The sunset outside the window has turned into sunrise, but Jordan Brink has not slept a wink all night. Staring at the computer screen for hours on end, editing the opponent team's various tactical turns and offensive and defensive tendencies, was such a shock to his brain that he was unable to think about anything other than basketball. However, the anxiety caused by wanting to please your superiors will often appear in your mind.
Since 2014, Brinker has played many different roles with the Detroit Pistons, but last year, he needed to take a step back for a while and redo his plans. Brinker already has her hands full, with family events often taking place via video calls and friendships relying on second-hand memories from friends. But that's the price you pay for choosing this career, working 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, yet it's completely incomprehensible to outsiders.
Brink once enjoyed what he was doing and loved his job. Then, as the light at the end of the tunnel continued to flicker, he wondered if his business degree might finally be put to use.
Brink had to make a decision.
"When you are chasing your dreams, you will always encounter highs and lows. Sometimes you will clearly realize that this is what you should do, and sometimes you will fall into self-doubt and realize that you have sacrificed so much but can't see it. There is no end of light," Brink said bluntly in an interview. "My road to pursuing my dream is unusual because last season, my last season as the director of video analysis, I was exhausted physically and mentally. I encountered a bottleneck. There was a time when I thought I was going to give up on the basketball industry. "
has worked in the video analysis room of Pistons for many years. The 30-year-old Brink has worked with two Pistons coaches. Last season, he finally got a new position he had longed for - player development coach, where he was tasked with preparing the Pistons' young core on and off the court. And this summer, coach Casey gave him a new task, coaching the Detroit Pistons summer league team.
The Pistons did not take this trip to Las Vegas lightly. They sent last year's No. 1 pick Cade Cunningham , third-year players Saddiq Bey , Isaiah Stewart and Killian Hayes . Three of them may serve as the team's starting role in the new season. It can be said that this is the most critical summer for their reconstruction in recent years. The growth of young players will determine the success of this team in the next ten years. Coach Casey ultimately brought in Brinker to help set the tone for next year, a season that would resemble a college basketball atmosphere for the Pistons' young men, emphasizing individual development as well as team cohesion that would help them. Back to people's discussions.
For Brink a year ago, this opportunity seemed out of reach.
"(Being appointed as Summer League coach) is certainly very unique for me, especially thinking back to the situation I was in a year and a half ago," Brinker said frankly. "I was at a low point at the time, and for me It's more like the culmination of all the experiences and connections I've had in the NBA over the past six or seven years, honestly, because of them, all the players and coaches, and everything the Pistons have. This is a great honor for me. They are all very hard-working people with high character, and being able to represent our team is a very special experience for me.”
If I can take up the coaching position. If anything, the job of player development coach has always been what Brinker has longed for.
Throughout his high school career, Brink, who attended South Holland Middle School, would walk 30 minutes north to Chicago every day to volunteer at ATTACK Athletics. This arena was founded by the famous basketball trainer Tim Grover, who has personally coached the "God of Basketball" Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant.There, while Brink helped NBA and college players complete their training, he also focused on his goals in the college basketball arena. Even though there were many NBA assistant coaches and big-name players around him at that time, he never thought about becoming a coach. Basketball was just a sport he loved as a pastime. Working for Grover not only gives him access to some of the smartest minds in the sport, but he also gets to spend that morning period doing personal training. This is undoubtedly a win-win situation.
After graduating from high school, Brinker went to Calvin University in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and had the opportunity to play in the third-level college league. It was only then that he began to consider coaching. In his senior year, Brink earned 12 credits in the fall but only one credit in the spring, just to ensure his eligibility for the varsity team. In the same year, the Springfield Armor of the Development League was acquired by SSJ Group and moved to Grand Rapids. changed its name to the Grand Rapids Drive and became a subsidiary team of the Pistons. In the first year of this professional team, they could only train in the arena of Calvin University, and Brink, who was about to end his college career, volunteered to help the driving team train. In addition to controlling the timer, his job includes wiping sweat off the floor and serving as a backup during training.
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"I look at it like a job," Brink said.
He eventually got the Pistons' attention. The team's management at the time-Pat Garrity, Andrew Loomis and Jeff Ball would visit Grand Rapids regularly to pay attention to the development of the Pistons' young players. Brink's hard work and background as a player quickly caught their eye. After graduation, Brinker got a summer internship with the Pistons' front office.
“He has never been afraid to put energy into his work, even if he knows that the job will not bring honor,” Brink’s college coach Kevin Vander Stryk said of his disciple, “But He has many honors, he was an outstanding basketball player in college, was selected to the All-American team, and he hit many game-winning goals that will always be remembered. However, the efforts he put in privately are not visible to people. "It's not surprising to me that he's embraced the trials and tribulations of everything he does behind the scenes with his teammates, and if he has a goal in mind, Brink will do whatever it takes to achieve it."
In the late summer of 2015, after months of preparing for the draft, participating in team workouts and other work with the Pistons, Brinker got another opportunity given to him by the Pistons. The then coach and team president Stan Van Gundy admired the 23-year-old Brinker very much and provided him with a video internship job the following season. Brink needed to make a decision at this time, because Michigan State also provided him with a job opportunity as an assistant under coach Tom Izzo. But the NBA is obviously more attractive to him.
In the NBA world, being a videographer intern has one of the toughest jobs. Because leaving early and returning late also comes with huge responsibilities, one must remain very keen on observing details. At this time, burden syndrome naturally occurs. Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra may be the most well-known NBA player who has gone from the video room to the head coaching position, but in fact, the head coach of the Sacramento Kings Mike Brown and the head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks Mike Budenholzer and also had the same career path. Starting here is a journey that definitely requires a certain level of dedication.
As a video intern, Brinker's responsibilities include intercepting opponent game videos for the coach's reference. When the Pistons play at home, Brinker will often be in a corridor of the arena, watching another team's game to prepare for the Pistons' next game. And when the Pistons go on the road, he's back in the office doing exactly the same job. If the away opponent is against a West Coast or Western Conference team, Brinker may even need to stay up until two or three in the morning to complete the editing work.At eight o'clock in the morning, he must come to the Pistons' training facility on time to share his findings with the coaching staff.
"You had to work the night shift, but you also had to work the day shift," Brink recalled.
In the 2016 offseason, Brinker was successfully promoted to assistant video coordinator. His responsibilities were as demanding as before, but he was also required to travel with the team to away games. In this position, Brink worked for two consecutive seasons. After the end of the 2017-18 season, he fell into the first panic of his career. As the Pistons ended the season with 39 wins and 43 losses and missed the playoffs, Van Gundy eventually parted ways with the Pistons. Because the person who brought him into the industry left, Brink felt at the time that he needed to find another way out.
"I was very anxious," Brink recalled. "When you enter this industry, you always hear people worry about job security. Usually when a new coach comes into the team, I I thought I couldn't stay because they would bring people they knew well."
Since then, Brink began to look for jobs, and he expressed his willingness to leave in every phone call. Eventually, he found a job in the video room of another NBA team and was already preparing to join. But soon after Coach Casey joined, he quickly found Brinker, and the two discussed his future together.
"I've talked to a lot of Stan (Van Gundy)'s staff, which is what you normally do," Coach Casey said. "Jordan (Brink) was very impressed. The impression is that he has grown as a coach every year, and now he has done a great job relying on his professionalism from a video coordinator to a player development coach. "
For those who chase their dreams. Like most careers, Brinker has faced self-doubt during his career, he said. Even with a new role and a new coach who believed in him, Brinker began to question himself about what the future held.
Four years after joining the Pistons, Brinker still has not been able to leave the video room, although this may be the place where many people outside the NBA want to join a team and use it as the beginning of their dreams. But he didn't think of any other way out. Brink didn't even know what he really wanted in the future. All he knew was that the arduous work, the endless nights, and the stagnation in his career were beginning to make him feel overwhelmed.
"I started looking for other opportunities, professionally," Brinker admits. "I have a business degree."
Brinker was grateful for every opportunity he had gotten up to that point, but if none of it had given him It's definitely a lie if it brings pressure.
"If you include that crazy day and night work season in the G League, from the 2014-15 season to 2021, I have sacrificed too much. I have been missing friends' weddings and family gatherings. There are For a while I started to wonder if it was all worth it, and sometimes I felt like I couldn't see the end of the tunnel."
As the director of video coordination, Brinker has become the coach's right-hand man, and he needs to ensure that Coach Casey. , no matter from the perspective of team training or preparation, you can see everything you need on the computer. His job is to make sure the footage is accurate and down to the smallest detail so the coaching staff can get to work right away without any hindrance.
This means huge responsibility. One mistake may cause the team's training to be delayed, or even the loss of a game. Everything had to be precise and detailed.
From 2018 to 2020, Brink worked in this position for two seasons. After the 2020 season, Brink finally reached his critical point. He approached Coach Casey and admitted that he needed to figure out what he really wanted.
"I had to take a step back and start thinking about myself," Brink continued. "I told Coach Casey everything I was thinking about off the court.He understood that and ultimately promoted me after that season so I could stay in Detroit. "
Now that Brinker is about to enter his second season as player development coach, the passion for the game is back. He works day and night with the Pistons' young players, accompanying them in training, studying film, and more importantly But he hopes that friendship with them will help them succeed in the future. Brink has been working very closely with this year's fifth overall pick Jaden Ivey over the past two weeks since he arrived in Detroit. The two worked out together on the court while Brinker helped him adjust to life in Detroit.
"He would pick me up from the hotel at 7 o'clock in the morning and go to practice with me," Ivey said. "Thanks to him every day. Getting up early helps me. "
Finally, Brink realized his dream.
"My previous dream was not to become a coach," Brink recalled. "Being a coach, for me, is based on the interpersonal level. of. Having a player embrace you and be able to work together towards a common goal. I love that part of the job, the player development aspect. The stronger the relationship you have with your player, the more likely he is to ask you to coach him and to adopt the advice you give him. "
Now that Brink has emerged from the shadows, Las Vegas will be his outpost. However, Brink doesn't care about that. He has the opportunity to represent a team that has always believed in him. That's what he's most excited about.
"I would call Brinker the leader behind the scenes," Vander-Strik said. "He's not General Patton who gives the orders. He gets to know everyone, so when he asks people something, they won't let him down because everyone respects Brinker very much. He may eventually go down the general manager path, and he may still continue to evaluate and get to know players, which is what he likes to do. He has grown a lot during his time with the Pistons. Brink is very smart and quick-witted. He can do anything he wants. ”
(NBA official website)
