Posts filed under ‘NBA’
Michael Redd’s faith has grown stronger since he arrived in NBA
Growing up in Columbus, Ohio, Michael Redd always had Christ in his life. But since he was drafted by the Milwaukee Bucks in 2000, the 29-year-old shooting guard has developed a stronger faith. Not long after he arrived in the NBA, Redd famously declared he would remain celibate until he married his wife and, by all accounts, kept that promise.
Then after signing a six-year, $91-million contract in August 2005, the NBA all-star used part of the money to help his father purchase a church. Redd’s father, the Rev. James Redd, is pastor of the Philadelphia Deliverance Church of Christ in Columbus, Ohio. Before his son’s generous gift, the congregation worshiped in storefront and basement churches. At a time when NBA stars are glorified for their wanton lifestyles, Redd stands out as one who puts his faith first.
I talked to Redd about faith and basketball. (more…)
Top 12 Evangelicals in Sports
You can stay home on Sunday to watch football, skip Tuesday night prayer meeting for the baseball game of the week, and miss Saturday’s church retreat in favor of a pro golf tournament–chances are, you’ll still hear about Jesus. Evangelical athletes populate the major sports, and many of them enjoy the chance to be outspoken about their faith–thanking God for that winning field goal, late-inning homerun, or 18-foot putt.
We’ve scanned the sporting world to come up with a gallery of some of the most dominant athletes and coaches working today. Each of these men and women work hard, as their Bibles tell them, “to win the prize,” both in their sports and in their faith. (more…)
Allan Houston: Getting Playing Time With God
Two shining moments from Allan Houston’s career have cemented his place in NBA history: his buzzer-beating shot in Miami that sent his New York Knicks to the NBA Finals in 1999, and his 53-point game against the Los Angeles Lakers four years later. But Houston is no showboating superstar. Hardworking on the court, he was a softspoken leader off it, In retirement, Houston has quietly staked his post-NBA legacy on helping fathers and sons come together in a series of basketball retreats called Father Knows Best, held since 2004 in Harlem and soon to expand to New Orleans. We chatted with Houston about how the program got started, why it’s needed, and why athletics and faith go together. (more…)
Blazers Assistant Coach Monty Williams speaks on his faith
Prior to Saturday Night’s tipoff between the Blazers and Bobcats, I had the opportunity to sit down with Blazers Assistant Coach Monty Williams. Coach Williams was kind enough to discuss his work developing the team’s young talent, how he has learned from some of the best coaches in the league, and what is really going on when he holds Coach McMillan back during confrontations with the referees.
Mr. Williams also talks candidly in this interview about his Christian faith and how it sustained him through the trials and tribulations of dealing with a mysterious heart condition.
Here is the transcript of our conversation.
Blazersedge: I understand that Coach Nate McMillan breaks the roster down into groups for video sessions. Who is in your group?
Well, usually I have Travis [Outlaw] and Martell [Webster]. Sometimes I’ll take [Jarret] Jack if I need to show him something or Brandon [Roy] every once in awhile when he’s not getting treatment, James [Jones, on occasion]. More often than note, I’ll have Travis and Martell. (more…)
Faith is big part of Luke Ridnour’s life
Through most of Luke Ridnour’s career in the NBA he has been a starter for the Seattle Sonics. Things changed this season after he sustained a broken nose during training camp and then on November 16th he suffered a torn right thigh muscle which resulted in him missing four week. During his time rehabbing this injury, his back-up, Earl Watson, jumped into the starting five and has yet to leave. Instead of pouting Ridnour has taken this challenging year in stride and has embraced his new role as back-up point guard for Seattle.
Ridnour recently sat down to chat with HOOPSWORLD about how his faith in God gives him strength, his thoughts on Watson’s strong season and he talked about how he approaches his role as a veteran player in Seattle’s locker room. (more…)
David Tyree and Caron Butler experience spiritual transformations
You probably saw the catch on TV. Or maybe you saw it on the cover of Sports Illustrated. The grab made by New York Giants wide receiver David Tyree may be the greatest catch in Super Bowl history. It certainly was a pivotal moment in the Giants’ victory over the New England Patriots. But it was not the most pivotal moment in young David Tyree’s life. That would be when Tyree found himself behind bars in a jail cell.
“What looked to be the lowest point in my life ended up being the greatest thing that ever happened to me,” Tyree told the New York Times, referring to his 2004 arrest.
Tyree drank and smoked pot from an early age—habits he carried with him into the NFL. In 2004, to pay a $10,000 fine for being late to a team meeting, Tyree decided to sell marijuana—and was arrested. That is when his girlfriend issued an ultimatum: “her lifestyle or his.” He began reading a Bible he spotted on her bed. (more…)
Allan Houston speaks on his faith
New Man: Thanks for doing this interview. I’ve long been an admirer of your silky smooth shot and I miss it on the court.
Allan Houston: (Laughs) Yeah, me too!
New Man: Let’s start by talking about your basketball camp, Father Knows Best. What inspired you to start the camp?
Houston: It was really a vision I had about seven years ago. It took me a couple of years to follow through with it. I shared the vision with my dad. He’s a very dynamic man, a hero to me. He led by example as a dad and I still admire him on so many different levels. He coached me in college and he coached a lot of other guys who went on to play in the NBA. I started thinking that our experience had been unique. Then I started to understand from a spiritual level, that my connection with God as a spiritual Father made me appreciate my biological father’s example even more. He showed them to me. So I felt like we had to share this and encourage other fathers and sons—and give those kids who don’t have fathers, these skills. So we decided to bring it together through a basketball retreat. We didn’t want to call it a camp because it was hopefully more than just a camp. It’s an empowering and enriching weekend. You establish a deeper connection and sons are learning how to grow as young men, and fathers are growing as men who used to be in their sons position, and you’re doing it all through basketball. We do drills, shooting demonstrations, along with workshops on communication. We also deal with women and understanding a man’s role in that relationship. But we just make it really fun. The kids play against each other and have a lot of fun. (more…)
Sonics’ Adrian Griffin testimony
I’ll be honest. I was really blessed in my childhood. I had two wonderful parents who were the biggest living testimony of God’s love. I watched my dad, a pastor, labor and pray for God to pay the bills, provide us with food and put us through school.
At a young age, I realized just how alive God truly is and how He works through our circumstances. I could see through my parents’ lives that I needed to follow their example and enter into a personal relationship with Christ. But it wasn’t until after I graduated college that I truly was able to rely on Christ 100 percent.
As a three-year starter at Seton Hall University, I, like so many other college standouts, wanted to continue my basketball career. But to my disappointment, I wasn’t drafted into the NBA. There I was, a 22-year-old college graduate who was, by that time, a husband and a father; and I was without a job. (more…)
Debate continues: What place does religion have in sports?
The images are everywhere: players pointing skyward after scoring touchdowns, teams gathering for prayer, coaches praising God following victories.
Religion has always been a part of the sports world, but its presence today is hard to ignore. Some say more athletes and coaches have been emboldened to speak out because of the rise of conservative Christianity in politics, where it has become mainstream to discuss religious beliefs.
President George W. Bush helped usher in that era, and was elected largely because of the religious right. We are seeing Christianity play a role in the Republican primaries with Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee. But there is a major divide in politics that parallels a similar split in the sports world: There are those who believe God belongs everywhere, and there are those who believe God belongs only in church.
In sports, both sides of the “to preach or not to preach” question are jockeying for attention. The more we see the vulnerability of athletes and corruption in sports, the more each side feels it is necessary to speak out either for or against religion in sports. That presents a series of questions: (more…)
A.C. Green preaches what he practices
Spotting the Los Angeles Lakers’ A.C. Green ,Jr. at the 1999-2000 NBA finals with the Indiana Pacers was easy. When he wasn’t on the court, he was the tall guy with the green bear on his head.
The bear, affectionately known as Little A.C. (the initials are embroidered in yellow), sports a message on his back: I’ve got the power.
During the series, the Lakers, with Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant, showed their power by defeating the Pacers in six games, the team’s first NBA championship since 1988. Green collected championship ring number three (along with 1987 and 1988), all with the same franchise that had drafted him in 1985.
Green’s most recent team was the Miami Heat, his fourth team in a long career. At the beginning of the 2001-2002 season, Green, 38, announced his retirement. But his tenure in the NBA, thanks in part to his physical endurance, should keep his Ironman title secure for years to come. Green has been in so many consecutive games since 1986 that the number escapes him (it’s close to 1,200). (more…)
Jesus Christ's Superstars - Celebrities, Athletes, Actors who use their spotlight to honor God. 