It’s been a pretty big summer for Chris Copeland. Not necessarily because he did anything notable on the basketball court – although he recently agreed to a one-year deal with the Milwaukee Bucks – but because Copeland spent part of his summer doing a summer externship with Facebook.
Copeland appeared in 50 games last year with the Indiana Pacers before being shut down for the year in April after he and his wife were stabbed outside of a New York Club nightclub, and credits the incident for giving him a new appreciation for all that he has, according to Yahoo Sports.
“I always work out and do my workouts first. I know what my job is; it’s to play basketball. But after that, it’s OK to branch out into other things and I’m trying to do that. I have major goals, and to do that you have to put in the time.”
During the brief externship, Copeland said that he worked with Facebook developers and came up with ideas for apps.
Copeland was in the Bay Area this week taking part in a short externship with Facebook. He is developing his own app ideas and has been working with Facebook engineers, a project that was set up by NBA senior director of player development Kate Skidmore.
“Just walking around campus and seeing how Facebook is run, it was seriously an honor to be there,” Copeland told Yahoo Sports on Thursday night in his first interview since the April 8 incident in New York. “Facebook is one of the top businesses, companies, apps in existence. For me to be a part of their culture, even for a little while, and really learn from the people there is priceless for me.”
Unfortunately, Copeland didn’t get the chance to meet Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, but he was apparently “inspired by the teamwork and camaraderie that he witnessed at Facebook.”
Copeland also discussed his decision to sign with the Bucks, and called head coach Jason Kidd – who was one of his teammates during his time with the New York Knicks – the “biggest hook” in his decision to go to Milwaukee.
“The biggest hook for me was Jason Kidd, by far,” Copeland said. “Obviously, he was a friend of mine before all this. He was a great mentor for me in New York and someone I continue to grow under. An incredible mind on and off the floor.”
(via Yahoo Sports)
