Anne Stein

Derek Fisher
Guard, Los Angeles Lakers
Age: 33

After spending his first eight seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers, veteran guard Derek Fisher, who more recently played for Golden State and Utah, is back home with the Lakers this season. The father of four, who serves as a calming presence in the locker room, is also current president of the NBA Players Association.

What’s been the favorite moment of your career so far? The moment I heard my name called when I was drafted in 1996. [He was picked 24th overall by the Lakers.] The emotion I felt was overwhelming. I was way off the radar, and I just kind of worked my way up during pre-draft camp. To be drafted in the first round was mind-boggling. I was with my mom, my dad, my college coach [Wimp Sanderson], agent and close friend, in the locker room at University of Arkansas, Little Rock, watching the draft. Family members and church members were watching in another room. No one knew whether I’d get drafted or not. It was a question until I heard my name!

What’s been the toughest moment of your career? It’s a three-way tie. The first is when I was told that I needed surgery and I’d be out a few months, in summer 2001. To go from the joy of winning a championship to finding out you’re gonna miss three quarters of a season was a tough blow. Second was 2003, the loss to the Spurs, Game 6, which ended our run. I cried on the bench; I was in total disbelief we were going to lose. We had won three championships in a row and I didn’t know anything else but that at the end of the season we’d be the champ. The third moment was when I was traded from Golden State to Utah. It was the first time in my career other than when I was injured I felt like I wasn’t in control of my own life and my own decisions. I was married and just had twins and as a father and husband I was feeling that life’s pretty good and things are coming together. Then to have someone tell you we’re gonna send you over here and you have three or four days to get there and have a press conference and tell everyone how excited you are — it was weird in particular being age 32 and just having twins — there was a lot of emotion wrapped around basketball and life.

If you weren’t playing basketball what would you be doing? If I hadn’t made it to the NBA, I’d be an accountant. I took an accounting class in high school and was immediately hooked, and I minored in accounting in college. If I retired from the game right now I’d go into management or consulting for athletes. I don’t want to be an agent, I want to help guys manage their careers.

Favorite movie: The Firm, because of the accounting twists. The conspiracy theorist in me first developed after watching that movie.

Favorite book: There are so many good ones. My favorite book would be the Bible, but I read so many other good books there’s no way I could say one’s my favorite. Other than the Bible that’s the only one I can say, that every time I read that I get something from it, every time.

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What’s your favorite gadget at the moment? My Blackberry. I feel bad for admitting that because I know there’s truly a Blackberry addiction going on in the world. But I think it’s cool, I can get so much done. I have a separate phone for my family, and every time I walk in the house my Blackberry goes on the charger and stays in the charger. I’m admitting I’m an addict, but one day at a time!

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