To Jacque Vaughn, the moment wasn't anything out of the ordinary. To him, it was simply doing his duty and passing down information that had once been passed down to him.
However, to Will Hardy, that moment was everything. It was someone taking time out of their busy day to help him. It was someone showing kindness and understanding.
One moment, two different memories.
That moment occurred nearly a decade ago when Hardy worked in the Spurs organization as an intern, and Vaughn was an assistant coach under the legendary Gregg Popovich.
With hopes of furthering his career in the NBA, Hardy approached Vaughn and asked for an unusual request for someone as an intern. He wondered if Vaughn would take time out of his busy schedule to teach him the finer points and intricacies of San Antonio's vaunted offense.
Somewhat shockingly to Hardy — yet not to Vaughn — Vaughn was more than happy to oblige. So the two of them got together and completely broke down the Spurs' offense, with Hardy scribbling down everything he could in this little notebook.
"That was a big moment of growth for me," Hardy said. "To have him take that time of his to really sit down and, like, dig in and teach me the ins and outs of our offense was huge for me as an aspiring young coach in our video room."
A decade later, Hardy and Vaughn met once again, this time on the basketball court as head coaches when Utah hosted Brooklyn. Although the Nets would come away with the 117-106 victory, it did nothing to diminish the relationship between two people who refer to one another as "great friends."
"He is an unbelievable human being, and we had a lot of good years together," Vaughn said of Hardy. "I'm so happy for him. … This place deserves someone as good-natured and as unbelievable a coach as he is. So I'm proud of him. … I'm pulling for him."
While appreciative of Vaughn's kind words, Hardy also had great things to say about his former mentor. He'll always be in debt to what Vaughn did all those years ago, helping spark his career to where he is now — one of the youngest head coaches in the NBA.
"It's moments like that with Jacque, and I've had tons of other assistants that I worked for and with over the years who have done some similar type things in different situations, that, as a young coach, makes you want to kind of pay it forward and pay it back to the young guys that are with me," Hardy said. "Because I know that so many people have taken their time and energy to teach me and helped me learn and grow along the way."
That special moment they shared all those years ago is now nothing more than a great story in the evolution of these two coaches.
Vaughn has taken over as the leading man for the Nets, helping turn around their season after a difficult start. Brooklyn is 26-12 under Vaughn, surging to the No. 4 seed in the East and looking like legitimate title contenders.
Meanwhile, Hardy took what was supposed to be a down season with the Jazz and has them firmly planted in the postseason picture in the West. Sitting in the nine seed, Utah is part of a group of 10 teams separated by just five games. From New Orleans (4th place) to Los Angeles (13th), the Jazz sit right in the middle, trailing the Pelicans by 3.5 games and ahead of the Lakers by 1.5 games.
As for that notebook, Hardy still has it in his office. It lies with many others he's collected throughout his coaching rise — yet, this one will always have a special meaning attached to it.
Every year, Hardy digs out the notebook and skims through it. Not only does he remember parts of an offense that have become part of the same system he runs with the Jazz, but he also remembers the man who took his time to teach him — and how Hardy now does the same thing with those who need his help.
"I still have the notebook in my office from when Jacque taught me the offense in San Antonio," he said. "I send him a picture of that notebook at some point during every year, just kind of thanking him, because that moment, for me, was big."
"I can't believe he has the notebook still," Vaughn said with a laugh.