Temple is the kind of person that makes you like him more with every new bit of information you learn about him. The 38-year-old Raptors veteran has seen it all, has been on many NBA rosters. Everything from 10-day contracts to the G-League to free agency signings. His young teammates and rookies adore him - if you follow reporting on this team you know that most players turn to him for wisdom. He is often seen on the bench, in the ear of Scottie Barnes or Ochai Agbaji, giving real-time advice.
So when I show up to the OVO Athletic Center on a December Sunday morning ready to interview seasoned veteran Garrett Temple, he says something I am not expecting at all. 'Do you mind if we sit down?' We are standing on the edge of the Raptors' practice court, where the players come to do scrums. Not a chair or bench in sight. I'm nervous to do the wrong thing, act unprofessionally in front of him.
I'm much more comfortable now,' Garrett says. Now eye-to-eye with him, I realize it's the first time I've ever looked an NBA player directly in the eye. I'm five-foot-one, and you can do the math from there. My nerves settle a bit - Garrett doesn't realize his request to sit has made me feel more comfortable too.
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