The list of accomplishments Allan Houston racked up during his 12-year NBA career with the Detroit Pistons and New York Knicks is impressive: a two-time all-star, 14,000-plus career points, an Olympic gold medal, and a headlining role in New York’s 1999 NBA Finals appearance.
But let Houston tell it, the most impressive thing he ever did in the league was stay healthy. “I went through a series of probably seven seasons and only missed 10 games,” says Houston, who technically missed only nine games between the 1996-1997 and 2002-2003 campaigns. “I’m thankful that God gave me health and well-being.”
Sometimes a player’s best ability is his availability.
“Part of being great—and I’m not claiming that—and doing anything at a high level is preparing for consistency,” adds the former Knick, who made regular appearances in the stands this past postseason during New York’s spirited run to an NBA title. “The way you train physically, the way you train mentally, and the way you train spiritually—it all lines up.”
Put Up a Fight
Back in 2023, the smooth, 6-foot-6 former shooting guard’s health again was in the headlines. After getting prostate-specific antigen screening (which measures PSA protein in the blood), Houston was diagnosed with prostate cancer. He knew that his next play would be fighting the disease. Houston had a wife and seven kids depending on him.
Houston’s dad taught him how to be strong. A trailblazer in the basketball world, Wade Houston was the first Black person to receive a hoops scholarship from the University of Louisville. Years later, he became the first Black head coach in the SEC when he took over at the University of Tennessee in 1989.
“My dad was [assistant] coaching at the University of Louisville,” Houston remembers. “By the time I was 9 or 10, I saw his team win a national championship. I saw his team go to four Final Fours by the time I was a freshman in high school. When you see things at that level, you see what it takes to go into that. But you also see how you deal with the adversity.”
Houston, who starred at Tennessee under his father from 1989 to 1993, isn’t talking about the kind of hardships that come after a tough loss. No, what he saw his father endure was more severe. Wade was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2010. Prostate cancer, the most common form of cancer among men after nonmelanoma skin cancer, disproportionately impacts Black men, who are 70% more likely to be diagnosed than White men and twice as likely to die from the disease.
Let Your Actions Speak
Houston said his dad considered traveling abroad for care before agreeing to try a then-pioneering treatment called robotic prostatectomy. Houston remembers how his father courageously took the whole process in stride, never much showing emotion either way.
“[My family’s] not dramatic,” Houston says. “We couldn’t really get anything out of him. I was like, ‘What are we doing?’ He’s like, ‘I’ll be all right.’ He went through it. And we were there to pray for him and support him.”
But while Wade may not have had much to say, his actions surrounding his health spoke volumes. Allan’s father has always been proactive with his health. He made sure his son understood the importance of knowing about his body and regularly communicating with his doctor.
“For him to lay the foundation,” says Houston, “that ‘I’m gonna get the best doctors and I’m gonna get on this and be there for my family’ [was inspiring]. He didn’t have to say that. But that’s the way he approached it.”
After receiving his own diagnosis and starting treatment, Houston began wondering how he’d navigate his own journey. Would he keep things private or go public? Sure, he’d been in front of cameras for nearly two decades as a collegiate and NBA star, but this was different. This was personal.
“[My doctor] gave me some great advice,” tells Houston. “He said, ‘You’ll know when and how you want to be vocal.’ For me and my family, our mindset has always been you don’t need to bring attention to yourself. You don’t want to be dramatic. Sometimes you can overdo that. That’s what I didn’t want to be.” During his playing days, the reserved Houston usually let his dependable jump shot do most of the talking.
But as Houston started to discuss his condition with others in similar situations, he came to understand how healing those conversations could be. “You realize how much they needed that,” he adds. “In life, what really helps is when people that have gone through what you’ve gone through can be there for you.”
Use Your Platform
Houston would ultimately partner with ZERO Prostate Cancer, an organization whose mission is to help individuals and families affected by prostate cancer through advocacy, education, and support (ZEROCancer.org). A ZERO board member, Houston uses the platform to help educate people, especially Black men, on the importance of screening and being more proactive about their overall health through ZERO’s Blitz the Barriers initiative, focused on eliminating the survival gap for Black men.
“There’s strength in talking,” Houston says. “Sometimes, even just being there to listen to somebody is all you can do. All someone else can do is just talk. There’s nothing else you can do but just be there. What I’ve been learning and trying to do is continue to open up spaces for dialogues and conversations.”
Another way Houston uses his platform is through FISLL (Faith. Integrity. Sacrifice. Leadership. Legacy.), a lifestyle brand rooted in five fundamental values that have guided his life on and off the court. Through apparel, education, community engagement, and storytelling, FISLL creates opportunities to connect with people around purpose, personal growth, and the choices that shape how we live and lead.
“FISLL represents that team of people that we can have a higher perspective with,” Houston says. “That’s what drives me—these conversations around these values and what we need to be doing in today’s world to stand out and think at a high level. The world is not going to get any easier to live in. It’s not going to get any more comfortable. It’s like every round of the Playoffs. It’s going to get harder and harder. So, guess what? You gotta be ready for it.”
