Basketball, NBA

From Knicks Ball Boy To Builder: Mike Lauer’s Inspirational Story

NEW YORK, NY — The New York Knicks began their defense of that long awaited NBA championship at Madison Square Garden Tuesday evening and raised that championship banner to the rafters.

Prior to tip-off on the sidelines, there were ball boys.

Ball boys? At times we bypass the significance of teams employing an essential part of game day. They clean the court underneath nets on both sides assuring there are no slippery spots that could lead to an injury. MLB, NHL, NFL, and MLS have different roles and nicknames for that significant role.

Though the NBA’s ball boys and how they get there always have a story. Mike Lauer, 54, who resides in Wake Forest, North Carolina, is one of them.

He knows it all too well, once in that role with the Knicks and enough so to publish a memoir “Sweat Equity: From Ball Boy To Builder.”

The front cover and back cover of Sweat Equity: From Ball Boy to Builder by Mike Lauer – Image Credit: Palmetto Publishing/Amazon

As he writes “I wasn’t a player, a coach, or anyone in management. I was a ball boy for the New York Knicks which meant I was on the inside and still largely unnoticed. I paid attention to how power behaved when it didn’t know it was being watched.”

Think about this, looking back as a 15-year-old, he says “I wasn’t part of the “in crowd” I didn’t stand out. I spent my days as a regular high school student. At night, I was inside Madison Square Garden, not as a fan in the stands. I was on the floor.”

To Lauer, it was no longer entertainment. It was about being employed by the Knicks, perhaps the most noted franchise in the NBA next to the Celtics and Lakers.

He became an essential part of the team by cleaning sweat on the hardwood—a role player he says that doesn’t show up in the box score.

And he became a builder, delivering his message of inspiration. A motivational speaker to organizations because he says: “It makes sense to share my story and journey.”

Sweat Equity: From Ball Boy to Builder  takes readers behind the scenes of professional sports, where trust is earned quietly, preparation matters more than recognition, and the people who keep everything moving are rarely the ones in the spotlight – Image Credit: Madison Square Garden

So many have started this journey, but this one is different, perhaps working for an NBA franchise, the role, and how he got there is cause to read further on. The brief self-published book is more about the experience, it’s an inspirational story that will motivate others whether it being the next ballboy or how to build for success.

“New path for myself leading to speaking engagements,” says Lauer who got the inspiration to write from his mom after getting a laid off notice from a previous job. A son and daughter in college were also a way to engage and inspire.

“The goal was never to write a how-to book, but of course I got the lessons. It’s about the perspective of people going to see different things. It’s all about hope, the readers to see their journey and lessons I can bring from the court.”

Lessons of not being awed about the star names on the court, those who passed him and said thank you for your efforts in assuring the court was safe from the sweat and grind of an NBA contest. Lauer was never star-crazed, no longer a fan and working with the elite.

He worked and developed great relationships with former Knicks coaches Hubie Brown, Bob Hill, Pat Riley, Herb Williams, the late Lenny Wilkins, Larry Brown and current St. John’s University Men’s Basketball head coach Rick Pitino.

From coaches Hubie Brown, Bob Hill, Pat Riley, Herb Williams, Rick Pitino and many more, Mike Lauer has worked with them all at Madison Square Garden – Image Credit: Francisco Rodriguez/Latino Sports

Players Rory Sparrow, Derek Harper, and Rod Strickland as well to name a few. He also has had brief conversations with former President Bill Clinton.

“These are real people, this is their job, never star-crazed,” he said.

But that was not his intent in meeting the prominent stars of the NBA or a former President of the United States, it was a job and demanding role as an outsider in the NBA. It was that essential role and Lauer did it well. Even at times became the stat guy, anything but moping a court?

When a youngster from Brooklyn met Knicks star Patrick Ewing on the court for the first time and didn’t have a mop, yes, that could have been a problem. Ewing, the tall and menacing player on the court would say thank you when that essential tool of the trade arrived—a story that Lauer can retell numerous times as that builder and inspirational speaker to various student-athletes.

Arriving in New York after a ballyhooed college career with the Georgetown Hoyas that included one NCAA title and appearances in two other championship games, Patrick Ewing fueled the Knicks to several playoff runs and New York’s trip to The Finals in 1994 – Image Credit: National Basketball Association

Told also to his son and daughter, he has shared more than one story of pride and determination.

Regardless, he spent nearly two decades inside “The World’s Most Famous Arena” Madison Square Garden as a young fan and employee of the team and later went into roles of production with NBA Entertainment. And now as an adult and enjoying family, he reflects on that Knicks NBA championship.

He watched that defining moment in June in a hotel room with his daughter, an outstanding softball player out-of-town who was participating in a tournament.

“After 18 years of working there, I never really knew how I felt about the Knicks championship,” Lauer said. “Excited, I think I am always a part of the team, these guys were into it. Special to everyone who worked for the Knicks, happy for my friends still there and happy to experience this with my kids.”

Me playing it cool on book launch day.

Sweat Equity is available now.

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— Mike Lauer (@MikeLauer18) August 4, 2026