This BONUS episode of The CORTside Podcast details the inspirational journey of the once basketball superstar turned addict turned advocate, Chris Herren. Herren discusses his days growing up in Falls River, Massachusetts, and how drugs and alcohol became a struggle for most of his life. Chris went from a professional basketball star to battling for his life. Now he spends his time as a motivational speaker sharing his story through Herren Talks, with the goal of making a positive diffe...

The season finale of The CORTside Podcast, features 12 year NBA veteran, former NBA all-star, and now successful entrepreneur, Jamal Mashburn. Mashburn is commonly referred to these days as “the biggest after-basketball success story”. Mashburn discusses in detail, his path to the NBA, how basketball was always a means to an end, and how he always kept his eye on a long-term goal of being a businessman. We are also joined by marketing and advertising executive, Jonathan Sackett. Jonat...

In Episode 11 of the CORTside Podcast, we are so excited to welcome WNBA Champion Seattle Storm’s GM Alisha Valavanis! Alisha and Seattle just stormed their way to a 2nd championship in the past 3 years down with two of the WNBA’s top players of all-time, Sue Bird and Breanna Stewart. Alsiha discusses the importance of teamwork and how to create high functioning organizations destined for success. Alisha Valavanis's Social Media: Instagram - Twitter Leave us a review and let us know what you...

In Episode 10 of the CORTside Podcast, we sit down with two of the great player’s in women’s basketball history, and current NBA Global directors, Jennifer Azzi and Blair Hardiek. Azzi played for Stanford University from 87-90’ and was awarded as the Naismith Player of the Year as well as Final Four Most Outstanding Player in Stanford’s 1990 National Championship season. Hardiek is a former 4-year captain and Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll Nominee from the University of Missouri. Both disc...

In Episode 9 of the CORTside Podcast, we are joined by CEO and Founder of Pro Shark Sports, Derrick Thomas. Thomas discusses the importance of representation and how his company is pioneering a new networking approach for athletes and sports agents. Derrick Thomas was a four-year basketball standout for Drexel University starting in 90 games and was a top defensive player in the CAA conference. Following his time on the hardwood, Thomas worked as Senior CX specialist with Tesla, and wor...

In Episode 8 of The CORTside Podcast, we are joined by the author of Lessons from the Game and Impact Beyond the Game: How Athletes Can Build Influence, Monetize Their Brand, and Create a Legacy, Malcolm Lemmons. Lemmons discusses the transition after basketball and building your own personal brand. Malcolm Lemmons is a basketball player turned entrepreneur, author, and public speaker. After graduating from Niagara University with a degree in business management, he went on to pursue a profes...

In Episode 7 of the CORTside Podcast, we are joined by Co-CEO of Dimensional Fund Advisors, Dave Butler who discusses the philosophies and strategies that guided his success from his playing days at the University of California to his rise in the financial arena. Butler provides details about the correlation between success and being passionate about your craft, not looking for shortcuts, how to work on getting better each day, and the importance of making the most out of small tasks or oppor...

In Episode 6 of the CORTside Podcast, we are honored to have healthcare hero Dr. Niki Williams sit down and discuss attacking game day and the importance of the ability to pivot in life. Dr. Williams has been on the front lines of the battle against COVID-19 working as an Emergency Room Physician for two NY hospitals. Williams is a former Pittsburgh high school basketball star who went on the play for Hofstra University where she also studied medicine. Following a brief professional career in...

In Episode 5 of the CORTside Podcast, we sit down with a good friend of the show and fellow New Yorker, John Elefertakis. In only ten short years since founding his firm, EEP Law, John has quickly distinguished himself as one of the top personal injury attorneys in the New York and New Jersey area. John Elefertakis has appeared on CNN with Anderson Cooper and has made several appearances for a variety of New York City media outlets. He was recently awarded the Achievement in Law award b...

Episode 4 of the CORTside Podcast features guest Niesha Butler as we discuss overcoming adversity, her basketball journey, and her company Ballin’ Technologies which teaches coding, STEM and technology through sports for the youth in her community. Butler talks about her time in NYC where her basketball game resulted in astonishing accolades such as being the first female to play for the infamous Gauchos travel team, becoming the all-time NYC high school leader in total points scored wi...

On Episode 3 of CORTside, we are joined by the incredibly resilient and charismatic Ebong Eka as we discover the power from hearing “NO”. Ebong Eka shares with us his remarkable journey that has seen him travel across the globe. Eka is a certified public accountant, entrepreneur, and former professional basketball player overseas. Eka has used life experiences that he learned through basketball at a young age to develop a lifelong importance on work ethic and leadership that he now brings to ...

On Episode 2 of CORTside, we sit down with Lea B. Olsen and “Rethink the Win”. Olsen is a former Division I athlete, current sports broadcaster and entrepreneur. Olsen has dedicated her life to the benefits and costs to winning. In this episode, Lea discusses the important positive impacts sports can have beyond the court. Following her playing days, Lea has carved out a career in sports journalism including experiences working for ESPN covering the WNBA’s Minnesota Lynx as an ana...

On the debut episode of CORTside With Mike Cortese, we welcome author, motivational speaker, and performance expert, Alan Stein Jr. Alan knows a thing or two about the secrets of elite level performance. He spent 15+ years working with some of the greatest NBA talents such as Kevin Durant, Kobe Bryant, Steph Curry, and many others. In this episode, Alan shares with us his secrets for high-performance as we go in-depth into some of the key self-improvement strategies and co...

We are extremely excited to debut CORTside with myself, your host, Mike Cortese. In season one, I will take you through a journey From The Baseline To The Boardroom. We will discuss the lessons and concepts that are deeply ingrained in the fabulous game of basketball and how these can easily be applied in business and any other industry as well as your own personal life to help achieve what we all strive for...success and productivity. Our panel of guests bring an im...

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