Heart Over Hardship | Interview with the Stockton KINGS’ Jimmy Alapag

Most people know Jimmy Alapag as one of the most successful point guards that the Philippines has ever seen. But what many don’t know is that his journey is a tale far from pretty or perfect. Throughout his career, Jimmy has shown that working hard, having the right mindset, and showing up can take you a long way in life. 

Jimmy’s passion for basketball was a rollercoaster ride right from the start. As he started out in high school, he stood at 4’9” and weighed around 90 pounds. Although he didn’t have the ideal basketball build, that didn’t stop him from pursuing what made him happy. Jimmy was the only freshman on the varsity team after being called up mid-season, which was quite a big deal. His excitement, however, quickly turned to disappointment as he spent more time on the bench than on the court. 

Photo Courtesy Of Jimmy Alapag via Instagram

“It was tough. Being that young I was always the first one in the gym and I was always the last to leave, but I was just really small. Being fourteen years old competing with eighteen year olds, from a physicality aspect, it was really hard for me to keep up. I was so small, especially in my Freshman year of high school. I used to have to roll my shorts like twice just to make sure that they would fit because I wasn’t a physical specimen at fourteen years old,” Jimmy recalled. 

In his Sophomore year, he felt like giving up. He decided one day that he wanted to stop playing basketball and planned to talk to his coach. He wanted to thank him for the opportunity before walking away from the game. However, after an impactful chat with his coach, Jimmy decided to continue on with basketball.  

As he wrapped up his high school years, Jimmy was not heavily recruited by any colleges. He eventually signed at the University of La Verne, a division three school located about 35 minutes away from Los Angeles. After some time, he transferred to a junior college in Santa Ana. The year he spent there allowed him to work even harder on his game. Before he knew it, he had caught the attention of a number of respected colleges. Jimmy raked in 10 division two college offers and 1 division one college offer. He ended up signing with California State University, San Bernardino, where he finished as a division 2 All-American.  

With a college degree on his belt, Jimmy was free to take on greater heights. He set out to pursue a dream that he shared with millions all over the world, trying his luck in joining the NBA. He landed himself a spot on a team from Houston in the NBA Summer League, where he spent two years playing with veterans and learning firsthand what it was like to train like a professional basketball player. 

In 2002, Jimmy made the big decision to head overseas to the Philippines and see where his journey would take him in the Philippine Basketball Association, commonly known as the PBA. However, after his mission to join the 2002 PBA draft didn’t work out, he was ready to pack his bags and head back to America. That all changed when Jimmy received a phone call from Coach Jong Uichico of the Philippines National team, who invited him over to train with them. After a bit of time, he made the initial cut for the team and earned the opportunity to represent the country on a global scale. 


At the time, the national team was playing as a guest team in the PBA. Interestingly, they did not allow Jimmy to play because he was the only non-professional player on the team. 


“I was training with the team, I was practicing everyday but the league wouldn’t allow me to suit up. That was tough because I knew that I was doing well at practice and building relationships with those guys, who were all all stars and former MVP players in the PBA already. Here I was, some young kid fresh out of college going through this national team tryout process,” mentioned Jimmy. 

After four months, Jimmy was ready to walk away and hop onto a flight back to the United States yet again. He had already thanked everyone for the incredible opportunity of playing on the team, but little did he know that in the days that followed, his life would change tremendously as he was finally cleared to play.“I’ll never forget it. I remember I spoke to them on a Sunday and I was going to stay in town for a few more days. My flight back to the States was on Friday. I ended up getting cleared that Wednesday, and we had a game out of town in Bataan. Next thing you know, Saturday night, here I am after about four and half months, I made my national team debut on live tv as the only non-PBA player on the team. I still remember it like it was yesterday,” Jimmy recalled. 

Finally, after patiently waiting for his time to shine, things were looking up. Sadly, about five minutes into the game, he broke his shooting hand. Jimmy was crushed. After sacrificing so much and exerting an insane amount of effort into perfecting his craft, who wouldn’t be upset? 


Six weeks had passed until he was able to fully recover. Jimmy played in the last game of the season but was cut from the team before their stint in the 2002 Asean Games. With a heavy heart, he gathered his things and flew back to the States. 

“To this day, as a professional athlete, that was definitely one of the toughest moments just because I had waited so long to come to Manila and here I was getting an opportunity with the National team. I finally had an opportunity and I blew it. So that was tough for sure. But I remember when I got back home, I told myself when I get another opportunity to go back I’m going to show them that it wasn’t a fluke that I was on the team and that I deserve to be there,” said Jimmy. 

In 2003, Jimmy was drafted into the PBA and was selected as the 10th overall pick by the Talk ’N Text Phone Pals. It was with this team that Jimmy showed his worth and became one of the most respected point guards in the country. Finally, after years of setbacks, hardships, and obstacles, he had made it over the hill. 

Photo Courtesy Of Jimmy Alapag via Instagram

Jimmy went on to win Rookie of the Year in his first year as a PBA Player. Throughout the span of his career, he won a total of 6 PBA championships, was named PBA Finals MVP twice, earned the titles of PBA Most Valuable Player and PBA Best Player of the Conference in 2011, was an 11x PBA All-Star, won the PBA Order of Merit, was named PBA 3-Point Shootout Champion, retired number 3 with the TNT Tropang Giga, and went down in history as one of the PBA’s 40 greatest players. 

Photo Courtesy Of Jimmy Alapag via Instagram

On January 9, 2015, after 12 years and a fruitful career in the PBA, Jimmy formally announced his retirement. However, this was short lived as not too long after, he made his return to the league. His run in the 2014 World Cup had brought a second wind that motivated him to lace up his shoes again and hit the courts. After about a year of playing, Jimmy decided to retire for good. 

Photo Courtesy Of Jimmy Alapag via Instagram

“At the time, I already had my son and my daughter was just born. So I just kind of felt like after the Fiba Asia experience against Korea and after the World Cup, does it really get any better?” Jimmy asked. Little did he know, he would very soon be making yet another return to basketball but this time as a coach and team consultant. 

Photo Courtesy Of Jimmy Alapag via Instagram

In his time as a coach, Jimmy was able to impart his wisdom and guide the next generation of young players on multiple teams. His coaching career spanned a total of three different leagues, as an assistant coach for the Gilas Pilipinas and San Miguel Beermen teams, a team consultant for the Meralco Bolts and Talk ‘N Text Tropang Texters, and as a head coach for Alab Pilipinas, where he went on to lead the team to win a championship in the ASEAN Basketball League (ABL). 

Photo Courtesy Of Jimmy Alapag via Instagram

Photo Courtesy Of Jimmy Alapag via Instagram

After another fruitful run of basketball all over Asia, Jimmy returned to the US to join the NBA G-League Stockton Kings team as an assistant coach. In addition to this, he works as an assistant coach for the Sacramento Kings Summer League team, who recently won the 2021 Summer League championship. 

Photo Courtesy Of Jimmy Alapag via Instagram

“Manila will always be home. But at the same time, to be able to be back in the states, closer to family and to have this opportunity within the Kings organization, it’s everything that I dreamed it would be. Being around some of the best minds in the game and some of the best players in the world just continues to allow me to grow and learn as a coach.”

Photo Courtesy Of Jimmy Alapag via Instagram

From the young 14 year old basketball hopeful to a highly respected international, professional player and coach, Jimmy’s journey is one that inspires people all over the world. Despite all of the obstacles that stood in his way from the very beginning, he had the right mindset, carried himself with confidence and believed in his ability to make his mark on the world of basketball and beyond. That is what makes him the inspiration that he is today. 


Written By Nico Belasco


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