D-Fish Joins All-Stars Abroad

//D-Fish Joins All-Stars Abroad

D-Fish Joins All-Stars Abroad

By | 2016-10-22T05:57:47-08:00 July 26th, 2011|News|Comments Off on D-Fish Joins All-Stars Abroad

The game of basketball is growing by the second worldwide and in no place is that more obvious than the Philippines, where Derek Fisher led a group of the game’s biggest stars this weekend.

D-Fish and LA teammate Kobe Bryant were part of a nine-man contingent of NBA stars that visited the island nation over the weekend as the "SMART All-Stars" for a pair of exhibition games during Smart Ultimate All-Star Weekend.


Derek passes from underneath the basket against Smart Gilas on Sunday (Getty Images).

The NBA All-Stars put up 131 points on Saturday in their first game, defeating the Philippine Basketball Association All-Stars 131-105. On Sunday, they completed the two-day exhibition with a 98-89 win over the Smart Gilas national team.

"They’re playing hard. They’re competing," D-Fish said during the two-day tour. "Most importantly I think everybody is just having fun out there playing the game of basketball."

The two-day exhibition sold out just minutes after tickets went on sale earlier in the summer and Derek knew he and his fellow NBA stars would be in for a passionate crowd and some competitive games.

"The people here are of competitive spirit, around the country," he said. "I’m not surprised to play against guys that are competitive. There are some really good players here and we’re having fun."

Fish even came up with yet another big shot in the finale, a close game with Gilas, writes Camille Naredo:

"By the 3rd period, it was clear that the visitors were taking the nationals seriously, as Bryant and Kevin Durant were seen posting up against their smaller defenders instead of settling for jumpshots.

Gilas was able to bring the lead down to 14 points after Hontiveros made a trifecta, 74-60. Fisher hit a 3-pointer, however, and McGee scored on an alley-oop to put the NBA stars back up by 19, 79-60, going into the last period."

The SMART All-Stars cruised to victory from there.

GETTING DOWN TO BUSINESS
Derek’s trip with fellow NBA players overseas, was just a momentary departure from his biggest task of the summer, leading the National Basketball Players’ Association as they negotiate with NBA owners on a new Collective Bargaining Agreement.


D-Fish has done plenty of flying in the last few months with the NBPA (Getty Images). 

Derek’s work with the NBPA was recently profiled by Ian Thomsen of Sports Illustrated. Thomsen writes that D-Fish leads the player’s association with the same guile and passion that he guides the Lakers with:

The NBPA is led by Fisher, the active player who has been union chief since 2006, and Billy Hunter, now in his 15th year—and second lockout—as executive director.

"I don’t think there’s much difference between his demeanor as a player and as the person we’ve worked with here at the union," says Hunter, who communicates with Fisher almost daily. Traditionally Hunter has served as the point man in negotiations with Stern, while the president has been a liaison to the players. But Fisher has worked hard to extend the reach of his office, and union insiders say that no player leader has had a better, more nuanced grasp of the CBA or been better able to articulate a vision for the union.

That vision that Derek sets forth includes advocating for the league’s non-superstars and making sure that all of the league’s players get a fair shake, as Thomsen writes:

After all, why would the majority of players vote for a system that slashes their salaries and job security? The last NBA lockout ended only after a ceiling was applied to the biggest stars’ salaries that funneled more money to the middle class.

Fisher hopes to convince both sides to pursue the middle ground. There is little question that the NBA veteran, who will turn 37 in August, commands respect on both sides of the table. "It definitely matters," says Silver of Fisher’s standing in the league. "There’s a reason he has won five championships. He’s a strong advocate for all of the players in the league and he’s well-versed in all of the issues. He has set the tone for a very professional atmosphere."

But above all else, Derek advocates for, and to, the players that it’s they who should control their ultimate destiny:

"Fisher entered union politics with an ambitious agenda.

"So many athletes are riding along with our agents and our general managers and our coaches and our advisers, when we should be driving the ship," he says. Since succeeding Antonio Davis as president, Fisher has immersed himself in the fine print of the deal while seeking to increase the role of player president. He launched a negotiating session at All-Star weekend in Los Angeles with a presentation about the players’ role in growing the league.

"Fish has a stabilizing presence in terms of the way he carries himself," says Bryant, who has nicknamed his teammate Derek Obama in reference to his regal bearing. "He always stays in control, and he has a unique way to communicate and inspire."

But the job isn’t all about speechmaking: During the past season Fisher invested hours each day in reading reports, studying numbers and participating in conference calls, sometimes while on board the team bus. He routinely communicates with players around the league on subjects ranging from the CBA negotiations to the outcome of fines and suspensions. "Guys want to know everything—everything," says Fisher.

Derek’s job is to work with them, and for them, to come to a mutually beneficial agreement. It’s just one more clutch role that D-Fish has fully embraced.

To read Thompsen’s entire article about Derek and his work with the NBPA, click here.

RELATED STORIES