In Motion
Touch the fire. Get burned. Build something.
By Miller Kopp
Edited by Allen Lee
What if basketball ended tomorrow?
I would stay up super late at night thinking about this. I’m talking 2, 3, 4 in the morning. You know that time of night when it feels like the whole world has gone quiet and you’re the only one still up? I like those hours. Because it’s so quiet I can actually think. Or maybe I’m just so tired by that point I can’t overthink. And honestly, that might be better.
I like to write. I would write about the options, the fears, the worries, the hopes and dreams, the past, present, future. It would be me, my pen, and some paper trying to figure out what the hell Miller Kopp is gonna do next. Then whenever my low back had enough of that chair, I would take a shower in the pitch black, brush my teeth, say a prayer, and go to bed, hoping the answer would come to me in my dreams so I could wake up and attack it in the morning.
I’ve been thinking about this question a lot lately. Not because I’m planning to retire anytime soon. I’m not. But because I think there’s something wrong with waiting. Waiting until basketball is over to start figuring out what comes after.
I used to say I don’t regret anything. That was my line. But I think that’s a cope.
I wish I hadn’t worried so much about what people think. Social media is woven so deep into the sports world that I made decisions on what to say, what to post, what to build, what to pursue based on what some nameless gray face on the internet might think of me. It pisses me off just thinking about it. We’re on this floating rock for 80 years if we’re lucky and I’m out here making decisions because some anonymous account might have an opinion?
I wish I would’ve leaned into what I wanted. I did in some areas, but I did so with one hand tied behind my back. Making that shift earlier in my career would’ve allowed me to be further ahead in whatever I build when basketball is over.
I have nobody to blame but myself.
And honestly? It fires me up.
The next chapter’s gonna get played with both hands.
So what would that actually look like?
I’d write more. Build up my Substack. I’ve always had thoughts I wanted to put somewhere - things I think about at 4am that I never said out loud because I was too busy being a basketball player.
I’d make an electrolyte product. Something I’ve used every single day for the last five years. I even got my girlfriend taking it now. Clean ingredients, high quality, dosed right. I like to nerd out on health stuff. Sleep, recovery, hydration, the details most people ignore. If I’m going to build something, I’m going to build something I believe in and would use myself.
I’d also make some calls. Not for a job. For information. I want to understand different industries and see where my skills and passion could help me build something that would disrupt some shit. My first move would probably be to contact Pat McAfee’s assistant and ask to shadow him for 30 days. Then I’d hunt down Todd Graves and do the same thing. It sounds crazy but what better way to learn than to watch. Just sit there and observe. I want to be around people who built something real, on their own terms. People who did it their way and didn’t ask permission.
I’d probably get some calls about coaching, which I’d take and talk through. I love basketball. The leadership, the interpersonal dynamics, the chess of it all. But I’m a builder, and I’m not sure if coaching is the right path for me.
There’s a Mike Tomlin line tattooed somewhere in my soul - “it’s a reasonable expectation to be continually on the rise.” I’ve failed a lot and had some successes, but I’ve always been the kid who wasn’t afraid to look like the “try hard”. The dude who made others uncomfortable with his work ethic. When I set my goals, I never negotiated with myself. One decision took care of every other one after it. Because it’s not easy. Growth is not linear. But over time, I improved… which I know now is just a “reasonable expectation”.
So I think I’d be ready. Because I’ve spent my career building toward something, even when I didn’t always know exactly what.
One of the biggest lessons the game of basketball has taught me is that there’s beauty in pursuit.
Whether I knew it or not, my younger brothers were always watching. My work ethic, my mistakes, my bad decisions, how I treated people, how I carried myself - all of it. The footsteps along the journey can leave behind a roadmap for the people behind you, if they’re hungry enough to follow it.
My days are my life in miniature. Every step I take, every decision I make, leads to the life I create. And more importantly, the life I leave behind.
As cliche as it is to say, I look back and don’t see a string of successes and failures. I see a ton of different experiences. Some days pure bliss. Some just absolute chaos.
Honestly, nobody will remember what Miller Kopp did 100 years from now. The only people I care about remembering me are my younger brothers, future kids, grandkids, great grandkids... I’d want them to feel an urge to live large, to dream big, to read a book then write their own, to ask a question and listen, to be afraid and do it anyways.
Life is greatest when you’re the Man In The Arena. When you’re the kid climbing the tree, running the race, jumping the fence and scarring your face.
There’s a story about Mozart I love.
A 21-year-old kid walks up to Mozart and asks, “How do I write a symphony?” Mozart says, “You’re too young.” The kid goes, “You were writing symphonies younger than I am now.” And Mozart says, “Yeah, but I wasn’t going around asking people how to do it.”
I think that’s pretty funny. And pretty powerful.
It’s all self discovery. That’s how it’s supposed to be.
I’m a poet, philosopher, entrepreneur, coach, teacher, speaker, writer, and psycho trapped in a professional basketball player body. Makes sense why I get confused sometimes. But I’ll take it.
What if basketball ended tomorrow?
I don’t know for sure…. and that’s okay.
What I do know is I’m a builder and builders build.
Touch the fire. Get burned. Build something.
That’s not just the plan. That’s always been the plan. I just needed to say it out loud.
MK
Miller Kopp is a professional basketball player currently playing in the NBA G League. To keep up with Miller, follow him on LinkedIn, Instagram, or TikTok.
Horizon is a mainstreet media series told in the athletes’ own words - ideas, perspectives, and personal stories from those preparing for what comes next before the final buzzer sounds.
Subscribe to join 4,500+ athlete-investors, founders, and operators shaping what comes next.
Have a story worth telling? Let’s talk.
More stories dropping soon.
 | A guest post by
|