00:00 (soft music)
00:02 It was either our first or second basketball workout.
00:07 And then I felt the same exact thing,
00:10 like the same exact fast heartbeat.
00:12 And that was my first time feeling it in years.
00:15 So I was just like, all right,
00:17 press the little button on the heart monitor.
00:18 And I kept practicing, I was cool.
00:21 And then I would say it was maybe the next day
00:23 or a few days after, I get a call from the trainer.
00:28 He's like, you need to come to the facility right now.
00:30 And then I got there and he walked over
00:34 to the medical building with me.
00:35 And he's like, I need you to call your mom and your dad.
00:38 And I called my mom, I said, mom, you need to come to UCLA.
00:41 They're about to tell us something.
00:42 'Cause I honestly forgot I had the heart monitor on
00:44 'cause I was so used to being like fine and playing with it.
00:47 So my mom came, had my dad on FaceTime.
00:50 We walk in the room and it's like a big slideshow.
00:52 Bunch of people, bunch of doctors in a circle
00:55 and like white jackets.
00:56 And then it's just a picture of like a heart.
00:59 When they told me, they were like,
01:08 you can play and honestly be fine.
01:11 Nothing might ever happen.
01:12 There's been a lot of people who have this,
01:13 they don't know and they played a successful life of sports.
01:16 And then there's some people who got surgery.
01:18 So my first thing was, I'm not about to get no heart surgery
01:20 so I'm about to just live with it.
01:24 I worked all this way up,
01:26 just won state championship for my high school.
01:28 First one in like 20 something years.
01:30 ESPN put me as the number one player in California.
01:33 You know, I'm staying home.
01:34 Like season's about to start, we starting workouts.
01:37 All my friends are here and then boom,
01:39 I can't play basketball no more.
01:40 So went home with that.
01:43 And you know, I kind of thought I got workouts tomorrow.
01:45 If I put my shoes on and this is the last time
01:47 I play basketball, like that'll be crazy.
01:49 'Cause they just told me about it yesterday.
01:50 So, you know, I told my coach and the trainer,
01:52 I was like, let me get the surgery.
01:55 (soft music)
01:56 When I was a kid, you know,
01:58 I would have a lot of fast heartbeats,
02:00 like during like recess or even in class randomly.
02:04 I missed a lot of days of school just 'cause of this.
02:07 Like my heart would be fast and I'd wake up,
02:09 I'd be in the hospital.
02:10 Doctors couldn't find out what it was.
02:14 And then finally I got something called a heart ablation.
02:16 Like a year later, maybe I was like six or seven.
02:19 I think it was hard to tell everybody in my family.
02:24 And like releasing it to the public.
02:26 'Cause I knew people were gonna be like,
02:28 what's wrong with Sharif?
02:29 Why isn't he playing?
02:30 So, so much was going through my mind.
02:34 I'm like, am I ever gonna play basketball again?
02:37 I gotta get a heart surgery.
02:38 Am I gonna make it through the surgery?
02:39 Like it was just so much that was raced through my head
02:42 that I feel like I wasn't the same for a long time.
02:45 I feel like I was in a dark place
02:49 and I was good at hiding it
02:50 until I released it to the public.
02:53 And everybody's talking about it.
02:54 Literally everywhere I go, people are talking about it.
02:56 So that's when I started to show it.
02:58 Like people were like, after a few days,
03:00 people were like, okay, don't say nothing to Sharif.
03:03 Don't even look at his way.
03:04 'Cause I was just like in a little rage moment.
03:07 Like I was just so like worked up and so mad I couldn't play
03:10 and just people kept bringing it up
03:12 and I was already scared.
03:13 So we had finals.
03:16 I feel like it was hard for me to focus on school too.
03:19 'Cause I'm in my final trying to figure out the answer.
03:22 And I'm thinking about I gotta get surgery
03:23 in 20 something days.
03:25 Like every single day got closer.
03:27 The more and more scared I was.
03:28 And I just, it was, yeah,
03:30 that was really the feeling was just being scared.
03:32 I was just waking up.
03:40 They were teaching me how to walk again.
03:43 And my dad, he was like, if you come back from this,
03:47 he's like, you're the baddest man on the planet.
03:51 At first I didn't really hear him,
03:53 but as like I started to be more and more conscious
03:55 of what was going on,
03:56 that was like really the only thing I kind of remember
03:58 from that surgery, from that whole process.
04:00 He's like, you come back from this,
04:01 you're the baddest man on the planet.
04:02 So once that kind of clicked in my mind,
04:05 I'm like, yeah, well, come on, let's walk.
04:06 Like I couldn't even sleep.
04:08 'Cause I'm like, I need to get out of the hospital.
04:09 That was my first thought.
04:10 I need to get out of the hospital.
04:11 I hate the hospital.
04:12 I need to go home.
04:13 So they would come in, are you ready to walk?
04:15 Yeah, I'm getting up by myself.
04:18 Like I feel like it's just something in me.
04:21 That just really drove me into getting out
04:22 of the hospital first.
04:23 And then I got so used to a routine that I was like,
04:25 you know, I'm gonna just take this all the way.
04:28 And they were like, there's a test you have to get passed.
04:30 You gotta walk a little bit farther every day.
04:32 So, you know, I was supposed to be in the hospital
04:34 for about three weeks.
04:36 I think I made it out in like eight days.
04:41 I was so determined to get out.
04:42 They asked me to walk.
04:43 I wanna walk.
04:44 I wanna go outside, get some fresh air.
04:46 Like I wanna do something.
04:47 So I feel like once he told me that,
04:49 I was just like, you know, I gotta come back from this
04:52 just to be an inspiring person.
04:53 ♪ Look, no limit, still standing ♪
05:01 ♪ Waiting for this moment, better take advantage ♪
05:04 ♪ Think you falling off, show 'em your balance ♪
05:07 ♪ Show 'em your passion, move forward, not back ♪
05:12 Even though at times I didn't feel like
05:13 I was gonna be able to play basketball again,
05:15 like I had to kind of trick myself
05:18 and tell myself things to make sure
05:19 that I play basketball again.
05:21 So I feel like that was the most important thing I did
05:24 after getting that surgery.
05:26 After I left UCLA, I was kind of scared
05:30 to even try to transfer 'cause nobody's gonna take a kid
05:33 coming off a heart surgery,
05:34 but you know, LSU was still interested
05:36 'cause I just wanted to get a fresh start
05:38 after the whole surgery thing.
05:39 I wanted to get out of LA so I can kind of find out
05:42 who I really am again 'cause it's a part of my new life.
05:45 (gentle music)
05:48 And I've always wanted to play in the NBA.
05:51 And looking back at it,
05:53 like people can talk about the G League all they want,
05:55 that's still some of the best basketball players
05:57 in the world.
05:59 I never thought I'd even be in a position
06:00 to play pro basketball after that surgery.
06:03 Ignite looking after me and helping me develop,
06:06 it helped so much.
06:07 And I'm just proud of where I am
06:10 and I'm just happy they gave me a chance to show.
06:13 And they really wanted to showcase that I was healthy too.
06:16 I feel like they were on my side.
06:18 And that's the first time I felt like a whole team
06:20 and group like staff was actually on my side to help me
06:23 'cause they know what I went through and they care for me.
06:25 So Ignite helped me a lot.
06:27 At LSU, I worked 24 a year for that.
06:34 So, you know, I'm gonna do anything to show my love for him
06:38 and I'm not doing it for no pictures or nothing.
06:40 Like, it actually means something for me.
06:43 And he means a lot to me just 'cause he was always around.
06:47 We went to the Staple Center
06:50 and at first I didn't really think Noah was gonna be there.
06:52 But when I say the whole city of LA was at the Staple Center
06:55 and just chanting Kobe, Kobe,
06:58 and the big like flowers and all that in the middle,
07:00 like, you know, that's when I didn't feel alone.
07:02 I'm like, okay, the whole city's feeling just like this.
07:05 And, you know, it was just a,
07:07 it's just something I still don't believe to this day.
07:09 Like, and I always look at that Instagram message
07:11 'cause like he never got to read it.
07:12 So it's just, it's just crazy that I got that message before,
07:15 but I'm also kind of mad at myself
07:18 that I slept in that day.
07:19 'Cause I feel like that kind of sticks with me too.
07:21 'Cause if I would have woke up a few hours earlier,
07:23 I could have answered,
07:24 he could have possibly said something back.
07:26 So like I sent the last message and he didn't get to see it.
07:28 So that kind of sticks with me.
07:30 (upbeat music)
07:33 - Kobe, Kobe, Kobe, Kobe,
07:40 Kobe, Kobe, Kobe, Kobe,
07:42 Kobe, Kobe, Kobe, Kobe,
07:44 Kobe, Kobe, Kobe, Kobe,
07:47 - Playing one full season pro,
07:48 about to get another full season pro
07:50 and just keep building from there.
07:51 So I got to really take it day at a time.
07:53 Never let anybody tell you you can't do anything.
07:56 Like it sounds pretty simple,
07:57 but if you really think about it,
07:58 like if you believe in yourself,
08:00 you can do whatever you want.
08:01 I don't care if people told me,
08:03 I'm never gonna make it to the NBA.
08:05 I'm never gonna do this.
08:06 And they're gonna do that.
08:07 I'm gonna still try.
08:07 Like I'm gonna try it till I can't try no more.
08:09 So, you know, I want to get to the NBA
08:12 for my personal goals and you know, for my family goals.
08:15 And that's something I've always said.
08:17 You know, when I get there, you know,
08:18 I just want to make a name for myself
08:20 and just impact basketball in a different way.
08:22 And just, you know, just show the world I can do this.
08:24 So no matter what goes on,
08:26 I don't care what I went through a few years ago,
08:28 I'm gonna keep going like this.
08:29 To show people I still got it.
08:30 I just feel like I've been having to prove
08:33 a lot of people wrong.
08:33 And I feel like I'm like this side of life
08:36 where you gotta prove.
08:37 (upbeat music)
08:39 (upbeat music)
08:42 (upbeat music)
08:45 (upbeat music)
08:47 you
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