Langston Galloway did not have it easy coming into the NBA despite an impressive collegiate career at Saint Joseph's. Declaring for the pros in 2014, he was part of a pool that boasted talents like Andrew Wiggins , Joel Embiid , Aaron Gordon , Zach LaVine and Nikola Jokic .
Unfortunately, Galloway went undrafted. According to the narrative at the time, the reasons behind it were his limited physical attributes and playmaking abilities. Nonetheless, he landed an opportunity with the D League (NBA Development League) affiliate of the New York Knicks , the Westchester Knicks.
But the hurdles didn't stop for Galloway, given that things weren't as professional back in the day in the D League, which is now known as the G League. During a recent appearance on the Run Your Race podcast, Langston recounted one of his most harrowing experiences in Indiana .
"D League is crazy …Developmental league is way different than G League in the sense of at the time the league was still going up. Trajectory was going up. They starting to get new teams. New York had just got a new team, the Westchester Knicks. I'm like, 'All right, going on to Westchester.' Obviously, the Westchester Knicks and the New Knicks are connected, same locker rooms, same facilities. So, I'm like, 'Oh, this is perfect. I was already here,'" recalled Galloway, who now had a chance to play under the bright lights of the basketball mecca.
At the same time, the 6'1" guard not only needed to prove himself on the court but also had to navigate his way through the unpleasant hotel, or rather motel, stays.
Elaborating on the D League's lack of a strong professional structure and system, Galloway revisited his time in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Calling it crazy, the 34-year-old gave a detailed breakdown of his time staying at a motel and how he wanted to get out of there immediately.
"We go to Fort Wayne, Indiana. So they give us keys, and I'm like, keys at a hotel. At the time, I hadn't been in no nice hotels, now. I mean, I've been at Marriotts in college and all that," revealed Langston, who found the concept of a key to a hotel door a little weird.
"So open the door, and it looks like a brothel in there, bro. Like, sheets are red, floor is red, bathroom is like disgusting… legit motel. So I called my parents, called my girl. I'm like, 'Yo, I don't know if I'm built for this. This is nasty.' So I'm like, 'I got to get out of here,'" said Galloway, adding how his parents told him the only way to get out was to pick up that contract with the Knicks.
Langston was paranoid to the point that he refused to take off the sweatsuit he had been wearing since the airport. Being a little too extra cautious, he refused to use the sheets, too. The only way out for him now was to give it his all on the hardwood, something he achieved.
Wanting to get out of his unsettling stay at the first given moment, Galloway had only one mission on his mind, which was to "kill" on the court. Rather than panicking and escaping the situation, he turned it into a source of fuel, which turned out to his benefit.
"Like I'm getting out of here as fast as possible. This got to be December. Call-up date is January 7th to get called up to the NBA team, and I'm like, I got to be a call-up right away. So I played 19 games through that season. I was the first call-up in the Westchester Knicks history. I was like, 'Yo, I can't go back,'" said Langston.
Finally getting his chance to play for an NBA team, Galloway's tenure with the Knicks began with two back-to-back ten-day contracts before landing a partially guaranteed two-year deal. Proving his worth at every point, he made the All-Rookie Second Team while also becoming the first undrafted player in franchise history to do so.
Spending most of his NBA career as a journeyman, Langston eventually landed up playing in international leagues and is currently with a Turkish basketball club.
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This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Mar 17, 2026, where it first appeared in the Off The Court section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
