Having a Plan B is always wise, even if Plan A seems like it’s in the bag.
When new Celtic Kelly Olynyk was seven years old, he knew he wanted to be a professional basketball player. His Plan B, though, might come as a surprise. A young Olynyk decided he would become a farmer if the whole basketball thing didn’t work out, according to Baxter Holmes of the Boston Globe.
The reason? Olynyk wanted to be able to feed the homeless and disenfranchised he saw on the streets growing up in Toronto.
“I just felt, I don’t know, I just wanted to help people,” he said. “I was a little kid.”
The idea of being a “helper” stayed with Olynyk throughout his basketball career, especially under the tutelage of his father, Ken.
As a youngster, Olynyk played point guard on a team coached by his father, and the 0lder Olynyk had one rule for his team’s point guard: he could pass, but wasn’t allowed to score.
Olynyk took that mentality with him through high school, but the 7-footer is now in a position to also help himself — the All-American is averaging 18 points and 7.8 rebounds for the Celtics in summer league.
So far, it seems like Plan A is working out pretty well.
