The Utah Jazz big man’s real estate summer internship has him thinking about playing on a different type of team once his NBA career is done.
During his high school days, Derrick Favors was considered by many to be among the very best players in the class of 2009.
At the 15th Annual Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions in the summer of 2008 – which boasted a talented collection of teams from around the country that featured the likes of John Wall, Brandon Knight, Victor Oladipo and Tobias Harris, among others – Favors’ powerful Atlanta Celtics AAU squad defeated the highly-regarded Team Breakdown crew out of Florida, 72-62, to capture the title at the Dean Dome in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
Derrick Favors Official Hoopmixtape; 6’9 Sick Athlete
Here is Georgia Tech bound Derrick Favors showing out sophmore to senior campaigns for the Atlanta Celtics and South Atlanta High School. Number 3 ranked in the class of 2009, Favors has tremendous upside. In one of the games featured he had 42 points, 20 rebounds, and 12 blocks.
The 6-foot-9 power forward out of South Atlanta High School had 20 points,16 rebounds, and 11 blocks in the title game en route to tourney MVP honors.
Gibbons, one of the nation’s top prep basketball scouts, noted, “Of all the great things that Derrick Favors does on the court, his defensive presence is probably the most underrated part of his game. Favors’ ability to block shots and sweep the defensive glass — as well as play physical basketball in the post — really changed things for the Atlanta Celtics in the championship game. Favors completely shut down Team Breakdown’s attempts to get anything done inside, allowing his teammates to extend the defense on Breakdown’s potent perimeter attack. In the semifinals, Favors was dominant against 6-foot-11 PF Mason Plumlee before getting ejected from the game for throwing a flagrant elbow. After his performance in the championship game, the name Alonzo Mourning was getting thrown around as a comparison to describe his impact on the game at both ends of the court.”
In March of his senior year, he led South Atlanta to the Georgia Class AAA state championship, where he scored 38 points and snatched 21 rebounds in the season finale. He punctuated his illustrious prep career by scoring 19 points and grabbing eight boards en route to MVP honors at the prestigious 2009 McDonald’s All-American Game.
2009 McDonald’s All American Recap Mix – Derrick Favors, Lance Stephenson, Renardo Sidney & More
Check out the long overdue re-cap mix of the 2009 McDonald’s All American Game, Dunk Contest and Practice sessions. Check out some of the best plays by the top players in the country including: Lance Stephenson, Derrick Favors, Jordan Hamilton, Avery Bradley, John Henson, Michael Snaer, Keith Gallon, Dexter Strickland, Mason Griffn Junior, Renardo Sidney, Abdul Gaddy, Wally Judge, Peyton Siva, Mason Plumlee, Ryan Kelly and more.
In his final prep appearance at the Jordan Brand Classic at Madison Square Garden, he scored a game-high 21 points while collecting yet another MVP trophy.
Favors decided to remain in his home city to play his college ball at Georgia Tech, where he averaged 12.4 points, 8.4 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game playing alongside Iman Shumpert and Gani Lawal during his one-and-done campaign as the ACC’s Rookie of the Year. In the conference tournament, he averaged 17 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks in leading the Yellow Jackets to the finals against Duke.
After bowing out of the NCAA Tournament with a loss against Evan Turner’s Ohio State crew in the Round of 32, Favors declared for the NBA Draft. Drawing comparisons to Al Horford, he was selected with the third overall pick and became the youngest player to ever suit up for the then New Jersey Nets franchise at the mere age of 19.
Derrick Favors Top 10 Plays with the Nets
This is a copilation of the best plays of Derrick Favors with the Nets’ uniform: 1. Derrick Favors dunks on Boris Diaw after the pass by Devin Harris 2. Derrick Favors blocks hard Evan Turner’s jumper 3. Derrick Favors finishes the alley oop from Terrence Williams 4.
Heading into the league, numerous scouting reports called him an explosive athlete with a unique combination of power and quickness, exceptional leaping ability and a great, soft set of hands. Running the floor with tremendous speed from baseline to baseline and finishing with power around the rim, he also possessed some good footwork, drop steps and spin moves.
Couple all of those attributes with him being a rebounding machine and a shot-blocking menace, along with a rare humility and desire to learn and be coached, and his future was pregnant with possibility.
In just his third career game, against the Miami Heat, he posted the first of his many double-doubles to come with 13 points and 13 boards. In February of his rookie campaign, he was traded to the Utah Jazz where he has established himself over the last eight years as a key component in the franchise’s success.
When need be, he’ll erupt for 30+ points as he did against the Pacers and Suns a few years back. But he can better be described a glue guy, a player that brings his lunch pail to the job, whose rebounding and shot-blocking bring added value to the court on a nightly basis.
Derrick Favors Full Highlights 2015.12.05 vs Pacers – Career-HIGH 35 Pts, BEAST!
Got a Request? Wonder what i’m uploading next? Follow me on Twitter – https://twitter.com/DawkinsMTA Like me on Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/DawkInsMTA Boxscore – http://espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=400828184 DISCLAIMER – All clips property of the NBA. No copyright infringement is intended, all videos are edited to follow the “Free Use” guideline of YouTube. __ __
After Gordon Hayward left for the Boston Celtics via free agency last year, many prognosticators didn’t see Utah as a playoff team. But along with rookie sensation Donovan Mitchell and teammates Rudy Gobert, Ricky Rubio and Joe Ingles, Favors helped the squad reach 48 wins. In the Playoffs, they knocked out Oklahoma City before falling to the Houston Rockets in the second round.
Steadily, Favors has been climbing the franchise list of most games played and rebounds. And the Jazz, in case you didn’t see the test they gave to defending champion Warriors on October 19th, are one of the best and most exciting teams in the league, who will be in the mix once again come playoff time.
Last year, Favors began thinking seriously for the first time about setting himself up for life after basketball. Still only 27 years old, he figures to play another ten years or so in the NBA. But in addition to spending the offseason working on expanding the range on his jump shot and expanding his overall offensive repertoire, he also put in some other work that will benefit him in the long run.
Derrick Favors Full Highlights WCR1 Game 2 Thunder vs Utah Jazz – 20-16! | FreeDawkins
Derrick Favors Full Highlights WCR1 Game 2 OKC Thunder vs Utah Jazz – 20 Pts, 16 Rebs! FreeDawkins – NBA Video’ –Like And Subscribe For More! Follow me on Twitter – https://twitter.com/DawkinsMTA Boxscore – DISCLAIMER – All clips property of the NBA.
This summer, through the NBA’s Job Shadow Program, he interned in New York City with Douglas Elliman Real Estate. The real estate firm, established in 1911, is the largest brokerage in the New York Metropolitan area and the third largest residential real estate company nationwide. With more than 7,000 agents, the company operates approximately 115 offices in New York City, Long Island, The Hamptons, Westchester, Connecticut, New Jersey, Florida, California, Colorado and Massachusetts. They also boast a strategic global alliance with London-based Knight Frank Residential for business in the worldwide luxury markets spanning 60 countries and six continents.
The Shadow League recently caught up with Favors, after a recent practice at the Utah Jazz facility, to talk about how he spent his summer, what’s allowed him to remain humble and grounded since his first day in the NBA, and what he envisions for his self and the team, both this year and beyond.
***
The Shadow League: Let’s start with your internship at Douglas Elliman Real Estate this summer. In addition to expanding your game during the offseason, you also seemed to be expanding your thought process in terms of when the ball stops bouncing one day.
Derrick Favors: I was always interested in the NBA’s summer internship program. But my summers were always so busy with my kids and family stuff. This summer, I just took the time out to make it happen.
TSL: Why real estate?
DF: It was something that I wanted to learn. I own a couple of properties that are rented out and I wanted to educate myself on the larger real estate business and learn from some of the best and most accomplished people in the field.
TSL: You came into the league at a very young age, 19. When did you begin to think about setting yourself up for life after basketball?
DF: I’m 27 now, and I started thinking about it when I was 25 right after my twin girls were born. I knew that the day would come in my late 30’s that I would need to transition into something else. Eventually, you have to put basketball behind you.
Jazz C Derrick Favors 2017-2018 Season Highlights ᴴᴰ
Highlights from Jazz C Derrick Favors 2017-2018 season. Get your SportzCases here! – http://sportzcases.com?aff=304 Promo Code for 10% off: SkyDesigns Twitter: @SkyDesignsgfx
TSL: Are you happy with the way the internship worked out?
DF: It was an incredible and rewarding experience. I’ve been concentrating on basketball since I was five or six years old, so it opened my eyes up to a whole new world, being in a setting where you have to sit down at the table, know your stuff, talk, communicate, come up with ideas and learn from different people. It kind of changed the way I look at things now.
TSL: What similarities would you draw from being on a successful basketball team and how those experiences translate into the corporate and business environment?
DF: In basketball, you have to work as a team if you want to build anything special. You have to learn to work with other people that have different backgrounds, personalities, belief systems, attitudes and outlooks. It’s all about teamwork, being able to be a leader, being disciplined and responsible, holding yourself and others accountable. All of those things translate over to the business world.
TSL: After the internship, what did you say to yourself in terms of some things that you needed to work and improve on?
DF: I have to work on my public speaking, how to better present myself, how to control a room, things like that. But the foundation is there because of sports and being on productive winning teams. I can apply a lot of things that I’ve learned from the world of sports and apply those to the business side.
TSL: People don’t see some of the ways that the NBA works to assist current and former players off the court in terms of continuing education and professional growth. How do you feel about the opportunities that are afforded to you guys to learn about other aspects of business, so that the transition is easier once the balls stop bouncing?
DF: The NBA gives us multiple programs and things to choose from while you’re an active player to start thinking about how you can be successful after basketball. It’s up to you as a person to take advantage of those opportunities. Some guys are fortunate to make a ton of money while they’re playing.
But there are many more that aren’t getting max contracts that don’t have that type of long term security and they have to find something to get into once they’re done playing. I really enjoyed my internship experience and plan on doing more in the coming summers, just to take advantage of being able to learn from and meet people from different corporate environments.
TSL: You came into the league at such a young age. How did you remain so grounded, humble and hungry, which has allowed you to carve out a really good niche with a franchise that is consistently excellent?
DF: I was always able to keep in perspective how much of a blessing it was to be in my position, to make it to the NBA. I will never take that for granted. There are a lot of very talented guys out here that can play ball, but I was one of the few that was able to get drafted because of my hard work and talent.
I made sure, even at 19 years old and early on during my career, that every time I came to practice or a game that I gave 110%. I made sure that I was prepared and professional, that my teammates, coaches and management knew that they could count on me. There’s always going to be adversity, but I was determined to put my best foot forward through good games, bad games, trade rumors, whatever.
Some guys get caught up in the moment, the money, the recognition. But that doesn’t last. There’s a draft every year, which means they’re always looking to replace you. That’s the reality of this business. Even superstars get replaced, so I’ve learned that if you focus on what’s important and work hard, good things will happen for you.
The Warriors and Jazz Go Down to the Final Seconds | October 19, 2018
Jonas Jerebko gets a putback layup to go with .3 seconds left in the game to give the Warriors a 124-123 win tonight in Salt Lake City against the Jazz. Kevin Durant led the Warriors with 38 points (14-25 FG) along with 9 rebounds and 7 assists, while Stephen Curry tallied 31 points and 8 assists.
TSL: Let’s jump into some expectations for this season. You guys have consistently been one of my favorite teams to watch over the last few years because of the cohesiveness, unselfishness and just overall positive energy that shows on the court every night.When you look at this season, what are some of your thoughts?
DF: As a team, we have a lot of expectations this year, especially with how we advanced in the playoffs and finished out last year. We have a great group of guys that come in, get along and work hard every day.
For me personally, I just want to keep expanding my game.
TSL: Let’s expand on that because the league has obviously changed, from what’s expected from power forwards and centers since you first came into the NBA.
DF: The way the league is changing now, especially with the big man and how we’re seeing more positionless basketball, you have to be able to stretch out to the three-point line. You have to be able to do things out on the perimeter. You have to evolve, improve and shoot with efficiency outside of the paint. You have to keep improving every day to increase your value while staying on top of your game and being able to offer the team what’s needed.
Derrick Favors: 8 years in Salt Lake City
Uploaded by Utah Jazz on 2018-07-17.
TSL: People talk about how strong the Western Conference is, but you experience it on a daily basis. Break that down.
DF: The West is incredible, there are no off nights. For the past five years or so, the West has been just brutal. You have to win 50 games to get the eighth seed in the playoffs. That means you have to come out ready and prepared, making sure that you have the right mindset on a consistent basis.
There are so many great teams, so many great players. So we just worry about what we can control, stick to our game plan every night and just enjoy the moment. That’s the most important thing. Don’t get too high, too low and don’t fall prey to the hype. We just want to enjoy the experience, play some good ball and have some fun.
