Raptors' Gary Trent Jr. leans on pair of NBA legends for advice

In a season where 28 different players have suited up for the Toronto Raptors, no player has been in the lineup more than guard Gary Trent Jr.

His 61 games played lead the team this season, with several injuries and trades giving Toronto a new-look lineup on a near-nightly basis.

But for someone who’s spent basically his whole life around NBA arenas, Trent seems to be taking it all in stride.

Growing up the son of nine-year NBA veteran Gary Trent, the 25-year-old isn’t hiding from the leg up he had starting in his early childhood years, including a pair of legendary teammates his dad had with the Minnesota Timberwolves.

“I say this all the time. It’s like I had a cheat sheet in a sense,” Trent said in an interview with Daily Hive. “I have people I can rely on that’s played, the legends in a sense. [I’ve got] my dad. Sam Cassell, he’s like an uncle to me. Kevin Garnett, same instance — I can lean on them, call them, talk to them. They can just give me advice on the things that are going to present themselves — the good, the bad, things on the court, off the court — I’m just able to put that into my own life experiences and make it all into one.”

Garnett managed to make 15 All-Star teams in his time in the NBA while winning the 2008 NBA title with the Boston Celtics and earning a spot in the Basketball Hall of Fame.

While Cassell made just one All-Star game in his career, he’s not without his own big-moment experience either, having won three NBA titles — two with the Houston Rockets in 1995 and 1996 and one alongside Garnett while in Boston.

Trent joined Raptors teammate Gradey Dick earlier this week at a recent basketball clinic run by the National Basketball Youth Mentorship Program in Toronto to help serve as a mentor to a group of young basketball players.

As part of a new partnership with Gillette’s “Choose Your Game Face” advertising campaign and the NBYMP, the two Raptors spoke to the young athletes about the importance of mentorship in their own lives.

“Any way possible. Whether it’s through a mindset, when there’s the motivation, whether it’s through a conversation, there’s many different ways that you could try to motivate and help,” Trent said of how he hopes his message is received. “Being a positive role model, dealing with life the right way, going about things the right way. That’s the best way to do that. By setting an example, that’s the best representation that you can show by leading. Just doing that in any way I can.”

But while Trent was one of the lucky ones to make the NBA, it’s obvious the vast majority of children who watch him play won’t end up as pro athletes. Still, he hopes that his message of positive encouragement resonates with the athletes at the NBYMP clinic.

“[Youth need] great support teams to help you accomplish any dreams you might have or any issues and things you may go through. It’s probably the best thing for them, a great support system,” Trent said. “Hopefully, they do rely on them, so they could trust them to help them get to where they want to get to.”

Now in his fourth season with the Raptors and sixth season in total, Trent has suited up 331 games in the NBA across his time in Toronto and Portland. And now considered an NBA veteran despite being just 25, Trent has embraced the opportunity to continue his childhood dreams.

“To be honest with you, [I appreciate] just the journey and everything that came with it. Throughout the whole process, high school, college, even in the NBA, [I was] always trying to move fast, always trying to get to the next level,” Trent said.

Trent was a five-star recruit at Duke out of the California-based Prolific Prep program, where he spent his senior season after three years at Apple Valley High School in Minnesota. He spent one season before being selected 37th overall in the NBA draft. But now an established NBA veteran, Trent seems to be a bit more reflective than his younger self.

“In high school, I’m trying to rush to get to college. In college trying to rush to get to the NBA, in the NBA, I’m trying to rush to get as much money and many accolades and as many wins as I can,” Trent added. “So I’m just being appreciative of all of it, looking at it back, and not trying to fast forward through it.”

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