At the end of the yellow brick road, the bus stopped in front of a giant purple and gold castle. We all filed off the bus and wandered over a drawbridge and moat and into a brightly lit hall. There were three doors leading out of the hall. The Lion stood in front of the first door; the Scarecrow stood in front of the second; and a Tin Man in front of the final door. There was an old hat perched on a stool at the front of the hall. It started to talk. By this point in my dream, nothing surprised me any more.
The hat called for Andrew Bynum to step forward and put the hat on his head. Almost immediately, it shouted, “Go with the lion – you need the courage to play aggressively every night!” Andrew looked a little like a deer caught in headlights, but he did what he was told.
Vladimir Radmanovic was next. When he placed the hat on his head, the hat burst out laughing. “You need a brain, dude. Follow the Scarecrow. And don’t trip on any ice on your way!”
The hat continued to sort the players. Farmar and Crittendon went with the Scarecrow. Sasha, the Lion. Brian Cook and Mo Evans, who had morphed into one lanky 6’ 8” dude, went with the Lion. Mihm, the Scarecrow to help him stay out of foul trouble. Kwame, the Scarecrow to develop an offensive game. Soon, all of the players were gone except Lamar Odom and Kobe Bryant. Interestingly, the hat hadn’t sent anyone off with the Tin Man.
The hat addressed Lamar first: “Lamar – you are one of the finest basketball players in the world. You have it all. Heart, brains, courage, skill. You are a great teammate. You hold yourself accountable. You play through pain. You share the ball. The Wizard has one simple message for you. It is an oft-quoted poem by Marianne Williamson. It is as if she wrote it for you”:
Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light not our darkness that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous,
talented and fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God.
Your playing small does not serve the world.
There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other
people won't feel insecure around you.
We were born to make manifest the glory of
God that is within us.
It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone.
And as we let our own light shine,
we unconsciously give other people
permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our own fear,
Our presence automatically liberates others.
-Marianne Williamson
“Lamar”, the hat said, “this season, it is time for you to show the world that you are an All-World player. Go and let your light shine!”
“And now Mr. Bryant, the Wizard would like a personal word with you. Please follow the Tin Man. He’ll escort you to the Wizard who will teach you about playing basketball with your heart…”
