Marshall Plumlee had trained his platoon for a week through combat scenarios with real ammunition, stumbling and learning until they had completed the mission by detonating a mine-level obstacle with C-4 explosives.
Plumlee, the former Knicks center, was suddenly struck by the same adrenaline rush that reminded Duke, the G League or the NBA.
“When I was able to help my team leaders blow that obstacle at the time, it was the same as crushing someone in a basketball game,” Plumlee tells the Daily News. “It was a rather surreal experience.”
Lieutenant Plumlee is still only 27 years old, the youngest of the three brothers who all played (or still play) in the NBA. But he quit his basketball career almost two years ago for the U.S. Army, and is already the leader of a platoon of around 40 people stationed in Fort Lewis, Washington.
It was an opportunity that Plumlee knew would come after declaring her intentions to join the US military before the NBA draft. He then juggled the New York National Guard while playing with the Knicks, driving to his facility in Troy, New York, for tutorials whenever the program allowed. Carmelo Anthony called him “Captain America”.
Although Plumlee never reached a higher level than a marginal NBA player, he still had the opportunity to continue his professional career. In October 2018, it was exchanged with the Nets G-League affiliate on Long Island. But Plumlee has never played for goals and has no intention of playing professional basketball again.
“I liked basketball, I liked playing at the highest levels,” says Plumlee. “But there was still an itch that I wanted to scratch on the army side. I wanted to do it on a larger capacity. I feel like I have learned all these great lessons about teamwork and leadership from some of the teams I was part of in the NBA, and I felt compelled to share them with the army team. Basketball will stop bouncing at some point. And for me, I thought I’d drop by. I know I have something outside of the basketball I’m passionate about, something I love, let’s give it a real shot here and see how far I can go. “
Plumlee, who comes from Indiana, is physically unique to the 7-foot-tall army. It has its advantages and disadvantages. As noted by Plumlee, he is easily spotted by his soldiers (although he could also work against him if he is the enemy he is looking for).
“Even in the middle of the night under night vision goggles, my soldiers can always find me,” he says. “They can see which of the dark shades Lieutenant Plumlee is because they’re about twice as big as the others.”
But getting into vehicles or jumping off planes can be a challenge.
“Every jump was an adventure,” says Plumlee. “To put it mildly.”
Three years ago, Plumlee had just finished his rookie season with the Knicks. Now he is part of a different team.
“It was a really difficult decision to quit basketball and I will say that people often ask me if I miss it from the army side, but I tell them that what I loved about basketball was the changing room environment,” says Plumlee. “I loved being part of a team, being part of something bigger than you. And in this sense, I have not left anything.
“If anything, I will do it at an even greater level where the stakes are higher.”
This article was written by Stefan Bondy from the New York Daily News and has been legally licensed through the Tribune Content Agency through the NewsCred network of publishers. Please direct all license applications to [email protected].
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