E64 | Chelsea Lane
Episode summary | Chelsea Lane
Chelsea Lane has an extraordinary story. Kiwi by choice, the Australian-born sports health professional spent over a decade working across high performance sport in New Zealand before an email from the Golden State Warriors took her across the Pacific Ocean for the bright lights and the business of US professional sports.
Within a year she was the first female on an NBA team bench working with some of the biggest sports stars in the world as a performance therapist, within two years she was running the whole operation, and after three years she had back-to-back NBA Championship rings and was one of the NBA’s most coveted backroom staffers.
She was then headhunted by the Atlanta Hawks, offered an executive role, and within five years of leaving New Zealand was a Vice President of the NBA franchise bossing the boardroom as much as the treatment room.
This episode takes us behind the scenes of the NBA; from team talks with Steve Kerr, the magic of Kevin Durant and Steph Curry on the court, 100-hour work weeks, and why so many NBA stars are so emphatic with their praise of her and her work.
Show notes | Chelsea Lane
2.06 Tennis lessons, living life “off the grid”, being absent from social media, and ANOTHER Emma Twigg reference
6.46 Chelsea Lane in their words: Steph Curry, Andre Igoudala, and Sarah Cowley-Ross
10.17 Receiving an email from the Golden State Warriors and meeting head coach Steve Kerr
16.57 Why did the Golden State Warriors chase Chelsea Lane?
19.45 Progressing through the ranks in the role
26.38 Being female in the NBA
33.29 What did the role actually look like?
37.33 Is US professional sports as cold as it sounds?
42.31 In the huddle: pearls of wisdom from Steve Kerr and others
52.02 In the locker room: routines, winning NBA championships
1.03.08 The realities of working in the NBA
1.08.27 Chelsea Lane on Kevin Durant
1.11.38 From hands on treatment to the boardroom: Shifting to the Atlanta Hawks
1.22.17 Comparing Golden State to Atlanta
1.24.45 Getting Vince Carter fit for an 82 game season at age 42
1.28.00 Leaving the NBA
1.32.43 Is there a dream job here for Chelsea in New Zealand?
1.37.03 An interlude: Booking accommodation in Switzerland
1.38.26 Other kiwis in the NBA: Steven Adams and Sean Marks
1.39.42 A bit of Steph Curry
1.42.10 Last words from Steven, Seamus and Chelsea
