Utah Jazz take a moment for team bonding outside the basketball courts

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The Utah Jazz had a night off Saturday in Memphis, and coach Tyrone Corbin decided to take his team on a field trip.

In what doubled as a team-building excursion and a history lesson, the Jazz visited the National Civil Rights Museum and the Lorraine Motel, where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. After, they had a team dinner.

"It was a great chance to get the guys together and give them some education — a way just to be together other than on the court," Corbin said. "It (is) giving direction and working on something other than just basketball. This was life skills."

Richard Smith, the Jazz's director of basketball operations, came up with the non-basketball bonding idea.

Corbin called it "eye-opening" for players, who experienced a four-century look at the evolution of black rights in the U.S. The historical museum includes a touching documentary — showing how Dr. King was killed in Memphis while trying to help garbage men get better wages — a detailed audio tour, exhibits such as a replica of the infamous Rosa Parks' bus, and opportunities to stand in the old motel a few feet away from the spots where the inspirational preacher/movement leader was murdered and from where the killer shot his rifle across the courtyard.

"A lot of us have probably learned that in history class growing up, but it's always more powerful when you're at the location that it happened," 21-year-old swingman Gordon Hayward said. "Being able to walk back through time, see all of that stuff and learn all of the details, it was really moving."

Derrick Favors plans on returning to soak more in.

"It was a good experience," the 20-year-old from Atlanta said. "My grandma used to tell me about it. She grew up in that era."

Veteran Devin Harris has visited a handful of times. This trip, he focused more on what happened in the 1950s civil rights movement. He called it "perfect timing" for the Jazz to do something together outside of hoops — or an autograph-signing event.

"Fantastic team event, I thought, especially during Black History Month," Harris said. "It was nice to learn about some stuff, especially with the guys in a different setting. … I think guys learned a lot from it and I think it was good for all of us."

Corbin called it "chilling" to visit the assassination site and to hear stories about the struggles people went through.