reason or another, the book has a way of finding its way to players at the right time in their careers. Andre Iguodala heard about it from Tyson Chandler’s brother-in-law and then passed it on to others around the NBA. The book is a small sinew running through the league, passed on from one player to another, through one degree or another. Ray Allen turned into a bibliophile because of it. Al Horford has expressed an appreciation for it. Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka read from it a few months later during a news conference debuting the team’s signings, including James. LeBron James was spotted reading it during the Eastern Conference finals while he was still with the Cavaliers. The spring and summer of 2018 basically served as a league-wide endorsement of the book. It is popular across the NBA, where it’s served as a guiding text for several players and stars, and has helped turned cliche-happy athletes into verbose philosophy majors. Bryant says he’s re-read it about five times. That the book struck a nerve with Irving wasn’t surprising. It doesn’t really get me up in the morning every single day to want to meditate, to want to read, to want to do things that fulfill my life.” In actuality, it really doesn’t mean anything. Basketball, this life, it’s an illusion in terms of certain material things that mean a lot more - I mean like, going after success or accomplishments in this league has been predicated on so many things that you’re here” - Irving raises his arms shoulder high - “based upon what you’ve accomplished or how successful you are or how people perceive you. “But I think that the importance of my life outside of that has been something that I’ve been paying attention to a lot more. ![]() “Basketball has been a vehicle that’s driven me for a long time,” he said. He recognized a pull to complete a journey, and, intuitively, the realization that it may not be headed the right way. When he finished, he felt tethered to others who also connected with the book on a deeper level. Heavy on mysticism and self-fulfillment, it has become an international hit and made Coelho a headliner. He goes on a journey to discover the treasure while pursuing his personal legend, which is ultimately a destiny that some choose not to follow. The book tells the story of Santiago, a young Spanish shepherd who dreams that a treasure is waiting for him in the Egyptian desert. What the hell does ‘The Alchemist’ have to do with my life?” “I’m just trying to be a better basketball player, you know what I mean? I’m trying to reach out to you, Kobe, to be a better basketball player, better man, ultimately. “I was like, ‘Ugh, all right,’” Irving said. ![]() Irving, in search of simpler lessons, recoiled at first. Bryant told Irving to read “The Alchemist,” a three-decade-old best-selling novel by Paulo Coelho that examines personal exploration and growth through allegory.
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