Athletes Quarterly Feature

Allan Houston
The former NBA All Star builds a new life dedicated to service
By Michael Dolan
Photography by Shareif Ziyadat

To some it would seem a curse. To Allan Houston, it was a blessing. A few years into his dream contract with the Knicks, knee pain forced him to consider life after basketball. "I couldn't even practice," Houston remembers. "Every day, I made myself do it, because I was under contract and I had a responsibility." The Knicks organization took note of Houston's professionalism. And even before Houston was ready to end his playing career, the organization suggested that he give the front office a try.

Now, as Assistant GM to Knicks General Manager Donnie Walsh, Houston is learning entirely new aspects of the game he's known all his life. "I watch how Donnie manages," Houston says. "From his communication, to the respect the shows to everyone on our staff, how he looks out for their best interests, His ability to look at a situation and to see every consequence from every angle and to do that with grace and wisdom. That to me is why he is so good at what he does."

Houston knows how to recognize a good mentor when he sees one. His father, Wade, was a basketball coach at Louisville under Denny Crum. Together, they won two NCAA Championships and made four Final Four appearances. Later, Wade Houston would become Allan's head coach at the University of Tennessee. "My dad taught me the principles that he lived by," Houston says. "When I got to play for him at Tennessee and see him live out those principles on a daily basis, it really spoke to me. This is the type of father that everyone should have."

When Houston entered the NBA, he quickly realized that many of the other players did not have the same parental guidance that he was fortunate enough to receive. Together, Houston and his father spend a great deal of time furthering the mission of the Allan Houston Foundation. Their goal is to help redefine a young man's idea of family life. "As a player, your coach can sit you down and say 'OK, you're a rebounder. You're a defender. Your goal is to reach this percentage this year to be successful.' When you give a player a clearly defined role, he knows what he needs to do. Our young men aren't getting those clearly defined goals."

The Foundation looks to address the troubles of young men at their roots. "I want a young man to be able to say, 'OK, this is what a relationship can look like; this is what it means to be a professional.' Now you look at marriage differently, you look at your job differently." In addition, the Foundation offers people an opportunity to learn what it takes to become an entrepreneur and open their own business. "My mom and dad always had their hands in other businesses," Houston says. "They taught me that it was important to be more than just an employee. You need to be an employer and give yourself financial stability. Then your creating jobs for other people. If these great young minds can turn their ideas into businesses, we can help grow the economy from within."

It's that entrepreneurial mind that led Houston to become a board member with Light Media, a company dedicated to making socially responsible entertainment. "As a father of six children," Houston says, "I'm constantly concerned about what they watch and listen to. When we listen to something on the radio or watch something on television, we don't think too much about it, it just sort of sits there. But I find myself asking now, how does this feed their soul? I wanted to create entertainment for our youth that will lift them up and enlighten them."

That mentality of service to others is why many NBA insiders feel Houston has a bright future as a basketball executive. "I try to look at the organization," Houston says, "and to see where I'm needed. Some days, it's at practice. Some days, it's being by Donnie's side. Sometime's it is working with the scouts. And sometimes it may even be speaking to fans in the Madison Square Garden suites about the upcoming renovation. I want to be the glue that holds things together." Spoken like a true teammate.