Steve Francis
The Navigator
Judgement in the fog, money, risk and the call others cannot make.
Steve Francis reads as The Navigator because he charted a course no institution laid out for him. Six high schools, poverty, his mother's death, a GED and a juco detour preceded the NBA, and he recalibrated at every turn rather than collapsing. He studied Sheryl Swoopes at 6 a.m. to learn franchise-level leadership, and when Houston offered a diminished role, he candidly removed himself, steering always by an internal compass.
“I wasn't just gonna let you demoralize me by sitting me on the bench and play me spotty. Let me focus on my post career as I'm sitting on this bench.”
“When Cynthia people said she was in the gym, I was one of the guys with her at six o'clock in the morning before practice — I would talk to her about how do you become a leader? You just won three championships.”
“It felt like I belonged despite the path that I was on.”
Knuckleheads with Quentin Richardson & Darius Miles: “Steve Francis”
LISTEN AT THE SOURCE ↗THE RECORD IS CHECKABLE