Damien Wilkins on playing for the Pacers, learning from Chad Buchanan and now being GM of Overtime Elite
Wilkins was with the Pacers for the 2017-18 season, then retired and is now helping young players develop their games with Overtime Elite.
Damien Wilkins wasn’t with the Indiana Pacers very long — just one season — but he felt it was a great finishing touch to his playing career and helped springboard him to the next chapter.
“I had a great time in Indiana,” he told Fieldhouse Files in a phone interview this week. “I talk to (general manager) Chad Buchanan all the time. He’s one of my mentors. We talk shop a lot, talk about my time there. The people were so welcoming and they just treated me with a ton of respect and appreciation. I don’t think I could have scripted my last year of playing any better.”
Wilkins was the veteran on the 2017-18 Pacers that pushed LeBron James’ Cavs to seven games in the first round of the playoffs. Myles Turner is still around, but there are only three other teammates from that season who are still in the NBA: Domantas Sabonis, Bojan Bogdanovic and Glue Guy Thad Young.
He knew going into the season that it would be his last. He was 38 at the time and didn’t want to be forced out; he wanted to go out on his own and then, “be a normal guy.”
For him, it was about the players, career development and giving back. So he did that first with the National Basketball Players Association and now Overtime Elite, based out of Atlanta, as the general manager and head of basketball.
“This has been an amazing opportunity to me,” he said. “I don’t take it for granted at all. I get to touch these guys at this level and get to be around them and mentor them and pour into, just help them on their paths. I try to do everything I can every day for these guys — and I was in their shoes so it’s easy for me to know and relate to them in ways others may not.”
Wilkins recalled a conversation about leading with Buchanan.
“One of the things he told me when I talked to him right at the start of season two here at OTE. … He said ‘are pissing people off?’
“I said, ‘I’m sure I am.’
“He said, ‘well, then you’re doing your job.’ So that was always something that I keep in mind. If people are getting upset with me to some degree, that must mean I’m doing my job, according to Chad Buchanan.”
Wilkins and his OTE program will be in Indianapolis this week for a two-day event at Broad Ripple High School. There will be two games on Thursday and two more games on Friday afternoon before NBA All-Star festivities take over.
February 15th
7pm - Cold Hearts vs RWE
9pm - City Reapers vs YNG Dreamerz
February 16th
2pm - City Reapers vs Cold Hearts
4pm - RWE vs YNG Dreamerz
“We’re taking our players to Indiana where all of basketball is gonna be at the time to play those games in front of scouts and a different region of fans,” he said. “And to just enjoy the atmosphere of All-Star weekend. That’s one of the many things that separates us from everyone else — we’re able to do unique activations to give our guys a different and a high level of exposure.”
Amen and Ausar Thompson were the staples of the program and helped put Overtime Elite on the map in the last few years. They were drafted in consecutive picks — four and five — in the last NBA draft by the Rockets and Pistons, respectively.
“They were just disciplined and determined to be where they are now,” Wilkins said. “Those guys are gonna go down as some of our hardest workers that we’ve ever had in the building. They came here and knew what they want to do.”
There are several current players involved who are actively being recruited by Mike Woodson at Indiana University. There are McDonald’s All-Americans John Bol and Karter Knox.
And Hall of Famer Tamika Catchings’ nephew, Kanon, plays on Cold Hearts.
After playing at Brownsburg, he moved on to OTE. He’s now 18 years old, 6-foot-9 and a high-level scorer.
“The guy is just an absolute pro,” Wilkins said. “Size, skill, ability to score the ball the way he does, score in bunches. He’s super efficient. You look up at the scoreboard and he’s at 19, 20, 21 points — and you really haven’t seen him take many shots. Things come easy for him, it’s natural for him to put the ball in the basket.
“He is well on his way to being a first-round NBA pick. This guy is really good.”
Much like he did that Pacer team, he’s helping the team and players in whatever ways he can — by leading, coaching and being there for them every single day. And he looks forward to returning to Indy this week.
“I just want our teams to go out there and have a good time,” he said. “Enjoy the atmosphere, enjoy the opportunity, put on a good show for our Adidas partners and our fans that are going to be showing up and showing us some love. Don’t break curfew and let’s get home safely!”
You can listen to our full conversation on the Fieldhouse Files podcast.
Among the items discussed on this episode:
Why OTE and his role as general manager.
OTE coming to Indy over All-Star Weekend
Kanon Catchings, nephew of Tamika
Being surprised by his fiancé with a gender reveal at a Pacers home game — “a moment I’ll never forget.”
His close relationship with GM Chad Buchanan and conversations about him possibly returning to the Pacers in a leadership, player development role.
His pitch to players and families for OTE.
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