7’0 Stanley Borden (UTSA, Duke MBB) on Social anxiety, NIL & going to NBA | ACC Champion, Final 4

Stanley Borden shares his journey of overcoming social anxiety, navigating NIL, and chasing NBA aspirations.

Stanley Borden, a 7’0, 241-pound former walk-on for Duke’s men’s basketball team, is now a scholarship player at the University of Texas San Antonio. Born in New York and raised in Turkey with Turkish-Portuguese roots, he transitioned from tennis to basketball at 15, later starting for Portugal’s U20 national team. At Duke, he contributed to a 2022 Final Four, 2023 ACC Tournament win, 2024 Elite Eight, and 2025 Final Four, all while earning a computer science degree with minors in computational biology and English. Honored with the ACC Top Six for Service Award for organizing a 7.8km run for Turkey/Syria earthquake relief, Stanley now pursues an MBA at UTSA while aiming for a professional basketball career. In this episode, he opens up about battling social anxiety, leveraging NIL opportunities, and defining success beyond the court, guided by values of humility, empathy, and relentless initiative.

In this episode, Stanley Borden discusses:
◽️ Growing up in Turkey, Portugal influence
◽️ Handling social anxiety at 7’0
◽️ NIL’s impact on college basketball
◽️ Transferring to UTSA for playing time
◽️ Defining success, values, and purpose

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⏱ Timestamps
00:00 Intro
00:50 Background and basketball beginnings
01:40 Height assumptions
03:43 Handling height-related questions
04:19 Social dynamics of being tall
04:43 Navigating perceptions in high school
06:30 Social anxiety and fame
07:23 Overcoming social anxiety
10:04 Confidence reflection
10:59 College loneliness and social media
11:32 Campus fame via Fizz app
12:40 Parasocial relationships and campus hate
17:33 Connecting with others despite fame
19:55 Basketball experience
20:51 Walking onto Duke’s team
23:05 Coach K’s involvement
25:47 Tryout experience and team acceptance
32:34 NBA aspirations
32:42 Team role and growth
34:21 Transferring for more playtime
35:55 Playing with Cooper Flagg, Jared McCain
36:26 Teammates’ personalities
39:10 Engaging with people, not ideas
41:21 Combating false narratives
42:26 Empathy for negative behavior
44:35 NIL’s impact on college sports
48:59 Reflecting on future regrets
50:04 Improving basketball skills
52:54 Balancing basketball and other pursuits
1:00:14 Being multifaceted
1:01:19 Closing reflections
1:02:24 Thanks and outro

📌 Resources
Stanley Borden 
◽️ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stanleysborden/?hl=en
◽️ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stanley-borden-4b8909224/

Harvey Bracken-Smith:
◽️ LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/harveybracken-smith
◽️ Instagram: instagram.com/harveybsmith
◽️ X (Twitter): x.com/harveybsmith_

Personable Podcast:
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◽️ Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/personable/id1671640111

Additional:
◽️ The Draft (Sign up): thedraft.io
◽️ Fundraising: justgiving.com/crowdfunding/LouLouRacefoiundation?utm_term=PvByaxmdn

Personable is a podcast dedicated to helping listeners become the best they can be by learning from the world’s best in their respective fields. This mission is inspired by my mother, Louise, who encouraged me to become the best version of myself before she passed away from cancer in 2023.

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