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Nate Driggers wasn't on basketball's brightest stage long enough to be blinded by the fame or fortune. Just one season with the NBA's Boston Celtics was all the Chicago native experienced but he savoured his cup of coffee in the big-time, the taste so satisfying he now declares he's content should fate prevent him from ever returning.
"One thing about it, financially I'm OK," declares the 6-ft. 5-in., Driggers before hitting the court to practice with the American Basketball Association's Calgary Drillers.
"I did the right things with my money. My family, my kids are OK and I have a stable life. Along with the nice money I made overseas and some investments that turned out good, it worked out for me."
Driggers fondly recalls his Celtics days and his season with one of professional sport's most storied franchises. He says Celtics lore was everywhere you turned in Boston, while playing for the club is an honour he still prides himself in.
"It gives you chills because when they'd turn on the giant scoreclock TV screen and you'd see (Larry) Bird and (Kevin) McHale and all those guys," Driggers recalls.
"They have such a great tradition, different than any place you've ever been. That persona there is something you just have to experience. Everything was there."
Following the 1996-97 NBA season, Driggers began a hoops odyssey that saw him chase the game he loves through Poland, France, Australia and Mexico, arriving last season with the ABA's Juarez entry, since declared extinct.
Now 31, Driggers' appearance in Cowtown coincides with the birth of the upstart Drillers, still struggling to get off the ground for their inaugural ABA season.
His birth certificate alone suggests this Drillers stint won't reopen any more NBA doors, something Driggers is ready to accept.
"I might be different than the other guys," concedes Driggers, who signed with the Celtics as an undrafted 23-year-old free agent in 1996 and would love to return but isn't preoccupied with the possibility.
"If it happens for me, that's fine. But the time I had there, it's something no one can ever take away from me. I can always show my son my Boston Celtics jersey that shows, no matter if I never make it back again, I did it. I lived out my dream and not too many people can say that."
Having played professional basketball on three continents, Driggers is also more than qualified to assess the Calgary franchise, full of players aiming for an NBA shot one day.
"They understand what players go through when they're chasing their dream and they make it very comfortable for the players to be here and that in itself makes it worth it," says Driggers, who was released from Beantown in '97 and was sidelined two years to rehab torn ACLs in both knees.
"You can't let anyone take your game away from you, no matter what's going on. You love this game so much."
After returning to pro ball last season, Driggers played a key role in helping guide Juarez to the ABA semifinals. He's continuing to prove he's healthy since the surgeries but just wants to play, wherever it leads him.
"If you take it away from me, it's like talking my life away from me. It's just something I love doing," he said.