When Brian Barkdoll's professional playing career came to an end in 2012, the Northwest Nazarene graduate figured his NBA dreams were over.

The 2011 graduate had gone as far as any NNU player in program history playing in the NBA development league, but eventually found himself working at the Nike store in Boise.

Rather than get down on himself, though, Barkdoll did what he always did – took advantage of his opportunities.

A move to Portland, some coaching contacts and a lot of hard work eventually led to a job with the NBA's Portland Trail Blazers.

"I feel like I was destined for something better," he said. "Basketball is what I grew up to do and know. I felt like I could contribute to a team. I just felt like I had value and it worked out. I still get to play against top guys in the world."

The 6-foot-11 Portland, Oregon, native has helped everyone from rookies Anfernee Simons to super stars Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum.

"One of his strengths is he is still young and 6-10," said Nate Tibbetts, Portland assistant coach. "Him being able to lean on and have sweat equity with our players is very beneficial, which is the most important thing."

In a 2016 article, Lillard credited his "secret training partner" with helping improve his ability to finish at the rim.

"In training camp, one of the assistants had me hop in to contest their shots at the rim and to knock them off balance and block their shots," he said. "Granted, they are superstars, so they got more buckets on me than I got stops, but it did help with his finishing."

Barkdoll reached out to Tibbetts, who coached him in the then D League with the Tulsa 66ers to see if the Blazers had any internships available.

They told him to come in for a trial interview, helping with free agent summer camps for a few weeks. Then they invited him to help in the summer and at the end of camp offered him a job.

Barkdoll started as a video intern, then became a player development assistant. He was on the bench this past summer when Portland won the Summer League title in Las Vegas.

"Hopefully this route will help me become an assistant coach in the NBA," he said. "I have considered college, but I like where I'm at right now."

Barkdoll came to NNU as a bit of a mystery.

He was a late bloomer and didn't get much playing time his junior year of high school. He was his conference MVP as a senior, but most colleges had already awarded all of their scholarships.

NNU assistant Brandon Rinta found him at an open gym over Easter weekend.

"The thing that stuck out to me and caught my eye was how good his footwork and hands were," said Rinta, who is now the head coach at Central Washington. "He had a really good high school coach who did a good job of developing his ability to understand posting and footwork."

Barkdoll had a few walk-on opportunities at low-level NCAA Division I schools, but ultimately came to Nampa on a scholarship.

After a trying freshman season where he rarely played, he thought about leaving. Ultimately, though, he stayed, developing into an honorable mention all-conference player as a sophomore, and a first-teamer as a junior and senior.

He finished his NNU career with 1,068 points and 576 rebounds.

"The last seven years, I've had a picture of him in my office of him playing in the D League," Rinta said. "To me, he was a constant testament to any of the bigs we had coming through our programs.

"This is what is possible if you really want to put the work in."

Both playing professional ball and working in the NBA.