David Fizdale

David Sean Fizdale (born June 16, 1974) is an American professional basketball coach who last was an assistant coach for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association. Quotes I really was at the lowest place I’ve ever been from a mental health standpoint, I thought the lowest point was during the losses. But it was after, when you go through the whole part of, ‘What could I have done different? Did I even deserve this job?’ You think like you were an imposter. You felt like you got over on these people. You’re a fraud. I think I’m at a place now that I see purpose in what I do. A deeper purpose. I always thought, ‘Whoever you give me, I can win with them. I’ll figure it out, That’s how arrogant I was. I loved them, and probably a big part of me wanted them to love me back, I had a very hard time disconnecting from the human being in them. And so I found myself in a conundrum. It was eating me alive every day. I probably was too nice to those guys, I was too wrapped up in what would happen to them if they didn’t play. It was basically the opposite of what I did wrong in Memphis. I tried to coach Marc Gasol like I coached kids from the ‘hood, but I hadn’t gained enough trust from him, I coached him how my high school coach would have coached me, where I tried to tear his ego down to the barest bones in front of the group. I got caught up in my own ego and my emotions, because I was so frustrated with the losing. What [Memphis] taught me is I can still coach guys hard, but I have to know the level I can go to, I have to coach them with the idea that it’s bigger than basketball. I want to come back to the game with my mind totally on service, Service without means to an end. I’ve never coached that way before. I’m just going to keep leaning into the idea of being a human first and being a coach second, and see where that takes me. That’s where I think I’ll find winning. David Fizdale seeks a deeper purpose as he prepares to return to NBA coaching, June 24 2021 External links Category:Basketball coaches from the United States Category:1974 births Category:People from Los Angeles Category:African Americans Category:Living people