Malcolm Brogdon on Believing in Myself

Malcolm Brogdon joins Brian Levenson on this week’s podcast. Malcolm was selected in the 2nd round of the 2016 NBA Draft by the Milwaukee Bucks. He was named ACC player of the year and ACC defensive player of the year at the University of Virginia. He had an amazing college career and was overlooked by every NBA team when it came to the draft. Malcolm won the rookie of the year, and he was the first player to do this as a 2nd rounder since 1956. His NBA and College accolades are phenomenal, but he’s also an amazing person. He was fortunate enough to be around civil rights activists including his grandfather and he will talk about his upbringing during this conversation. In this episode, they discuss his background growing up in Atlanta (4:40), if there were ever times when he resisted in his upbringing (8:20), who taught him the game of basketball (9:10), his mindset and training program in high school (10:50), some of the stories he heard from his grandfather and his experience in Africa (12:40), how his parents’ divorce impacted his life (16:30), where his confidence came from (19:20), how difficult it was for him to choose UVA over Harvard (22:20), similarities between competing in the classroom and on the court, and the values his mother taught him (23:45), transition from high school to college basketball (26:10), the adversity he faced when he got injured his sophomore year (27:15), why he was able to believe in and play the long game in life/basketball (29:30), his reaction when UF doesn’t offer and when every NBA passes on him (31:30), his mindset in preparation being different than his mindset in performance (33:50), what he does to shift out of perfectionism for his performance (37:40), his yawning before games and visualization techniques (38:30), how he goes from being a 2nd round pick to rookie of the year (41:50), what was going through his mind when he began with Milwaukee (43:50), what he knows now that he didn’t when he entered the league (45:45), what he does to give his mind a rest (47:30), his competitive spirit and how that shows on the basketball court (48:40), how he defines leadership (51:20), his experience in Africa (52:40) Thanks to Malcolm for coming on the podcast, and I encourage you to check out the non-profit he’s involved in with Chris Long called waterboys. He has started his own organization from the Chris Long foundation called Hoops 20 to help make a difference in Tanzania and East Africa. Lastly, if you liked this episode and/or any others, please support us at Patreon or follow me on Twitter: @brianlevenson or Instagram: @Intentional_Performers. Thanks for listening. -Brian