Utah Jazz team chaplain provides comfort as Orlando Magic mourn chaplain Eddie Cole

Utah Jazz team chaplain Pastor Corey Hodges felt deeply for the players that he would be providing ministry to on Saturday night.

At the Orlando Magic shootaround earlier in the day in Salt Lake City, the players learned that Magic team chaplain Eddie Cole passed away at his home in Florida that morning.

“That was some heavy news, I’m not gonna lie,” guard Jalen Suggs told the Deseret News. “He was so bright. I think that’s what’s most shocking about it, that I can’t really fully understand. He was just so full of life, so full of energy right before we left, pouring into everybody. He was such a light.”

One of the things that was pointed to by multiple players and people around the team was how consistently Cole could be counted on and how consistent he was with his messages and care for everyone.

“He’s done so much and been there for each guy in whatever past capacity they allowed him to be,” Magic forward Jonathan Isaac said. “He was just so strong. I’ve got such respect for him, living for God and fighting to grow. So yeah, I love him. I love his family and I hope I can make it to the funeral to be with them.”

“He’s done so much and been there for each guy in whatever past capacity they allowed him to be. He was just so strong. I’ve got such respect for him, living for God and fighting to grow.”

—  Magic forward Jonathan Isaac on Magic chaplain Eddie Cole, who died Saturday morning

So when the players from both teams arrived to the pre-game chapel services at the Delta Center, Hodges knew that there would need to be space to celebrate the life and impact of Cole, while also recognizing the loss and grief that was being felt.

“We had a couple guys from their team (the Magic) in chapel tonight and obviously we started out by offering a prayer to chaplain Eddie’s family and his five children,” Hodges said. “He was well accomplished and beloved. The players who commit to chapel develop a pretty good relationship with the chaplain. You get to know the guys and in a real personal way. So the loss of the chaplain today, was hard.”

Isaac said that Saturday’s chapel was especially meaningful and that faith is important at all times but especially important when times are hard.

“It was extremely important today,” Isaac said. “(Hodges) gave condolences, and we got to talk about it all a little bit. It was great. You know, people don’t know that chapel is such a big thing for certain guys in the league. It keeps us together, keeps us bonded, keeps us at the foot of the cross. People like Eddie, all the chaplains around the league, they do such an amazing job. I’m so grateful.”

The role of team chaplain is not an NBA job that comes with notoriety or fanfare and every NBA team has a chaplain post taken as a volunteer position. It is often a thankless job. But Hodges contends that the lack of notoriety allows trust to be fostered with more care.

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“For me, recognition is not needed because I think the value is in the confidence and in the comfort and trust,” Hodges said. “There’s not a lot of fanfare with the chaplaincy, but I also think that’s what makes it so valuable. When you’re able to interact with the guys, just person-to-person, heart-to-heart, they understand that we don’t want anything from them. This is just a place of trust and confidence. So for the players, I would imagine that’s kind of comforting.”

Chapel services are available to players, coaches and staff of all faiths at every NBA arena before every single game. But players often continue their relationship with the team chaplain outside of official game-day chapel service and conversations between them can cover every part of life.

Importantly, Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said that chaplains help to provide perspective to the players that they are more than just a basketball player, that they have more purpose and that they are whole even without basketball.

“They provide these guys a perspective on life,” Mosley said. “They provide a place of peace, of understanding of what they’re capable of doing, and it’s not related to basketball. I think that’s more important for these guys to understand — that they are not the game ... that you don’t just feel like a product on the court. That you feel like a human being that’s seen and heard and understood."

That doesn’t mean that the chaplains don’t talk about basketball. There’s a lot of talk about things that happen on the court and how players can use their God-given talents and serve God while also being the best version of themselves on the court as players.

“I love the fact that we could talk about winning, talk about being competitive, and talk about things that were going out on the court, but it wasn’t the end-all, be-all,” Suggs said. “The main point of the message always was how to tie it back into Christ, his message and his teaching and how he’s continuing to help us learn.”

Back in 2018, longtime Jazz team chaplain Jerry Lewis passed away. That was when Hodges got a call and was asked if he would be willing to minister to players before games. He didn’t know what to expect but knew that his heart was willing and that it was an opportunity to once again answer God’s call.

On most nights, Hodges understands that his job is to be a part of the players’ spiritual journey because players don’t always have a chance to go to church services or commune for spiritual purposes during the grueling NBA schedule.

But Saturday night was a night that required some extra care to celebrate and acknowledge that the Magic lost an important member of their team family.