Former Los Angeles Lakers player Nigel Hayes-Davis has been plying his trade in Europe since 2018 and hasn’t had a lot of joy on the court in all that time. Hayes-Davis appeared on the latest episode of Off The RECourt with Shane Larkin where he spoke about rediscovering his joy during his time with USA Basketball’s Select Team.

“The times that were the most unbelievable were being on the bench,” Hayes-Davis said. “I was texting my mom or my family or my guys. These last years in Europe every time you on the bench, it’s just like anger.

“You sitting next to somebody, and somebody’s yelling because somebody scored or you didn’t score and everyone’s mad,” Hayes-Davis continued. “The coaches turns around like, ‘What is he doing? You didn’t see Shane just do that? Why would you go there?’ And everything is just like this.