“You have to communicate with them because the world is different now than it was when I was growing up. Communication is probably the biggest thing. It has taken my relationship with my kids and their growth to another level.” – Damien Wilkins

Art Eddy: Recently we saw a very cool scene during a game when there was a timeout. Your fiancee, Jasmine with the help of the Pacers mascot did a gender reveal. I loved your reaction. I know as a player you need to be focused on the game and what is going on in that timeout. When did you realize what was happening and what were your teammates saying to you?

Damien Wilkins: I wasn’t sure what was going on to be honest. Like you said I was focused on the game. I was trying to stay engaged on what was going on in the huddle. Jasmine, my fiancée wanted to do a surprise gender reveal. I was totally against it the entire time. She kept asking me. She said she wanted to do a gender reveal. I was like I just want to find out.

Lo and behold she did it anyway. I was totally surprised and caught off guard. It was a great night. I was extremely excited about the result. I know she was too. That was when she found out. She didn’t know either. We both found out at the same time. It was very exciting.

AE: You had a great tweet that night after the game saying that since you will now have three boys that you will get your “LaVar Ball” on. I know you were kidding, but if you did start up a brand what would the name of that brand be?

DW: (Laughs.) Oh man. If I did start a brand what would it be called? It would be called Be Revolutionary. (Both laugh.)

AE: What popped into your mind when you found out that you were going to be a father for the first time?

DW: The first time I found out that I was going to be a dad I was extremely emotional. I was happy. You really can’t put it into words. It is one of those things that humbles you. It puts a lot of things immediately in perspective. You constantly start thinking about all of those things where you have to immediately grow up to be.

You are responsible for someone else besides yourself now. There is going to be someone looking up to you that you can’t let down. Your children are the last people that you want to let down. It is an unbelievable feeling. I am excited. I have been excited. I am excited for Jasmine. I am excited for our family. I am excited for my children. They are excited. I can’t even put it into words how excited I am. I am happy to start this chapter.

AE: What are some of the core values you looked to instill into your kids as they were growing up?

DW: Our faith is something that we live by. We definitely want to instill that into them with our relationship with God. We want them to be good people of character. We want them to be people who follow their dreams. Live their own lives. I know having three boys in this family in particular can add pressure on you to want to do something that we all have done.

My uncle, my dad and I all have played basketball. There is so much more to life than basketball. It just so happens to be the path that we chose.

I don’t want my boys to grow up and feel that it is the path that they have to choose in order for me to be proud of them. What will make me more proud is that they get an education and graduate high school and college and go on to change the world in their own respective ways. That to me is the most important thing that Jasmine and I can teach our children. My daughter, I want her to be a self-respected, strong and an independent woman. I want her to know her worth. If we are able to instill those things in them than we have succeeded as parents.

AE: What is the one biggest piece of advice you have for new dads?

DW: Man that is tough. You are a dad so you know this. We haven’t figured it out yet. We are going day by day with things too. The one thing that I tell my kids is I have been your age before you haven’t been mine. I will always say that when I feel like they are not listening.

The one thing that I could say is that we haven’t figured it out yet. We are still learning. I like to sit down with my kids and Jasmine and just talk. We talk about experiences that we go through, that we have been through and things that we are experiencing at that moment. We try to help figure things out.

If there is anything for new dads that has helped me is communicating with your children and being open and honest and not having a filter. There are some conversations that you are going to have to sway more into the G rated conversation, but at the end of the day you have to be honest with your children. You have to communicate with them because the world is different now than it was when I was growing up. There wasn’t a lot of things that I was exposed to. Nowadays nothing is censored. Everything is right in the open. Communication is probably the biggest thing. It has taken my relationship with my kids and their growth to another level.

AE: Your father Gerald Wilkins and uncle Dominique Wilkins made a name for themselves in the NBA. What advice did they give to you when you entered the NBA?

DW: When I entered the NBA I was fortunate. I had guys that had been in the league for ten years. There were about four or five guys on my team when I first came into the league. Nowadays veterans are like 21. Those are the veteran guys so to speak.

Miles Turner is considered a veteran on our team. This is only his third year. He is still a child himself. It is like the blind leading the blind now. My dad just told me to not take the game for granted. It has been so good to our family and to so many people. So don’t take it for granted. Once it is taken away from you it will be the one thing that you want back. A lot of people don’t know what they have until it is gone.

The biggest piece of advice that I had gotten was to not take this game for granted. Practice, the games, the comradery in the locker room and the things of that nature. You can’t take it for granted. You have to appreciate it. This is the best life that we are going to live for a lot of us. It is a great life.

The game has opened the door for so many people. They are able to do huge things. Look at James Jones. He went from a guy who wasn’t a superstar in the league. He played on great teams and won championships. Now he is in the front office in Phoenix. He probably wouldn’t have thought that. That is the path that I want to go. I want to be in the front office. I want to be an executive, a GM or an assistant GM or president of basketball operations one day. There are certain experiences and bridges that you can’t burn. There are certain experiences that you have to take advantage of. That is all under the umbrella of not taking the game for granted.

AE: In your time in the league so far do you have one moment that stands out to you the most?

DW: I have had a lot of those moments. I say I have had a lot of those moments because it just goes to show you that how much the game means to me. How important it is to me. Finding out my rookie year that I made the team in Seattle. That is one of the most rewarding and fulfilling days of my life.

Fast forward to now with literally the same coach that I made the team here in Indiana this year was one of the most rewarding experiences in my life. I don’t know which one topped the other. They both feel like firsts in the absence and gap that I had been in. I haven’t been in the league for four years prior to this. Then never playing in the NBA and working my butt off to get there for the first time. They both feel like those first moments.

Then my career highs. I had 41 points one night in Atlanta of all places. That is where I live. That is where I call home. To play that game and play that well at home was one of the most rewarding feelings of my career.

From a personal standpoint meeting my now fiancée, Jasmine. That was one of the most rewarding things in my career. She is someone that has pushed me to be a better player, a better person, a better teammate and a better leader. This all intertwines on how well I do on the basketball court and how well my career goes. All of those things are highlights of my career. I wouldn’t change any of it or even the route that I took to get to them more importantly.

AE: Do you guys have a favorite family movie that you all love to watch together?

DW: Game of Thrones man. I am waiting Season Eight. I am like what is going on? I can’t even say family with that show. That is more of a myself and Jasmine show. The kids don’t watch that with us. This is Us is probably our favorite family show.

AE: Do you guys have a favorite song that you all like to sing to or dance to as a family?

DW: My kids will probably tell you the song called Rolex by Ayo & Teo. Jasmine and I wouldn’t say it is our favorite, but it is a favorite in our house. We sort of close our ears when it comes on because that is how much it comes on now. I would say that is the family song right now.

AE: Describe the perfect family vacation.

DW: We spent a lot of time in Puerto Rico this last summer. That was fun. It was a pseudo vacation. The prefect vacation? We really haven’t taken it yet. I think we are planning that one for this upcoming summer.

AE: Favorite pair of kicks on and off the court are…..

DW: My favorite pair of kicks on the court right now are probably the new Kobe’s. My pair of kicks off the court right now are my house shoes. They are my UGG slides.

AE: When you are not playing games in the NBA or hanging with your family your favorite thing to do is…

DW: Not much. Watch movies and read books. I have found myself lately doing a lot of online shopping for the baby. If you ask Jasmine I haven’t had that much time to myself. To be honest I really don’t know what time to myself feels like. (Both laugh.) Let me get back to you when I do have some time to myself.

About Damien Wilkins

Damien Wilkins comes from a basketball family. He is the son of NBA veteran Gerald Wilkins and nephew of nine-time NBA All-Star Dominique Wilkins. You can say basketball is in his blood, but there is much more to Damien than hoops. From his time in the NBA to now he has learned a lot about himself on a personal and professional level. He knows that he should not take things for granted. He shares that thought with his family at home and his teammates at work.

Recently Wilkins family life and work life came together when his fiancée, Jasmine Mitchell surprised him at work. During a timeout Jasmine went onto the basketball court to reveal to the crowd the gender of their baby. The whole thing was put on the gigantic scoreboard screen in Banker’s Life Fieldhouse. She had some help from the Pacers mascot Boomer the Panther, to reveal a “It’s a boy” sign. The crowd went wild and it was cute to see Wilkins’ reaction to the news.

Wilkins has aspirations to still work in the NBA once he retires as a player. He would like to work in the front office for a team. With all of his knowledge of the game, his work ethic and the way he looks at life I am betting a lot of teams would love to have him working for them on basketball bets online. Who knows what the future holds for Damien, but with his attitude the sky is the limit.

Follow Damien Wilkins on Twitter at @dwilkins3000