Character Driven: Life, Lessons, and Basketball

Since his inaugural season with the NBA in 1996, Derek Fisher has had a dramatic impact on the great success of the Lakers. Playing alongside legendary players like Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O’Neal, and Lamar Odom, Fisher has held his position at point guard, participating in some of the most dramatic post-season games and moments in recent memory.

In 2007 Derek Fisher and his wife Candace’s lives were upturned by news that their eleven-month-old daughter, Tatum, had been diagnosed with a degenerative and rare form of eye cancer called retinoblastoma. Although his team, the Utah Jazz, was in the midst of a heated playoff series, Fisher immediately put his family first to be with his daughter at the time of her required emergency surgery and chemotherapy. Nominated the best moment in the 2007 ESPY Awards, Derek was able to make a dramatic late entrance and performance in the fourth quarter of game 2 to help the Jazz to an emotional victory. Following the season, Fisher asked the Jazz to release him of his contract so he could devote his energies to fighting his daughter’s retinoblastoma without knowing if he would ever play basketball again. Fisher officially rejoined the Lakers, resuming his role as point guard, and provided a veteran influence alongside Kobe Bryant to a relatively young Lakers squad. In his compelling new book, Fisher shares the Christian values that have guided him on the court and off. With anecdotes from his personal and professional life, Fisher offers lessons learned along the way. Drawing on the power of faith, he shows how anyone can play for a successful team: whether that team is family, community, or just happens to be one in the NBA.