Calderon faces a daunting challenge: Working 9-to-5
Jose Calderon knows the pain that can be wrought by a major professional transition.
When the Spanish point guard reported to his first National Basketball Association training camp with the Toronto Raptors in 2005, he went home at night with headaches due to the language barrier. He understood what was happening around him on the court, but Calderon struggled to process the coaching staff’s instructions and to communicate with his new teammates as he mentally translated from English to Spanish, and back.
Now 38, Calderon again found himself at a crossroads this fall after a 20-year pro career that included 14 NBA seasons. He played for five teams over the past five seasons, in diminishing bench roles, but kept earning minimum-salary contracts thanks to his reputation as an unselfish distributor and upbeat teammate. Every career comes to an end, though, so Calderon moved his family to New York City this summer as he contemplated retirement and braced for a different type of job search.
While Calderon was staying in shape by working out at the National Basketball Players Association’s gym in midtown Manhattan, Michele Roberts, the union’s executive director, was drafting plans to keep him in the building. With approval from the NBPA’s executive committee, Roberts hired Calderon as her special assistant — a newly formed, season-long position that both the union and Calderon hope will become a recurring role for a former player seeking to adjust to life after basketball.
“I’ve always been sensitive to the absence of players at our New York headquarters,” Roberts said. “This is the players association. It’s kind of silly that it’s being run in large part by a bunch of lawyers and people with master’s degrees. I’m in regular contact with players, but it’s nice to have a body here so that I’m not calling a player who is in the middle of his game-day nap or talking to someone who is so removed from the game that maybe their perspective is a little bit dated.”
Despite conquering the language barrier that once troubled him in Toronto, Calderon can’t help but feel like the new guy in an unfamiliar environment. His computer and phone line are all set up in his glasswalled office, and he is grateful to have a collaborative workspace where he can wander into conversations rather than being cooped up at home. On Monday and Tuesday mornings, he joins Roberts and her senior management team in their planning meetings and departmental check-ins. Throughout his first two weeks on the job, he’s made regular lunch appearances at the cafeteria, much to the delight of his co-workers.
“I have never worked in an office,” Calderon said. “I left my home when I was 13 years old, I was a professional at 17 and I’ve been playing basketball since.
There was no time for an office.”
Nevertheless, Calderon decided to take the 9-to-5 plunge with the NBPA after some soulsearching and conversations with his wife, Ana. Given that their three boys are all under the age of 10, Calderon had no interest in uprooting his family by continuing his playing career abroad, even in Spain.
This summer, he heard from multiple NBA teams about possible front office positions, but he didn’t want to rush into a major commitment without knowing whether he would be a fit. The NBA league office reached out, too, but Calderon concluded that he needed a more flexible position while he juggled his responsibilities, which include running his own charity, serving as a UNICEF ambassador and participating in Harvard Business School’s Crossover into Business semester-long program for professional athletes.
Since her 2014 hiring, Roberts has followed a mandate to increase player involvement in all aspects of the union’s affairs. The work done at the New York headquarters isn’t necessarily glamorous, but it includes negotiating labour deals.