Any Knicks fan who follows MSG Network's Alan Hahn on Twitter may be familiar with the hashtag #NoOneSleeps. Of course, Hahn often uses the term to motivate all followers and Knicks fans alike to stay up all night and keep the conversation about the team going into all hours of the next morning. Given how passionate New York's social media fan base is, sometimes it actually works.
While such a hashtag may simply be all in good fun, an array of minor league players could certainly provide it with a much more literal meaning.
The 2013 NBA D-League Showcase tipped off on Monday morning, with the Los Angeles D-Fenders matching up against the Rio Grande Valley Vipers.
As it just so happens, the D-Fenders only happened to arrive in Reno around 7PM local time. While that may be plenty of time to head to their respective resting ground for the night before a game, sometimes being aboard a plane may not be the most relaxing thing in the world. Players can grow restless and/or uncomfortable, all the while anxiously awaiting their arrival to the next destination.
Granted, with so much time in between, the D-Fenders may not be in the worst possible scenario. Having played in the D-League's lone game on Sunday evening, the Bakersfield Jam only flew in by the later hours of the morning. The team played a mid-day game against the Sioux Falls Skyforce in day one of the Showcase. Not looking too affected by the lack of time to perhaps settle in, Bakersfield still managed to win the contest in commanding fashion.
Still, what NBADL players have to deal with at a time like this is still rather unique, Whereas NBA players are motivated and/or given an extra boost by a large roaring crowd of prideful supporters on a nightly basis, minor leaguers may not simply have that luxury at their disposal.
Instead, here at the Showcase, there's a bevy of NBA executives ready to watch the said prospects prove themselves and show off what they can do. Perhaps the adrenaline of taking advantage of such great opportunities propelled the players from the teams matching up on Monday through the day. Such a situation can probably be compared to a student staying up during an all-nighter for a big test the next day. The student may crash later on in hopes of catching up on some sleep, but at least they powered through the big moment with enough of a jolt.
With even more time to rest up between games throughout the week, NBADLers will hopefully all be poised to hit the hardwood as if they just shot out of a cannon. That said, the quick turnaround time for teams by the first day of the Showcase may not be the only case of lack of sleep or rest. With so many NBA teams using their minor league affiliates on a frequent basis to develop younger players, such young guns are be constantly going back and forth between cities on a nightly basis, with not much time in between.
This may be a tough thing for the average person to fathom, but for these promising prospects, it's just another aspect of life in the D-League that needs to be dealt with. Emerging victorious after enduring such a grind is what standing out to big league executives is all about.