Sabina Gadecki The girlfriend of Golden State Warrior David Lee explains how acting is a lot like the NBA

     When Sabina Gadecki grew up a five minute drive away from the Basketball Hall of Fame, she had no idea how much basketball would be a part of her life. Born in Chicopee, MA, a town with a population smaller than most NBA arenas, she had passed the Hall regularly, but it wasn’t until she became the girlfriend of Golden State Warriors forward David Lee, that it became the topic of family conversation.
     “Whenever we’re in town,” Sabina says, “my aunt will say ‘Dave must really want to go to the Basketball Hall of Fame and hang out there,’ and I’m like, ‘Well, I’m not really sure he wants to hang out there, but I’m sure he thinks it’s cool.’”
     Soon after Sabina relocated to New York to pursue a degree in International Business and Communications and to pursue an acting career, she received her first big break when she was asked to co-host the World Poker Tour on the Travel Channel. “It was an awesome experience,” she says. “Some people still think of poker when they see me, because of the show.”
     Though Sabina continued to pursue acting, modeling jobs continue to find her—Oil of Olay, Saks Fifth Avenue, Jimmy Choo—so much so, that she signed with Ford Models. “Ford has been great to me,” she says. “I’ve enjoyed modeling and it’s helped me make a nice living, but I never gave up on acting.”
     While in New York, Sabina met David Lee while he was playing for the New York Knicks through mutual friends. “It was great living in New York,” she says. “I still miss it. David was here a lot while he was playing and I was able to pursue my acting and modeling career. With David being in San Francisco now, it’s more of a challenge for us, but he’s been so supportive of me.”
     While away in Brazil for a friends wedding, Sabina got the call she had been waiting for—a potential role in a major motion picture. “The movie is called Freaky Deaky,” she says. “It’s an adaptation of one of Elmore Leonard’s novels. And I had a day to put myself on tape for the casting people. And I’m in Brazil.”
     Thanks to modern technology, Sabina was able to Skype with her acting coach in New York to prepare. Then, after finding the best light in the hotel bathroom in Brazil, she had David sit in the tub with the video camera while she filmed a test for the role.
     “I ended up getting the part and it was one of the best experiences of my life,” she says. The film, a seventies comedy/thriller required Sabina to relocate to Detroit for four months. “I’ve had so much fun doing things like Law & Order, but to be on a film and to wake up every day and go to the set, it was everything I dreamed it would be.”
     While David Lee rejoins a resurgent young Golden State team, Sabina will commute between the Bay Area and Los Angeles, where she continues to find new roles, including a part on the upcoming Showtime series House of Lies, opposite Don Cheadle.
     “It was great being together all the time in New York with David,” Sabina says, “but Golden State has been great. The new owners are amazing. They spend time with the families at every game.  The team’s chemistry is awesome. Every time David is home, I’ll be there for sure, and when he goes on the road, I’ll head back to LA to work. We’re in different careers, but in a way they are very similar. You may have God-given skill and luck, but it’s the hard work that helps you get ahead. And no one works harder than David.”