When I was a little kid back in the early 90s my cousin cleaned out his closet one day and gave me a box of stuff he was planning on throwing out. In that box was a Christian Laettner basketball card. He just had such a commanding presence in his pic, his aggressive, domineering stance midair as he went in for the slam dunk in the pic was something to be feared…I was convinced this guy was an NBA juggernaut. It was then and there I knew I was the ultimate fan.

My first grade teacher liked playing a game during roll where you’d say your name and answer whatever question she would ask for the roll call question of the day. One day she asked us who our favorite basketball player was. She went around the room calling roll, asking us one by one who our favorite basketball player was. After wading through a sea of Michael Jordans and Shaquille O’Neals, the teacher finally called on me. I thought back to that card I owned, that unstoppable juggernaut of a slam dunker from the Timberwolves, and proudly exclaimed “Christian Laettner!” The room went dead quiet. Every single person was absolutely mesmerized by my answer and therefore my clear basketball acumen. The teacher, absolutely speechless, moved on to the next kid on the roll sheet. On that day, I felt like a basketball god, and I’ve been chasing that high my whole life ever since