The life of an NBA player is adjusting to your home away from home not being one single place, but rather a whirlwind trip around America collectively known as “the road.” This week Andre Iguodala and Evan Turner sat down on The Point Forward Podcast to discuss what life was like on the road, and more specifically how players would hang on the schedule in preparation for travel to some of their favorite spots.
Naturally New York and Chicago were popular places to visit, but there was one NBA city that unanimously caught the attention of players when it was time to travel.
“Miami. Folks were anxious to get down to Miami,” Iguodala says, “I’ve never seen so many guys excited to get on the plane. It’s a long flight — but guys didn’t mind that flight.”
The kneejerk reaction might be to assume this is because of the nightlife, or the culture — the bars and partying down on South Beach, but aside from all that there’s a really pragmatic element to it too. Turner explains that half the hype about making the trip down to Miami was because of the weather, especially if you were on a team based in a cold weather city.
Life on the road isn’t a monolith, but something that evolves over time. Iguodala and Turner explain that there are really three stages of your career when it comes to traveling from city-to-city constantly.
- As a rookie you kind of just explore. A lot of time is spent at malls, and eating at the most-expensive restaurants in town because you don’t know any better.
- After being in the league for a few years you develop these hubs all over the country. You know the stores you like in each city, the restaurants you know will be open late, and develop a base of operations on every trip — always hitting up your spots.
- In the tail-end of your career is when players are thinking about life after basketball, these road trips become opportunities to network. To conduct meetings between games and prepare yourself for life after basketball.
It’s this third part that a lot of fans don’t know about, and it’s where Iguodala went into fascinating detail. He didn’t turn his TV on in his hotel room at all towards the back-end of his career out of trying to be efficient with his time. Instead he spent his time reading about business, before branching out in trying to make connections with moguls in those areas.
Iguodala points out that trips to San Antonio were always interesting to him, because of its close proximity to Austin. This allowed him to arrange meetings with businesspeople he wanted to work with after his playing days were over, and critically network.
“That’s how I changed up my flow,” Iguodala says, “that’s how I changed up my road — and how I was handling myself.”
Another really fascinating elements of an NBA player’s life on the road is their ability to check in on certain cities every year, and see them change over time. Iguodala and Turner were able to recall the places that were horrific when they first took trips on the road, and watch them evolve over time into something amazing.
Turner: Shoot, sometimes you’ll end up in Milwaukee… you know what I’m saying?
Iguodala: It’s nice there now!
Turner: Yeah! Super nice. There used to only be a Benihana down there. Now that bad boy jumping!
Iggy notes that Charlotte is one place that he thinks has improved the most from when he started in the league to now, citing its uptown being a destination. However, both players agree on one place that grew on them the most from entering the league, to being a frequent visitor on the road.
Toronto.
The diversity and culture felt hidden away to Iguodala when he entered the league, but as a long-time veteran he believes it’s a place he could live because of how inclusive and amazing it is to visit. Turner points out that it felt completely foreign when he entered the league, and now it’s just like driving three hours from Columbus to a neighboring town.
It’s just incredible to think of NBA players having a travel guide-esque knowledge of every city they travel to. Understanding not just the best spots to hit up, the bars, and the atmosphere — but the best places to truly experience the culture and heartbeat of a city.
Road trips aren’t always about traveling to foreign places, but establishing homes everywhere in the nation.