SAN FRANCISCO – It is rare to get an invite to Google’s headquarters, so the Brooklyn Nets were more than excited to accept an guided tour from the tech giant.
Several of Brooklyn's players and coaching staff members visited the Googleplex in Mountain View, California. Considering Google’s place as an industry leader – the company is valued at $800 billion – the players were eager to learn what is behind its success.
Rondae Hollis-Jefferson was particularly moved by seeing how the employees at the company were always trying to find new ideas and inventions to launch. He believes there some similarities to how NBA players approach improving their games.
“You see how much people just want to be a part of their program, their organization,” he explained to BrooklynNets.com. “Just the best thinkers in the world are in that area, it’s great to see.
“It’s interesting because if you look at it, they don’t physically work as hard as us – we can say the same, we don’t work mentally as hard as them – but in the end of the day, they are thinking of ways to be innovative, you can make the same statement for basketball players.”
For Hollis-Jefferson, who is still learning in his third year in the league, he wants to emulate some of that thought process.
“[NBA players are] people who aren’t just comfortable with being average,” Hollis-Jefferson said. “They have to be innovative, they have to find ways to stand out from the group.
“That’s something that I take from life in general and people that I’m around; How can I be different? How can I be innovative? That’s why I try to impact the game in so many different ways, to make it like ‘Wow, Rondae pretty much does it all.’”
Jarrett Allen, a self-noted tech junkie, also appreciated having an opportunity to learn a little bit about how Google operates.
“Seeing one of the headquarters of one of the biggest online resources in the world – it’s like a one-of-a-kind opportunity,” Allen told BrookylnNets.com.
Both men also revealed that they are interested in pursuing opportunities in the tech industry as well.
“As [things] advance, there will be a lot of growth,” Allen said. “Something down the line, whatever it is, I’ll be into it."