In theory, sports should predictable and boring.
Take basketball, for example.
Each team has the same number of players on the floor. They follow the same rules, play on the same court with the same ball. Each is allotted the same number of time-outs and fouls, each have access to the same resources. Measures like salary-caps and the reverse order draft were even put in place to give every team the same chance at winning.
But that’s never really how it goes.
Logic has never found a home in the world of sports, and it’s what makes every game worth watching.
In sports, the impossible is possible, and it keeps us enthralled and coming back for more.
This ‘impossible is possible’ atmosphere had led to some rather impressive stories in the world of sports, narratives of unwavering perseverance and the most impossible tales of overcoming.
Shaun Livingston might just have the all-time best of those stories.
In 2004, Livingston turned down a scholarship offer from Duke to enter the NBA Draft, where the LA Clippers selected him with the No. 4 pick.
At only 18 years old, he was young, but he was the type of player to get excited about, the type a franchise is built around. He was quick, had excellent instincts and ability that couldn’t be taught.
The 2006-2007 season was supposed to be the breakout season for Shaun Livingston. At that point in his NBA career, he missed 101 of 246 games due to injury, but the Clippers believed in Livingston’s abilities and potential.
It was supposed to be a season of triumph and accolades, but the basketball gods had other plans, and tragedy ensued instead.
On Feb. 26, 2007, the third-year Clippers point guard with superstar potential went up for an uncontested layup and landed awkwardly.
The result?
Torn ACL.
Torn PCL.
Torn MCL.
Torn meniscus.
Dislocated leg.
Dislocated kneecap.
Livingston’s shrieks of pain echoed throughout the arena as a shocked crowd watched his season come to an instantaneous and abrupt end.
As his cries of pain faded away, the faith that Shaun Livingston could be a top-tier NBA player faded away as well.
One of the Clippers’ trainers attempted to brief Livingston on what exactly he was up against with this injury, but it wasn't until Livingston was back at the hospital that he understood the severity.
“You’re going to need a blood test,” Livingston’s doctor said. “There is an artery in the back of your leg. If you damaged it, gangrene could set it. And then we’d have to amputate your leg.”
Thankfully, that worst-case-scenario never occurred. Three of the best surgeons in the country teamed up for Livingston’s operation, but that was only the beginning. Months of painful rehabilitation would come next.
No basketball player had done similar damage to his knee, so there was no baseline for Livingston.
“I wanted to know how far it was going to be before I could play again,” said Livingston in an interview with ESPN, “and nobody really had an answer.”
No doubt it crossed Livingston’s mind that the answer was simple: never.
An injury like Livingston’s is the type that ends careers. It was if his knee had exploded, and no one knew what the outcome would be in regards to his NBA career.
Would he ever be able to sprint again? Go for a layup and not limp back down the court? Would he ever be able to fully trust in his knee again, believing that it wouldn’t give out at any second?
But that’s not the mindset Livingston had. He sole intent was to continue his NBA career. In his “Rehab Diaries” for The Players’ Tribune, Livingston explained that his role model became Willis McGahee: “He told me he approached every workout, even if it was just a leg lift or something, like he was an animal, like it was the last workout he’d ever have before finding out if he could play again. So I set out to do the exact same thing.”
The crucial goals of rehab for Livingston was to regain his range of motion and regain strength, both much easier said than done. Twice a day for months, Livingston would winch in pain as physician’s attempted to bend his stiff knee, inch by inch. It took just two weeks post-surgery for the muscles surrounding Livingston’s knee to shrink into nothing, and Livingston would have to not only rebuild enough muscle mass to hold his kneecap in place, but even more if he wanted to return to an elite level of professional basketball.
Doctors and trainers also had concerns about Livingston’s mental state. Given the strength of the painkillers and devastation of the injury, suicidal thoughts were a possible side effect.
To help combat the bleak outlook and painful journey ahead, Livingston focused on small goals- walking without crutches, graduating to the bike, then the pool and finally treadmill.
After learning to walk again, after 16 months of rehab, after missing the entire 2007-2008 season, Shaun Livingston was cleared to play basketball once again.
The only problem was the Clippers, like the NBA as a whole, did not believe Shaun Livingston could make it in the league and did not renew his contract.
Livingston, finally healthy, was without a team.
The Miami Heat took a chance on Livingston, but after four games, he was cut. The Memphis Grizzles took him in exchange for a top-55 protected draft pick and then immediately waived him.
In March of 2009, Livingston signed with the Oklahoma City Thunder’s D-League affiliate, and three weeks later signed with the Thunder. He then was cut three days before Christmas.
“It was humbling,” Livingston said in an interview with The Undefeated. “It caused you to question your skills.”
In late February, Livingston signed the first of two 10-day contracts with the Wizards, which turned into a contract for the remainder of the 2009-2010 season. In Washington, Livingston reminded the world of his talent and relentlessness. He started 18 of 26 games and rightfully earned a two-year, $7 million contract with Michael Jordan and the Charlotte Bobcats- the same team against whom he was injured.
Livingston’s time in Charlotte didn’t last long; he was traded twice during the summer of 2012 before being waived. In November, he rejoined the Wizards but was, again, cut just days before Christmas. Soon after, the Cleveland Cavaliers claimed him off waivers.
Finally, after nine years in the NBA, Shaun Livingston landed a legitimate role with the Nets. During the 2013-2014 season, he averaged 8.3 points and 3.2 assists as a bench player, tallying a career-high 76 games. Come postseason, Livingston started 10 of the 12 games the Nets played in their two rounds of playoffs.
In search of a backup point guard to Stephen Curry, the Golden State Warriors inked Livingston to a three-year, $16.3 million contract in July of 2014.
“We knew we needed a backup and we liked the way he could play multiple positions, so we made him a priority,” Warriors general manager Bob Myers told The Undefeated. “Shaun has a brilliant (basketball) IQ. We realized it was a good fit for us, and we realized it was a good fit for him. He was how he could fit with our team.”
You know the rest.
With Livingston on the roster, the Warriors went on the win the franchise’s first NBA championship title since 1975. Livingston played 76 regular season games, plus 21 games in the postseason. He averaged 18.8 minutes, 2.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists.
Not bad for a guy who was once on the brink of becoming irreverent.
No doubt holding that championship trophy felt a little different for Livingston.
“I stared in a great place, went from the bottom and rose from the ashes. Came to the top,” Livingston said. “You reflect back and realize, wow you’ve really accomplished something and it wasn’t given to you; it was earned.”
This season, Livingston was part of the historic Warriors team that recorded 73 regular season wins, breaking the ’95-96 Bulls record of 72 wins. He upped his average playing minutes to 19.5 and tallied 6.3 points per game.
Now, Shaun Livingston is playing a vital role to give the Warriors another championship.
In Game 1 of the NBA Finals against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Klay Thompson and Steph Curry combined for a season-low 20 points. It was the Warrior bench-- who out scored Cleveland 45-10-- that gave the Warriors a 1-0 series lead and a 15-point victory.
Shaun Livingston gave his best performance of the 2016 postseason, finishing the game with a team-high 20 points. It was the first time this season that Livingston lead the team in scoring, and it could not have come at a better time.
No question, Shaun Livingston was the spark that kept his team on fire.
The Golden State Warriors is a team with remarkable talent, but Shaun Livingston is the story that needs to be talked about.
Shaun Livingston, the guy who drafted out of high school and was the No. 4 pick.
Shaun Livingston, the guy who suffered the most gruesome injury the NBA has ever seen.
Shaun Livingston, the guy who came back from the most gruesome injury the NBA has ever seen.
Shaun Livingston, the guy who played for nine different teams in 10 years.
Shaun Livingston, the guy worked endlessly and relentlessly to earn a roster spot on a championship.
Shaun Livingston, Golden State Warrior and NBA Champion.
“I’m in a great system, just the pieces that we have. I’m one of those pieces, and I feel like my role and what I bring to this team, it’s a piece that fits,” said Livingston in an interview with ESPN. “I think we enjoy playing with each other; we have joy playing with each other. I think that matters because your job, professionally, can become redundant, can become the same everyday. You can lose that joy. I think we have that [joy] and I think it shows when we play.”
So next time you see #34 head off the bench and into the game, watch him. Because he's not only a top-tier NBA player, but has a pretty great comeback story.
