Above all else, there are two things that Derek Fisher is famous for: his motivational in-game speeches to teammates and his five NBA championships, the most of any active NBA player.
Tonight he’ll be asked to draw on both to help an NFL team prepare to defend their own title.
Before the New Orleans Saints take the field tonight to kickoff the 2010 NFL season, looking to defend their Super Bowl championship, they’ll seek advice from No. 2, who has a plethora of experience in winning back-to-back titles.
Saints head coach Sean Payton asked Fish to come speak before his team takes on the Minnesota Vikings.
Gerry V of NOLA.com sees the speaking engagement as a great idea to motivate the Saints:
"Fisher is well spoken and has won 5 NBA Championships. He is the pure team player and has made some monster shots during some of the biggest moments a player will ever have to face.
Fisher understands the concept of what team play is all about and how to blend and exist with other team members. He has a total grasp of what a player’s role means.
The Saints want to become one of those special squads that can win back-to-back Super Bowls. Fisher understands what will be required to prepare, win, and endure such a task. Derek Fisher won titles in 2000, 2001, 2002, 2009, and 2010. He should know about "the journey," right?"
Derek’s motivational speeches to his Lakers teammates are as much a part of the fabric of LA’s championship runs as the big shots he’s hit. Teammates have time after time credited Fish for helping them dig deep and win a big game. Now the Saints hope the same can rub off on them.
"I’ve learned a lot from Phil
[Jackson] over the years in terms of really trying to give guys space to be who they are and recognizing things on their own, but at the same time, say things that need to be said at the time they need to be said," Derek told ESPN Los Angeles after another of his famous motivational speeches, this one leading into the 2010 Playoff opener with the Oklahoma City Thunder."Guys seem to have their ears go up, their eyes lock in and they hear it better when it’s not something they hear all the time. I try and just make sure that guys understand that this is a special chance for us."
Of his most famous speeches, one that really rang true came during a timeout in the fourth quarter of the Western Conference Finals against the Denver Nuggets back in 2009. The Lakers were reeling, tied in the series at one game each and in danger of falling behind two games to one. So Derek pulled his teammates in and let his emotions go.
"I told them, this was a moment in time when you can define yourself," Fish would later admit. "I told them, this was a moment when you can step into that destiny."
Derek said he summed up the speech in a sentence.
"I told them, this is your moment," he said."
The Lakers went on to win the game, the series and eventually the NBA Finals, thanks to a little clutch shooting from D-Fish as well. They defended that title this season and will seek a three-peat when the NBA season opens in late October.
New Orleans is hopeful that some of Derek’s championship magic can rub off on them. In NFL history, eight teams have repeated as Super Bowl Champions, but the last ten teams to go to the Super Bowl didn’t even make it back the next year.
Kickoff of the NFL season opener in New Orleans between the New Orleans Saints and the Minnesota Vikings, with D-Fish in the house to take part in the festivities, is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. PST and the game can be seen on NBC.
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Derek Fisher is a great idea for the Saints (NOLA.com, August 31, 2010)
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NBA star courted by New Orleans Saints (TMZ.com, August 31, 2010)
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Does Derek Fisher have a future as a motivational speaker (LA Times, August 31, 2010)
http://lakersblog.latimes.com/lakersblog/2010/08/derek-fisher-does-he-have-a-future-as-a-motivational-speaker-saints-think-so.html
Super Bowl Champion Saints seek counsel of Derek Fisher (Lake Show Life, September 1, 2010)
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