Reality will set in soon for Shareef Abdur-Rahim.
His body, as he said when the comeback from December knee surgery began in earnest two months ago, will decide for him. The right knee, which was operated on for the second time in six months, will determine whether he takes part in October training camp. If not, retirement – and possibly a coaching career – could be on the horizon.
But on an 11-day trip to Africa that concludes Monday, Abdur-Rahim said he was reminded how fortunate he is regardless of his future. While taking part in the same "Basketball Without Borders" program that brought Kevin Martin and Ron Artest there last summer, Abdur-Rahim witnessed poverty and struggles that provided rich perspective.
"We have poverty in America, a lot of poor people," the Kings forward said by phone from South Africa. "But this is real poverty around here. It makes you extremely appreciative. It's the simple things you take for granted, like running water, a bathroom."
Abdur-Rahim said his physical progress remains frustratingly "slow," and that he's "going to sit down and focus on that when I get back."
Whether he can participate in training camp also will be decided when he returns, he said.
Yet his uncertain future was forgotten while he learned about the past of his people in Africa. The 31-year-old who has been honored as an active and charitable member of the African American community visited Goree' Island in Senegal, which has become a historic symbol of the slave trade.
"You read about (slavery), but to actually see this place and visit the actual quarters and areas where they held the slaves is different," he said. "They had this 'Door of No Return,' a tunnel where you look down the tunnel and all you see is the ocean. That was moving to me."
In between helping build homes with Habitat for Humanity and coaching at a basketball camp with some of Africa's top youth players, Abdur-Rahim also visited the Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg. He said the most memorable aspect of the trip was the prevailing spirit of the impoverished people.
"If you're not from there, you look at the conditions and say 'Wow,' " he said. "But to see how people's spirits are and how family situations are, that's a lesson. It's kind of like you're learning from them. I was touched."
Before leaving for his trip, Abdur-Rahim said he watched the Democratic National Convention with a keen eye. While the NBA's efforts can only help so much, he said he's optimistic a change of political party in the White House could help with relief at home and abroad.
"I think people see in (Barack Obama) a sensitivity for people, for humanity," he said. "I think maybe that's something that has been lost. … In our own country you have some of the bad conditions people are in. And if you don't have any type of sensitivity for people being in those bad conditions, then you're out of touch with the people.
"That goes for our country and worldwide."
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