Darnell Gilet
Favorite NBA team: Chicago Bulls
Favorite NBA player(s): Aside from Michael Jordan, it would be Hakeem Olajuwon
Player(s) you want to meet: Michael Jordan
How did you become interested in NBA basketball?
In 1992, prior to my grandfather moving back to Haiti, he would pick me up from the babysitter, we would pick up some Chinese food, and come back home to watch basketball. The first time I watched basketball was with him when the Bulls faced off against the Blazers in the finals. I did not know anything outside of the fact that the Chicago Bulls had a cooler name and jersey than the Portland Trail Blazers. It also just so happened that Michael Jordan was playing, and I was mesmerized. My grandfather would debate with me stating that Clyde Drexler was better than Jordan (as many falsely argue about other players even today). That was the inception of my love for the game.
If you’re pursuing sports journalism as a career, when did you realize this was what you wanted to do? If not, what is your career goal, and what drives you to cover sports?
By day, I work in talent acquisition and diversity recruitment strategy. I began writing when I realized that a majority of my free time was spent debating sports with friends. Hours upon hours of conversation, lines upon lines of text messages. I figured it would be a more productive use of my time if I wrote my thoughts down on paper and shared them with the world.
What is your favorite piece you’ve written for NBN? If you haven’t been here long enough, what is your favorite piece you’ve written for any publication?
My favorite NBN piece is ‘The Nets Will Be the Kings of New York.’ Although there were others that I was proud of, this article made it to Bleacher Report, which is something I could not have imagined when I began writing.