I – I wish I was a little bit taller – I wish I was a baller

I wish I had a girl who looked good I would call her

I wish I had a rabbit in a bat with a hat and a ’64 Impala

You might know the words to this song.  The lyrics are from a song called I wish by Skee-Lo.  He could have been a baller, but he did not put in the time to do the work.  In order to take on an identity – sometimes you have to give up your teenage years.

That is a line that I heard John Salley say – not so much the SkeeLo lyrics, but that the giving up his teenage years.  He was asked if he believed that there was anyone in the NBA that didn’t deserve to be there.  He said that he knew what it took to get in the league.  If it was easy, everyone would be in the league.  John Salley put in the work.  Check out his baller accomplishments:

– has 4 world championships.

– was a first round draft pick.

– 15 years in the league

–  “four championship rings, with three different teams, in three different decades and two different millenniums.” (Technically, I think the plural form is millennia, but who’s going to correct him?)

John Salley did the work.  He sacrificed so much in his life to accomplish these things.  You might not even think of John Salley as being this amazing player, but he accomplished many things.

He gave up his teenage years – from 12-21 – in order to have the opportunity to take on the identity as NBA player.  He also became a world champion.  Sometimes you get an identity given to you, and other times you give up your teenage years to get it.

Oh and by the way – Skee-Lo might not have been a baller, but we all know his song I wish.