(PROCESS)[THE ACHILLES INJURY WAS MY PERSONAL MOUNT EVEREST.]

Right after I sustained the injury in 2013, as I was walking off the court, I just looked at my wife and shook my head. She could immediately tell it was very serious.

I went straight to the training table in the locker room. Gary Vitti was there, so was Patrick Soon-Shiong, a surgeon and minority owner of the team (and who today owns the Los Angeles Times). We started speaking and Patrick said, “There’s a new procedure and it looks very promising, but it operates on the premise that you can’t let scar tissue settle in. It means you would need to go and have the operation tomorrow.”

I said, “Let’s do it.” It was as simple as that. We started game planning for surgery the next morning right there and then. Shortly thereafter, my family came in and I talked with them. We cried about it, and I answered all my kids’ questions. I assured them that Daddy was going to be fine. I remember, sometime after that, showering with crutches and being careful not to slip. I talked to the media, and I had surgery the very next day.

Before the Achilles injury, I was thinking about my career arc. I could feel my body wearing out and I knew I was on the clock. When the Achilles injury happened, I treated it as a new challenge. People were saying I might not be able to come back, but I knew I was not going to let it beat me. I was not going to let an injury dictate my retirement; I was going to dictate my retirement. That’s when I decided I had to climb that mountain.