As a DJ played various Motown classics and current hip-hop hits, excited fans rushed to awaiting seats last weekend in anticipation of hearing engaging words from a Detroit Pistons legend.
Grant Hill, third pick of the 1994 NBA Draft , was in town to promote his memoir, Game: An Autobiography.
“I’ve been a fan since middle school, and everybody I knew in middle school knew I loved him,” admirer Marlena Taylor said of why she wanted a signed copy of the book. “I said Grant Hill drinks Sprite at my eighth-grade graduation. I’ve been a huge basketball fan of his forever. When I had the opportunity to come, I decided to come out.”
Hill didn’t disappoint Taylor nor other fans who showed up at the Henry Ford-Detroit Pistons Performance Center practice court. After a welcome from Pistons PA announcer John Mason, Hill left them with words of inspiration during an hour-long chat. Hill said the writing process allowed for a reflective look back at his time starring nightly at the Palace of Auburn Hills more than 20 years ago.
“Collective responsibility, discipline, sacrifice, managing failure, managing success are skills that are learned and can be applicable elsewhere,” he said. “That foundation came from when we were out in Auburn Hills but just came from those experiences,” Hill said. “As I've transitioned and done a number of different things, more in the leadership role, I'm always finding myself going back to what I learned on the hardwood.”
The message resonates when you consider Hill’s post-playing career. Hill is a well-regarded basketball analyst for Turner Sports and a minority owner of the Atlanta Hawks. Hill has invested in real estate, founded a marketing and management company, and is an art collector. He met his wife, Tamia, while he played for the Pistons.
He told Pistons.com in a sit-down interview before his appearance that the decision to author the book came in 2018 when he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
“That’s a type of moment where you're reflective and you kind of look at everything in your career,” he said. “I felt like in that moment there's a lot there and I want to unpack that a little bit more. I think we can always take and learn from people's stories, so it wasn't a total vanity play. I think it was in part wanting to share and hopefully help others by telling my story.”
He added tennis great Andre Agassi’s autobiography, Open, inspired the framework and book cover.
“I felt like (Agassi’s book) was like the gold standard in terms of sports autobiographies for my generation,” Hill said. “And he was very vulnerable. He was very introspective. He was very transparent. I wanted to have a different story, but I wanted to do that and be very thoughtful and very honest about my story and sharing even insecurities things I've never shared with anyone.”