In August 2006, I was visiting Los Angeles, and had invited some friends over for a swim at my brother’s condominium building in Santa Monica. At some point that day, I noticed my friends Martin and Adam doing laps with a guy I had not yet met.

After they swam a few laps together, the new guy came over to the side of the pool where I and my cousins were swimming. We all started talking and the new guy eventually asked us what we did, and we each told him. Then, one of us asked him what he did, to which he answered, “I play ball.” Someone asked, “For what college?” The guy responded, “Oh, I never went to college. I play professionally.”

That comment surprised me, and I uncontrollably asked, “What do you mean you skipped college? How friggin good are you?” He flashed one of the most beautiful smiles a man can smile. And shyly said, I’m OK. I played for the Chicago Bulls for a few years; now I will be playing for the New Orleans Hornets this coming season. As it turned out, our new friend was Tyson Chandler, so good a basketball player in fact that he was the second overall pick in the 2001 NBA draft despite having never played college basketball.

Tyson was staying in Santa Monica for the summer of 2006 if I recall correctly for some off season rehab. We all found him to be very down to earth and funny. He was also very generous and invited all of us to a dinner to be prepared by his chef.  Unfortunately, we could not go, but it was nice being asked.

Oh, and as you can see, Tyson is very tall. Very very tall. 7’1″ to be exact. Which makes him a good two feet taller than I am. None of us could tell he was that tall until he got out of the pool, which is why he blended in with us while swimming; he was just another ordinary guy till we figured out who he was. I think he enjoyed being anonymous as long as he could that day because we were enjoying his company without knowing he was a celebrity.

A couple of years after meeting him, I remember hearing that Tyson and his wife had established a charity named Rebound to Rebound in response to the destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina in 2008. Rebound to Rebound is a program established to raise funds to rebuild homes for New Orleans teachers who had lost their homes because of the hurricane. Tyson now plays for the Charlotte Bobcats who this year were acquired by Michael Jordan and who also made their first playoff appearance since becoming an expansion team in 2004.