Sam Maller

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Before the pandemic, my life was a whirlwind. In February, I got traded from the Clippers to the Knicks — right as I was getting used to being in L.A. I understood it, though. Basketball is a business. And there was a definite upside: I got traded back home. Transitioning to a new team is always a bit of a process. It takes time to learn how everyone does their thing. Honestly, off the court, it was going great. I grew up in Queens, I went to St. John’s, so being back feels familiar.

What do you get when you put Olympic bronze medalist Adam Rippon in a room lit only by a pair of scented candles? You get a whole lot, it turns out, including some sage advice about responding to haters and dealing with Venmo requests from fake friends, and an explanation of why sandy beaches are “trash.”