Kevin Grevey Sets Great Example

Kevin Grevey recently took some time to speak to some young basketball campers at Fairfax HS in Virginia. Grevey is an old school type player that we simply do not see enough of in today’s NBA. When speaking to the kids, he stressed the fundamentals of the game. His message was that proper dribbling, shooting, passing, and overall understanding of the game can beat raw athleticism every time. Learning the fundamentals at a young age was the key to Grevey’s success, as he preached to the kids:

“I had a high school coach who was not just a coach, but also a teacher.”

Grevey is a man who has enjoyed success at every stage of his life. After a stand out high school career, he went on to become a part of legendary coach Adolph Rupp’s final recruiting class at Kentucky. He played 3 seasons at Kentucky (this was before freshman were eligible to play) making all SEC 3 times and winning player of the year twice, and also was part of two All America teams. The only thing missing from Grevey’s college resume was a championship, falling just short in the title game in 1975 to John Wooden’s UCLA team, despite scoring 34 points in the championship game. His number 35 jersey was retired and hangs in the rafters of Rupp Arena to this day.

That summer, Grevey was selected in the first round of the 1975 NBA draft by the Washington Bullets. After 3 seasons as a back up, he finally got a chance to start during the 1977-78 season, helping lead the Bullets to the franchise’s only championship. Grevey would go on to play 10 years in the NBA, 8 with the Bullets. However, Grevey would go on to accomplish much after his career was over.

Grevey, in addition to calling basketball games for Westwood One Radio, also opened his own sports bar, Grevey’s, in Fairfax, VA. However, no matter what kind of success he achieves in the business world, basketball will always be his passion. Grevey says, “I love this game so much, playing it, watching it, talking about it. I still play basketball to this day.”

Grevey is a great example of an athlete adopting the town he played in as his own. In the last few years, he has really reconnected with the Wizards franchise. He attributes this mainly to owner Ted Leonsis, whom he calls “an amazing individual.” Leonsis has made it a priority to embrace the alumni of the franchise, and it has been greatly appreciated by men like Grevey and his former teammates.

“Now we are huge fans again,” Grevey says of the alumni.

He believes in the team and the city, “Washington DC is a basketball town, and we are going win again.” Those words have a lot of credibility coming from Kevin Grevey, a man who has been a winner all through out his life.