BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer
MADISON, Wis. — When Sam Dekker extended his basketball journey to Russia and boarded the plane for a professional team in Krasnodar, there was no guarantee of a return flight to the NBA where the former Wisconsin standout had spent the previous four seasons with four different organizations.
But on the urging of his support group – wife Olivia, family, friends, agents – he didn't treat the 2019 trip overseas as a one-way ticket or dream-breaker. Instead, he took to heart their encouragement and words, "Sam, you're young. You're athletic. You're healthy. This is not a permanent thing."
Over the last two seasons – one with Lokomotiv Kuban in southern Russia and another with Turk Telekom in Ankara, Turkey – Dekker has reminded himself of those very same things on a daily basis "because sometimes those days get a little dark" when grinding to keep that dream alive.
It has now all come to fruition for the 27-year-old Dekker who has earned another opportunity to play in the NBA with the Toronto Raptors. On his Twitter platform, he acknowledged, "The climb-back the past two years has tested me more than anything in my career, but the journey is the reward."
On the same post, Dekker spoke to being "humbled and grateful" while foreshadowing the future, "There's always another hill to climb in life." Last week, he took part in some workouts with the Raptors summer league team in Las Vegas. Sunday, he addressed the twists and turns on his road back.
Revisiting the last 24 months, Dekker admitted, "I'd be lying to you if I said everything was great. I had a lot of days where I felt like my dream wasn't going to come true and I was wasting my time. That's where a lot of mental practice comes into play.
"I had to really train my mind into telling myself, 'I'm going to get back and it's all going to be worth it.' My wife, family and friends kept me thinking positively about myself and my job. And I think the best thing that ever happened to me was going overseas.
"It gave me kind of that slice of humble pie and really made me work on myself, not just on the court, but off the court – finding out who I am and how tough I can be. I think I'll carry what I learned these last two years for the rest of my life.
"I don't know if there was a turning point. It was mostly just practicing and honing-in on how to accept where I am and accept what I'm doing each day. It was waking up and have a routine of little things like daily affirmations, journaling, breathing work. Anything to get me in the right headspace."
Olivia Harlan Dekker has been a guiding light and a source of inspiration for her husband of three years. When travel was prudent and their schedules aligned – Harlan is a TV network sideline reporter – they rendezvoused throughout Europe, a lifeline to Sam during those dark moments.
"I can't talk enough about how much she helped me every day just staying in contact and keeping me balanced," he said. "She would randomly fly in for two to three days just to get me some mental clarity … she was as much a part of this all as I. She kept me going."
Sam Dekker and wife, Olivia Harlan Dekker, pose for a photo prior to a Wisconsin Football game at Camp Randall Stadium in 2018
So did the players around him in Krasnodar and Ankara.
"I was blessed to have some great teammates, a bunch of Americans who were in the same struggle as me, the same grind as me, going through the same good and bad days as me," Dekker said. "Without the Americans and my Russian and Turkish teammates, it wouldn't have been as easy.
"That's where having a team around you is so important. Guys can take your mind off of whatever is going on in your family life or if you're feeling down or if you're just homesick. I'm so blessed to call them life-ling friends and to have friends from all over the world now."
Dekker got particularly close in Turkey with Tyler Ennis, a former Syracuse player. As fate would have it, Ennis was born Toronto. Both were taken with the 18th overall pick in the NBA draft: Ennis by the Suns in 2014 and Dekker by the Rockets in 2015. Last November, Ennis tore his Achilles tendon.
"It was maybe one of the saddest moments of my career on the court," Dekker recalled. "He had broken his leg a couple of years before and he came back to Turkey to give it another shot. We were in second place and having an amazing year when he blew out his Achilles in a game in Istanbul.
"I remember the look on his face, and I still play it over in my head sometimes because he's one of the best people I've ever met in my life. To see someone go through all he did to get back to playing really hits you. He's doing well now. But without him the season was much tougher."
The Ennis injury was a reminder to Dekker how quickly it can all be taken away without warning. Nonetheless, Dekker continued to flourish individually with Turk Telekom. He averaged 15 points and nearly six rebounds and scored in double-figures in 22 of 28 games, including 20-plus six times.
What really stood out was his 3-point shooting. In April, Gunnar Person, a skill development trainer from Kansas City who had worked with Dekker, posted Sam was hitting better than 45 percent (54/119) from beyond the arc in the Turkish Super League, 42% against All-European competition.
Person also speculated then that Dekker was most definitely a candidate to get back to the NBA.
"It's all about confidence with me and just feeling like I can let it fly," said Dekker who shot 29% on 3-pointers in 200 career games with the Rockets, Clippers, Cavs and Wizards. During his three years at Wisconsin, 113 games, he was much more efficient from distance (142 of 408 attempts, .348), including over 42% (16-for-36) during the 2015 NCAA Tournament run.
"I'll always be grateful for the coaching staff in Turkey – coach Burak Goren gave me an unlimited green light. If it's a good shot, take it. He kept telling me that every day. I put too much work into my jump shot not to let it be its natural self on the court."
Sam Dekker, Tyler Ennis and Kyle Wiltjer (l to r) pose for a photo
Dekker also credited Person and his dad, Todd, the longtime coach at Sheboygan Lutheran High School, for getting him back on track with his perimeter game. Few Badger fans will forget Dekker exploding for 27 points (highlighted by 5-of-6 triples) in the 2015 Elite Eight victory over Arizona and his "step back jack" to help knock off Kentucky in the Final Four.
"I finally told myself – 'Just shoot the ball' – that's what it turned into for me (in Turkey), and I would make one and the flood gates would open and I'd make two, three, four, five," he said. "Every night, it seemed to be the same thing. I've got to keep that 'Less is More' approach mentally.
"When I do that, focusing on each shot, it's amazing the results.
"I've made my life so much more simple. But it's made my game so much better."
Dekker won't soon forget what it took to get another crack at the NBA.
"The dream is the dream for thousands of guys," he said. "And I'm very blessed. I'm one of those guys that won't take that for granted. Maybe in the past I would have. The way I see things now, I see how rare it is and I see how special the opportunity is (to play at the highest level)."
In filing away all of his experiences overseas, good and bad, and whatever self-doubt may have crept into his thinking at various low points, he added, "I'm not going to block out the bad days because those are the days that get you to where you want to go."
Dekker is positive that what he learned from his previous tour of duty in the NBA – even from his rookie season in Houston when he was sidelined by a back injury that necessitated surgery – will still translate. Especially in terms of tempo and fundamental principles on the defensive end.
"The game is a universal game," he said. "It's all about knowing your spots, knowing your reads and that's what it's going to be for me this year and for the coming years. I'll be able to slow down the game mentally. When I get out there, I'm not going to feel like a rookie. I'm going to feel like a vet."
A couple of years ago, Toronto won the NBA championship behind Kawhi Leonard and Kyle Lowry. Both are gone. And so is the memory of that 2019 title run. The Raptors are now trying to regroup and bounce back from a disastrous 2021 season in which they posted a 27-45 record.
On what he might be able to bring to the team if he makes the roster, Dekker insisted, "I just have to be who I am. I spent some time with them during their summer league practices. And I've gotten some great feedback. Shooting the ball is the least of my worries.
"I want to show them that I can defend multiple positions, play-make, get downhill and do all the things I've done my entire career. On this stage, with the open court mentality the NBA is right now, with all the floor spacing, I think this is where I can thrive and help their team."
Dekker already feels comfortable around Toronto head coach Nick Nurse who has Midwest roots. Nurse was born and raised in Carroll, Iowa, two-plus hours west of Cedar Rapids. Carroll has a population of about 10,000, making it four times smaller than Dekker's hometown of Sheboygan.
Nurse went on to play hoops for four seasons at the University of Northern Iowa which also was his first rung on the coaching ladder as an UNI assistant in 1989. He didn't make it to an NBA staff until 2013 when named an assistant with the Raptors. To say that he has paid his dues is an understatement.
"Coach Nurse has been awesome," Dekker said. "I've gotten to build a little relationship with him. He's one of the unique coaches that lets all his guys get a shot. I like this approach to the game. The thing is about the Raptors, if you put in the work and effort, they're going to reward you."
The reward, after all, is in the journey. And Dekker's is nearing another leg.
