Brian Grant’s autobiographical confessional is worth the read

Updated 5/3/2021 3:00 PM

Brian Grant: Rebound: Soaring in the NBA, battling Parkinson’s and finding out what really matters

Triumph Books

One of Portland’s favorite sons has come out with his autobiography, and it’s a good one.

Brian Grant’s life story, written with author/sports journalist Ric Bucher, was released April 6 and is in bookstores and available on-line wherever books are sold.

Grant, 49, decided to write the book after a discussion with long-time friend and business associate Brian Berger.

“I was telling stories,” Grant says. “And Brian said, ‘Maybe now is the time to write the book.’ I thought back about my life and decided I’m ready to talk about not just my basketball career but other things — my personal life, getting Parkinson’s Disease, growing up in Ohio, becoming a man in the Northwest.”

One of the most popular Trail Blazers ever interviewed two other writers to collaborate on the book project before deciding on Bucher, a talented Bay Area writer/broadcaster whom I’ve known and respected for three decades.

“It wasn’t until I interviewed Ric,” Grant says, “that I knew that was exactly what I needed.”

Grant, a bruising power forward in his heyday, considered “Powering Forward” for a book title.

“We bounced around some other names,” he says. “Finally Ric said, ‘Let’s just call it ‘Rebound.’

“I was a rebounder, but it’s a lot more than that. This is a rebound in life for me. There are a lot of rebounds in my story.”

Grant’s book reads like a confessional. It’s a love letter to his first wife, Gina, whom he writes that he cheated on repeatedly, ultimately costing him the marriage.

“The greatest regret of my life is screwing up my marriage to Gina,” he writes.

The book seemed therapeutic for Grant — a way to get some feelings off his chest.

“That’s absolutely true,” he says. “I’m writing about my past, like some of the things I disliked about growing up in my hometown (Georgetown, Ohio), though there were a lot of good things about it, too. Being able to forgive myself for wrongs I’d done to a lot of people — mainly my two ex-wives and my kids. Some of the things I put them through … It was a chance to let it all out and not live in fear anymore.”

Ironically, Grant married his second wife — Allison Castelli — on the rebound. They were married only a year and a half but had two sons together — Brian, now seven, and Maxwell, five. She lives in Newport Beach, Calif., with the boys.

“I still had a whole lot of things I was getting over and thought I needed to have a significant other in my life,” Grant says. “I should have taken a lot more time to get over several things I had done.

“The good thing is, Allison is a wonderful mother. We get along very well. We genuinely like and respect each other, which is good for our boys.”

Grant’s cathartic look at his life includes discussion about his two stints in rehab due to prescription drugs, fathering eight children with four women and his struggles as he has dealt with depression — much of it related to Parkinson’s, of which he was diagnosed in 2008 at age 36. He also talks about his years with the group that came to be known as the Jail Blazers, calling them “a team of misfits.” He emphasizes, however, that he holds a soft spot in his heart for many teammates from that time, including Rasheed Wallace, J.R. Rider and Damon Stoudamire.

There is some great anecdotal information in the book, including Jerry West’s disgust at Grant’s pre-draft workout for the Los Angeles Lakers (on a dare from Kings GM Garry St. Jean, Grant had consumed a 48-ounce steak the night before), his on-court wars with Karl Malone and Shaquille O’Neal, stories about playing with Kobe Bryant, his love and respect for Pat Riley, his relationship with personal trainer Dodd Romero, his interest in Rastafarianism and his climb to the summit of Mount St. Helens with other Parkinson’s patients in 2012.

Brian seems close to all of his children. Elijah lives at his home in West Linn and Anaya is a senior at West Linn High who divides her time between the homes of Brian and Gina. Jaydon is a junior at Oregon State, a starting safety and co-captain for the Beavers. Brian recently spent a week in Long Beach with Allison and his two youngest kids.

“Then we all flew back and they were here the whole week,” he says. “We were able to go down and watch Jaydon’s scrimmage in Corvallis. He took the boys into the locker room afterward, which was a thrill for them. Then we barbecued at Jaydon’s afterward. Fun times.”

Grant’s foundation is staging its annual “Shake It Til We Make It” fund-raising gala on May 12, this year an on-line virtual affair.

“(Former NBA teammate) Pat Burke is going to record some stuff and Rafael Saadiq (close friend and former member of “Tony! Toni! Tone!”) will perform,” Grant says. “It will be a gathering of people coming together. I hope people will take part and donate to a good cause.”

Grant says his health is “pretty good” right now.

“I did put on the ‘COVID 25’ (pounds) over the last year,” he says. “I’m working hard to get myself back down. When I’m active and fit, my symptoms are a lot less pronounced than they are right now.”

Brian ends his book with this sentence:

“Basketball gave me a life; Parkinson’s taught me how to live it.”

The lesson did not come easily. I’m glad he was willing to tell the story.

Readers: what are your thoughts? I would love to hear them in the comments below.

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