Novelist George Orwell once famously said, "At age 50, every man has the face he deserves."
If true, Scott has piled up his fair share of merit. His complexion has the smooth suppleness
of a man at least a decade younger. His hazel eyes strike
amber in the sunlight and he's maintained the taut physique
of a disciplined athlete. "I was nervous my first game—until
I got on the court and the ball was thrown up into the air, "
says Scott, recounting his fledgling steps on an NBA court
during game time. "You forget about everything else that's
going on and you really focus in on what you've got to do."
It makes sense, considering that the young athlete had
already logged countless hours of his life on the basketball
court before he strolled into the Great Western Forum, a bona fide pro who could snap
into game mode in an instant. But there was something else at play—namely, the cool
assurance that come what may, everything would be just fine. "Something my dad and
mom taught me from a very early age is to shoot for the stars," says Scott. "They always
told me to go at it 110 percent. But if you don't make it, at least you can look in the mirror
and say, 'You know what? I gave it everything I got.'"
In other words, instilled in Scott, perhaps before his fingers had ever touched a
basketball, was the idea that winning in the conventional sense did not automatically
mean that one had won in the personal or spiritual realm. And vice versa. "I have an inner
peace within myself that keeps me grounded, and keeps me level," Scott says slowly. "I
never really get too high or too low. I kind of take everything as it comes. Even during
stressful situations I always want to have an even keel." An asset of temperamental
gold for anyone, it's doubly so for any sports professional on the front lines, where one
might be lauded as a miracle-maker one day, and branded a pox on the game the next.
This internal balance, or equanimity, is an indelible part of Scott. And sheer talent aside
it, along with his faith and resolute attitude of gratitude, accounts for much of his long
track record. "I truly know that everything that I've gotten in life, I've earned. I also
know that a lot of what I've gotten is because I've been very blessed from up above,"
he says earnestly, pointing skyward. "My Heavenly Father has blessed me tremendously
to give me the talents he has given me, and I don't take that for granted."
But no man is an island, or in this case, just an athlete and a coach. And there is more to
this man than the game.
POWERED
FROM WITHIN,
AND ABOVE
T A S T E M A K E R
