Jamaal “Silk” Wilkes, who played under legendary coach John Wooden at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), won back-to-back NCAA championships in his collegiate career. At his time at UCLA he was a Collegiate Academic All-American for three years. UCLA also set a collegiate record going on an 88 game win streak.
The NBA Rookie of the Year and three-time NBA All-Star had a chance to speak with The Indianapolis Recorder recently about his career and book Jamaal Wilkes: Memoirs of the Original Smooth As Silk as well as the 2015 NBA finals.
Wilkes is a father and friend who emphasizes being good and positive to those around you as well as giving insight on the determination required to win and succeed in all aspects of life.
Indianapolis Recorder: With the NBA finals currently underway, what amount of dedication does it take to make it to this stage?
Wilkes: It takes an unbelievable amount of desire and dedication to get to this point. We are now seeing the experience and desire of LeBron without two All-Stars inspiring the remnants of his team to win. I think Golden State doesn’t have the type of player with championship experience, their coach does, but they are going to have to dig deeper to meet the challenge the Cavaliers are presenting to them.
What was it like for you to win your first NBA championship with the Golden State Warriors?
It was exciting. It was the only championship team I was involved with that wasn’t expected to win; we were expected to be mediocre at best. Winning is addictive, the more you win the more you appreciate it because winning a championship is very difficult. When you have the opportunity, you have got to grasp and seize the moment.
What inspired you to make that push throughout the season as well as the playoffs?
As a professional you have the desire to want to be the best at your craft and actually it was the non-expectations that drove us to prove otherwise. We thought we were a pretty good team and we just needed to prove it. The overlooking definitely motivated me even more.
After being traded to the Los Angeles Lakers, what was it like playing with other Hall of Famers?
I wanted to remain at Golden State actually, but it was right around the time the game was growing from a rich man’s hobby to a big business and once that became clear L.A. became a very attractive option as they were interested in me. Going to the Lakers, they already had Kareem (Abdul-Jabar) there and I had already played with Bill Walton in college, one of the greatest collegiate centers ever, who both went to UCLA, though Kareem was five years ahead of me. I went there with great anticipation. We just couldn’t get by the Seattle Supersonics at that time because they were a great team.
Going on an 88 game win streak at UCLA must have required a lot of resilience, how did you separate your schoolwork from basketball?
Just hard work, dedication and determination. There’s no shortcut, I had to make the time if it was important to me. Tutors were available to me and I took advantage of them when I needed it. There was no mystery I had to make the time to do it. It was a nice change of pace from basketball because the intensity of basketball is just off the charts; it was nice to shift gears and do something different. You have to take advantage of the resources because no one else is going to do it for you.
What important lessons were you able to learn from Coach John Wooden at UCLA in making the transition to the NBA? What life advice did he give you as well?
I took several lessons from coach, and I’m still learning from him every day. As brilliant of a basketball coach as he was, he was voted sporting news coach of the century; he was an even better person. He was an English teacher by training and loved poetry, able to say so much with so few words. Many of his sayings on the basketball court related beyond the basketball court; “Be quick but don’t hurry,” “failing to prepare is preparing to fail,” “things turn out best for those who make the best of the way things turn out,” and my personal favorite “make each day your masterpiece.” With a man like that who was intent on developing people first and winning games second, because that’s what his job as a basketball coach was – to win games. It was just a remarkable blessing to play for and be around a coach like that. At that time in your life you are still a teenager or in your early 20s. There is a lot of pressure and to have that model and consistency, it was incredible.
What advice do you have for athletes aspiring to go into college or professional sports?
Well as far as social media I would recommend you do it in moderation if you do it at all. For example Coach Wooden used to restrict media access to us and he used to say when they praise you in the media it normally meant they put you in it because you’re really not that good, and when they criticize you, don’t get down because you really aren’t that bad. You want to focus on what your coach and your teammates want. You don’t want to get distracted by the outside noise and have it affect your play and team. During the season I would even recommend shutting it down so you can concentrate and catch up to it later, you really have to be careful.
What type of challenges were you faced with as relationships with family/friends developed over the years?
I am from Los Angeles so reuniting with peers, I was distracted with acquaintances wanting tickets as well as the noise. People just wanted your time and attention. I really had to cut myself off from all of that because that wasn’t what I was there for. It wasn’t like it used to be, this was my job and my career; the expectations were much greater and there was a lot more at stake. The game was a tradeoff, the first couple of years you are very excited to go to new cities. It hits you that this is my career and then the traveling starts to become rigourous, you aren’t as excited to sleep in hotel beds anymore and you don’t want to eat out all the time. It’s not conducive to family living. You’re always on the low so quality time with your family is really rare. What pushed me right around the two year stage was realizing it was a pretty great career to get paid to play basketball as well as the competition. Every year there’s always some new phoneme where you have to look over your shoulder so those things helped to settle me in the NBA.
Did your major in economics at UCLA provide you with a plan upon leaving the NBA?
I knew it was all going to come to an end one day and intellectually and emotionally it was still difficult to me but I knew I wanted to try some activities in real estate and marketing which is what I did. At the time my wife and I were married and having babies, I wanted to be around for my family and be a part of that.
Who do you see winning the NBA championship this year?
To be honest I think Golden State will win it due to their historic season and the 40th anniversary of our championship in 1975 will create a sense of urgency. Cleveland has given the edge the last two games. It’s so impressive what LeBron and his teammates have done on the court and I hope he wins in Cleveland, I just don’t think it’s this year. I think the Warriors have to stop blaming Steph Curry. A few other guys have disappeared the last few games; that’s a lack of championship experience. Now they’re realizing how the big boys do it first hand and they have to execute their offense, being more patience, setting firmer picks coming off stronger and tighter, expecting to get hit or bumped and stop complaining about it; likewise on defense. They have to create confusion. For them to win this series these things have to happen, if not LeBron will lead Cleveland to one of the greatest upsets in the NBA.
Wilkes’ book Jamaal Wilkes: Memoirs of the Original Smooth As Silk is available at Amazon.com. Additionally, fans may connect with Wilkes via Twitter @JamaalWilkes and on his Facebook page by searching “Jamaal Wilkes.”
