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At 33, Marcus Camby still yearns to win a championship.

Anne Stein

Denver’s starting center and shot-blocker extraordinaire was named NBA Defensive Player of the Year in 2007 and ranks number one this year in blocks (4) and number two in rebounds (14.2) per game. But as his 34^th birthday approaches, what he’d really like is to share an NBA championship with A.I., ‘Melo and his other Nuggets teammates.

What’s been the favorite moment of your career? Draft night in ’96. My dreams and aspirations growing up as a kid were to be a school principal, but I also had the fantasy of one day playing in the NBA. So through a lot of hard work, going to high school and college, that moment in ‘96 was a dream come true. Now I look around the room [he looks across the locker room at Allen Iverson], A.I. was in that draft and it was ironic, we were number one and two, and now we’re on the same team.

What’s been the toughest moment of your career? In ’99, getting all the way to the NBA Finals [with the N.Y. Knicks] and losing to the San Antonio Spurs. You always want to be a champion at some point in your career and making it to the Finals isn’t an easy task. When you get there you gotta savor the moment. In ’99 we came up a little short and I haven’t been back since, so that’s one of the goals that’s driving me.

Who’s an athlete in your sport that you admire? I’ve always admired Dr. J. I always watched him growing up as a kid. He’s a fellow UMass alum — you know we stick together. Even today we have a real close relationship. He’s a guy I like to pattern myself after and in my eyes he’s one of the greatest basketball players ever. In a sport other than basketball, it would be Tiger Woods. He’s consistent, he always plays at a high level, he’s always winning. The way he approaches each tournament, all eyes are on him and he always rises to the occasion. I don’t know how he does it. He has so much pressure, not just to perform on the golf course but off the course, to help a younger generation get into the game.

If you weren’t playing basketball, what would you be doing? I’d be a principal. I was an education major at UMass and as part of my curriculum I used to go and substitute teach fourth and fifth graders, so I had a lot of hands-on experience and hours in the classroom. I’d want to be an elementary school principal, and I’m not sure if it would back in Massachusetts, at home in Connecticut, or in New York where I played.

What’s your favorite book? Growing up my favorite book was The Little Engine That Could. I probably read it twice a week to my daughters before they go to sleep. Just the meaning about never giving up and always striving to be the best is what I try to instill in my kids.

What’s your favorite movie? My favorite movie of all time that I can watch over and over again is The Shawshank Redemption. I never get tired of it. It probably comes on three times a week and my wife asks, ‘are you watching that again?’

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