Who He Is
George Mumford grew up in Boston and earned an academic scholarship to the University of Massachusetts, where his roommate was future basketball star Julius Erving. Mumford loved basketball, but he was often injured and did not make the college team. He also struggled for years with personal problems, and meditation eventually helped him turn his life around. By the late 1980s, he was working with Jon Kabat-Zinn, who founded a well-known mindfulness program at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. Through that connection, Chicago Bulls coach Phil Jackson, who practiced meditation himself, brought Mumford in to teach his players in the fall of 1993. Mumford spent five years with the Bulls, a stretch that included three championships with Michael Jordan, and in 1999 he followed Jackson to the Los Angeles Lakers, where he worked with players including Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal.
Why He Matters
Mumford’s story shows that the mental side of performance can be taught, and that the teacher does not have to be a star athlete. Players such as Kobe Bryant credited him with helping them understand mindfulness, the practice of paying full attention to the present moment. Mindfulness training has since become a widely studied tool for athletes in many sports. In 2015, Mumford shared his approach in a book, The Mindful Athlete. His story is also a reminder that a setback can become the starting point for helping others.
