I got done with a workout this morning and saw an article about Len Bias and how much of a what if story he is in NBA history. A lot of people may not even know this name but NBA knowledge heads like me know it greatly. Anyways I was thinking about the great Celtic Legend Larry Bird and how he had to retire early due to all the back pain he endured and to me that collated with the story of Len Bias. Now Len Bias was a basketball star from the University of Maryland who was seen as the next great NBA prospect. People even compared him to Michael Jordan and were excited to see what would become the next rivalry.
Bias finished college at the University of Maryland and was selected with the 2nd pick in the NBA draft by the Boston Celtics. The team, his family and everyone was excited for the next step and Bias had discussions of signing a marketing deal with Reebok. 2 days later he was dead and all those dreams were gone. Bias had decided to meet up with some of his friends from school at a dorm and they decided to snort cocaine for more than four hours which led to Bias suffering a seizure and collapsing.
He was quickly taken to a hospital in which all attempts to revive him failed and he was pronounced dead. I'm bringing up this story as a way to demonstrate how one decision changes everything in our lives for the good or bad.
Would Bias have had a successful NBA career if this never happened?. Would Larry Bird have played longer in the NBA if he had a young protege to mentor and hand the keys over too?. We never know but One decision can change a lot in our lives. For Len Bias he has become one of the biggest what if stories in sports. What if he didn't decide to engage in those activities with his friends that night and chose to do something different maybe be around family?.
These are questions we will never know the answers to and part of life is the what if aspects of it. What if this was done around this time or what if I didn't do this?. There are a lot of times we look back on decisions we have made and wish we could take them back or change it and there is nothing wrong with that. That is all part of being human but we also have to weigh the pros and cons in the moments we are making these huge decisions. You never know how crucial this can be and there comes some times too in which we really have no control on the results of some decisions we make. Sometimes what comes out of these decisions may lay in the hands of others and for those we just have to keep trusting in God and know that everything will fall into place. Life has a weird way of working out at times.
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