The gentle giant: Former Hawks player Andrew Lang now helps players grow as the team's chaplain -

Former Hawks general manager Pete Babcock approached Andrew Lang in 2000 needing a favor. One of Atlanta’s longtime scouts was in hospice care and away from his normal church. The scout was dying, and his family wanted a minister to pray with him during his final days.

Lang, who played in the NBA from 1988 to 2000, including 1993 to 1996 with the Hawks, was an ordained minister and able to help. The scout’s funeral service was ultimately led by Lang at Mt. Paran Central Church of God in Atlanta. Four years later, when the Hawks were looking for a team chaplain, they turned to Lang.

Lang retired from his playing career in 2000 despite contract offers still coming his way, but he was done with playing. He felt a bit selfish because his family had sacrificed much to allow him to live his dream. It was time to step back and let his children flourish. His main principle always had been to be low-key, but it was hard to accomplish that because he’s 6-foot-11 and nearly 300 pounds. But the opportunity to be the Hawks’ chaplain was the perfect role for him to get back into basketball because it combined his love for the NBA and God.

Just a few steps outside of the Hawks’ locker room is a closet-sized auxiliary room that is nondescript and features nothing more than several metal folding chairs. That’s been more than enough room for the near 7-footer’s second chapter in basketball.

“All I ever tried and wanted to do is just encourage young men when they’re about to go play,” Lang said. “Of course, they want to win and become champions. There’s a lot of stress. Faith doesn’t take that away, but it helps you navigate these areas. What I say to all people, whether they come to chapel, pray at their church or not, ‘People are always praying for you.'”

Lang, who’s not a full-time employee of the Hawks, has had as many as 15 players and coaches in the room. For Hawks games, chapel begins promptly at 6:30 p.m. Before Lang begins, he peeks out into the hallway to see if any more players or coaches are coming. This season, his chapels have averaged around six players. Chapel offers a private time for everyone involved, so the Hawks requested that the names of the players who regularly participate not be listed.

Lang normally starts chapel by speaking for three to five minutes and then asks for prayer requests from the players. Ordinarily, the players, visiting teams included, have requests. There are two basic things Lang includes in his prayers: He prays that everything the players do on the court that night is honorable and that they be protected from injury. He’ll also pray for the players’ families. The scripture he reads from day to day varies. The one request he has for the players each night is that no one in the room chastises any other players and to show nothing but love for each other.

Sometimes, Lang doesn’t realize the impact he has on the players because, at most, the service is just 15 minutes, and then their focus goes directly toward competing that night. But one instance just a few weeks ago meant everything to him. A player, who is normally late to chapel, was already in the room before Lang got there.

“He told me, ‘I hate being late. I’m getting here early from now on,'” Lang said. “If you come late or come early, I would be there. It’s not my job to complain. But the fact that he was trying to get there meant the world to me. It can get lonely in there if it’s just one or two players in there, but it doesn’t matter if there’s just one player in there. I am going to encourage them because I know God is in there, too.”

Former Hawks player Marvin Williams, now with the Charlotte Hornets, was one of the players who was impacted by Lang. Williams said every time he would talk with Lang, it was just like talking to a friend. They even would go to lunch together on off-days when Williams played for the Hawks. Every time the Hornets play in Atlanta, Williams makes sure he stops by chapel to see Lang because he’s the one who helped him reconnect spiritually amid the exhausting demands of the NBA.

“I think for me, honestly, it was such a change because it was the first time I felt like I couldn’t go to church,” Williams said. “I kind of grew up in church. Even when I went to college, Coach would give us opportunities to go to church on Sundays. But with the (NBA) schedule, it’s very difficult to go to church. So he kept me close to God spiritually, and it really meant a lot to me. Even the things that he taught me, the lessons that we went over, I still have them saved today. So he kept me close to God spiritually, and I definitely am thankful for that.

“Every time I see him, he’s like a gentle giant. Kind soul, really does love God and really does love to preach the word of God.”

Lang was born and raised in Pine Bluff, Ark. His father was a deacon, and his mother taught him in Sunday school. His mother was the head of seven churches, so not only did Lang go to his regular church Sundays, but he also would travel to the six others. Waking up on Sunday morning and dressing for church meant he better be prepared for an all-day mission. He said that actually helped him when it came time for basketball. The same feeling he had on Sundays, knowing he would have to be on his best behavior and focused, was the same mindset he carried into the gym.

Everywhere Lang went as a child usually had something to do with church, and he always was impressed with leadership, so he would gravitate toward the pastors. On one youth retreat, he noticed that there were some prayers and sacraments the priest could offer that he couldn’t. So getting his ministry license as an adult seemed like the natural extension.

“Here’s the thing: yes, I can marry, yes, I can perform all of the sacraments, but there are only a couple of things that the players in the locker room need,” he said. “They need encouragement, they need someone who is consistent, they need someone who knows the word of God and who will be there for them.

“You need to hear that when you’re about to go to the G League. You need to know that it’s going to work out. You need to think about all you have already overcome to get here. There are millions who were at the door with you and you stepped through. You can’t look back and say you haven’t already been blessed. Sometimes of these young men face things that I had no idea what they were going through. When someone does share something, I try my best to encourage.”

As a player, Lang always attended chapel. He never made much of it because he always participated. It was just a normal part of his routine. But at the end of his career, when he was with the New York Knicks, he started organizing Bible studies on the road with Allan Houston, Charlie Ward and Kurt Thomas.

“He was just a gentle giant with a peaceful spirit,” Ward said. “He’s soft-spoken, but he carries a big stick. He wasn’t a guy who got upset a lot, but when you cross him the wrong way, he’d definitely let you know about it. That’s what I loved most about him.”

Lang said his time with New York encompassed some of the best years of his NBA career, but ironically, he was infamously known by Knicks fans as the player who led to the demise of one of the best players in the franchise’s history. Lang, then with Milwaukee, unintentionally pushed Patrick Ewing in a December game in 1997, breaking up a lob pass from Ward. Ewing lost his balance and fell hard on his wrist, causing it to break. He missed the rest of the season and the first round of the playoffs. Ewing’s career was never the same after the injury, and that night was one of the lowest times in Lang’s career. He quickly reached out to Ewing after the incident and apologized and prayed for him. Ewing, now the head coach at Georgetown, wasn’t made available for comment.

Lang said he received death threats after injuring Ewing. It was the first and only time fans threatened his life because of basketball. When Ewing and Lang ended up on the same team, their lockers happened to be next to each other.

“We’d share Bible stories,” Lang said of his relationship with Ewing. “With him as a captain, that meant a lot to me.”

The incident taught Lang that there are highs and lows throughout an NBA career, and sometimes, players just can’t control everything, even if they want to. It’s a lesson he shares frequently in chapel.

“It’s very important for players to have someone who has played and has a spiritual point of view and can share that wisdom with them to help them form their own identity with Christ,” Ward said. “He can help them make better decisions. Sometimes we know right from wrong, but it’s hard to fight it, so when you have someone who you can go to and feel comfortable with to share information who has gone through similar situations or has seen others go through that, it’s definitely gratifying.”

So much of what Lang wanted for his life growing up was tied up with what he was doing in the moment. Being a chaplain was never a part of his plans, but he couldn’t have asked for a more rewarding second chapter in the NBA.

“Back then, I just wanted to be a successful basketball player,” Lang said. “Now I want to be a man of God that helps young men. I think most of my time spent preparing to speak or preparing to encourage is as much of an honor as it was to lace them up.”

(Photo of Andrew Lang (28): Scott Cunningham / NBAE via Getty Images)

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