Dexter Thompson

Year 6 underway in Italy 🇮🇹🏀 Extremely grateful and blessed to call this my everyday job. I would choose this life over and over again. But the last 12 months have really shifted my perspective… 15 months ago I got married 💍 + 1 month ago we welcomed our baby girl into the world 👶🏽 Due to the timing of everything, I had to leave my wife and daughter of 2 weeks at home to come to Italy and provide. One of the HARDEST things I’ve had to do. (And yes, even harder than waking up at 4am for college boot camp conditioning 😂) That initial departure was mentally and emotionally terrible. Leaving my wife and meeting my daughter, only to turn around and leave them, was a sacrifice I never imagined I’d have to make. It literally made my stomach turn as the day approached. But there’s something different about sacrifice when you know exactly who you’re doing it for. Being able to provide for my family, knowing they’re taken care of, safe, loved and supported back home makes every difficult moment worth it. For the first time in my life, basketball isn’t my whole life. And I don’t mean that I love it any less. If anything, I have an even greater appreciation for the game. For the last 20 years, so much of my life has been centered around basketball. Now, basketball is a tool. A tool that allows me to provide. A tool that has given me opportunities I could have never imagined. A tool that allows me to take care of the people I love. It’s still a huge part of who I am. But it’s no longer ALL of who I am. And honestly… there’s something incredibly freeing about that. I can walk into the gym, compete, work, and give everything I have to the game then walk out knowing that my greatest purpose exists far beyond the court. The game has given me so much. But my family has given me a perspective that basketball never could. So yes, this season comes with sacrifice. But when you know what you’re sacrificing for, it makes the sacrifice 1000% worth it. Year 6. Let’s do it 🏆