What Armenia’s Rising Basketball Star Can Teach Us About Building A Brand

Tapping into a specific aspect of your identity, be it as an underdog, a risk-taker, or something else, is a critical step in building your personal brand.

Embracing that part of yourself not only gives you an instant authenticity boost, but it also can give you something to build your brand around if you need help getting started.

For Gary Chivichyan, an Armenian basketball player who’s currently in close talks with the NBA’s Houston Rockets, New York Knicks, and Los Angeles Clippers G-league affiliates, that’s meant stepping into his role as an underdog. He was the first Armenian ever to be eligible for the NBA G-League draft in 2021, as well as becoming the first Armenian to be nominated for an ESPN ESPYS award. Chivichyan was 1 of the 195 players who were given a player’s contract. He was chosen as the New York Knicks (Westchester) placement in the 2021-2022 NBA G-League draft on January 11th, which consisted of NBA veterans and top prospects such as Lance Stephenson, Michael Beasly, Admiral Schofield, and more.

As the coronavirus went rampant, Chivichyan was notified of many cancelations as he and his head trainer Vicken Eskidjian were preparing for such as showcases, camps, and scheduled workouts with multiple different NBA organizations disallowing Chivichyan and many other incoming NBA prospects to showcase their abilities to teams and scouts like they would on a regular off-season.

Chivichyan’s agent Ara Vartanian had to adapt to the unprecedented circumstances of 2020 and successfully took the first steps toward the young star’s NBA dreams by securing Chivichyan’s player’s contract, making Chivichyan available for the up-coming NBA G-League draft and the regular season tentatively scheduled for the fall of 2021.

I spoke with Chivichyan recently about how he’s focusing on building his brand as he looks toward the NBA.

Source: Forbes