Denver Nuggets - NBA Champs 2023!

Congrats to the Denver Nuggets on winning their NBA Championship!

What an amazing achievement and to see how far they have come over the last few years- building, grinding and assembling and nurturing a team which has come through on the biggest stage.  Like any team, there are setbacks such as in the bubble, injuries to key players while also some luck in getting some strong pieces who stayed healthy and ready to help the team get over the line.  Truly embodying team basketball and the absolutely right collective mindset to winning.

 

I wanted to also reflect on Nikola Jokic.  The Joker has been an absolute beast in the post season and so very different last year when they bowed out to the Warriors - granted that they were missing Jamal Murray as well as a year of experience certainly made them look more like a team.

 Firstly, the sheer numbers that Jokic has been putting up has been insane - the triple doubles (and the volume in those triple doubles) as well as identifying what the team needs and going out and executing.  Absolutely ice-cool operator and definitely embodies MVP in terms of making his teammates around him better - freeing them up to be just experts in their trade.  Just spot up and score.

Not only his ability to be a point centre, but also mopping up rebounds and scoring and making the right play - without jumping out of the gym.  It is this type of basketball that makes it attractive on many levels (playing in teams from youngsters) rather than just pure individual 1v1 brilliance.  His play makes it exciting to watch and may not be "highlight reel" making the nightly Top 10 plays, but if you are a basketball fan with some level of basketball IQ it is very beautiful to watch.  In some ways, it is why the Warriors have been so popular as it is quite relatable basketball, but somewhat even more so, as they don't have insane flame throwers on their team.  Relatable as the best player was a guy who barely gets of the ground, but can impact the play in the right way.

Definitely deserves his flowers and as Coach Malone says, that he is a very nice and genuine person off the court, I absolutely believe it.  So another congrats to Nuggets and Jokic - well deserved and look forward to more exciting basketball in the future!

Lebron James - THE All Time Leader in scoring

Congratulations Lebron James.

Surpassing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the all time leading scorer in the NBA - a record which stood for 39 years, truly shows how special King James really is as a player.

The perspective of this is really quite amazing and really speaks to the longevity of his game.  He has played in over 19 seasons (so far) and still manages to put up amazing numbers that any starter on a team would be happy to have.  He is 5th ALL TIME in points per game and has produced at that level for two decades.  He is also 4th ALL TIME in assists - a crazy stat line for a scorer! 

Of course his first stint at Cleveland was a great one and he definitely carried/willed his team to the post season many of those years, before heading over to Miami and enjoying the championship glory before adding one in Cleveland and one in LA.

He is nothing short of amazing as a player both on and off the court - when you consider the hype, media attention and scrutiny he has been under since entering the league.  To be fair, I was not always a fan of his - especially his "decision", but if that's what NBA fans have to hold against him - then Lebron is definitely worthy of praise.   He made his teammates better, plays the game the right way, worked on improving the areas which were his weaknesses and loves and gives back to the game.  And yet  he is still not done.  Special.

What irritates me most of all are the so called pundits, talking heads who just hate on him or don't think he is "great" - especially those who have never played the game at that level.  Putting that into context - there have only ever been less than 5,000 NBA players (at the time of writing) - including the busts and those who had very long careers.  So we are talking about a very small percentage of the population who have really experienced what it is like to play in the NBA and then an even smaller percentage of players who ever hit numbers like that in a single game, let alone on a consistent basis.  Which is why I appreciate listening to ex-players turned analysts who understand the ins and outs of the game, politics etc rather than those who are just out to put their view out there and just try to disrespect players for the sake of eyeballs.  

I am sure that Lebron has the support structures around and in him to not lose faith in his own abilities and the mission and goals he has for himself rather than wallow in commentators just talking nonsense.  A takeaway is that it is really important to have that trunk of support, utmost belief to lift you up even then you have the doubts or if it builds up in your mind whether stemming from yourself or others.

Keep it up for as long as you can team Lebron and can't wait to see what other records are waiting to be broken!

 

Title Number 4 - Golden State Warriors - Some life takewaways

Congratulations to the Golden State Warriors on another NBA Championship - 4 in 8 years - a truly remarkable season and overcoming of adversity/injuries and negativity.

I have been a fan of Golden State for a while now, before the current run of championships. I actually was visiting San Francisco and headed to a basketball game at Oracle - watching OKC vs GSW in 2013 - where Iggy hit a fadeaway jumpshot to win the game.  Epic atmosphere which was nothing I had experienced.  (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vi2bmUZ4NvU)

So fast forward to today, 18 June 2022, and the Golden State Warriors have won their fourth championship over in that period.  Following this team over this period has definitely allowed me to reflect on their success, drive, determination and fuel over this period of time and tease out some lessons I personally want to take away about what I have seen - and hopefully be a reminder to myself one day about how to achieve success.

1) Change the narrative - listen to criticism and work on changing

Bring up any Steph Curry backstory and it definitely includes his "narrative" - from not being highly recruited, the Nike slip, "weak ankles", him vs Monta Ellis, as well his defensive weaknesses.  

He went about his business and changed that all.  He definitely looks bigger/more defined than in his earlier years in the league, and the Celtics were not able to exploit his defensive weaknesses despite their best efforts of hunting that mismatch.  He was good in a number of series (incl. against Memphis).

He worked on changing the perceptions and his legacy.

Andrew Wiggins was huge for during this run- and he had a narrative attached to his name following his spell at Minnesota after going number one in the draft.  He played defense and gave them timely/clutch baskets when the team desperately needed something to turn the momentum (huge dunk on Luka anyone)?  He was constantly guarding the opposition's best players and scoring, and grabbing rebounds.  Sure, he is not Kevin Durant - but was clearly the second most consistent player during this run.  When he arrived the "experts" felt he was not up to par and was just draft fodder.  He worked hard to change his game and fit into the system.  He didn't need to be Kevin Durant because he is Andrew Wiggins.

Listening to a wide variety of commentators etc, there are always going to be critics and negative comments.  Take the criticism and change that around.

2) Find fuel

"I have a lot to accomplish. I don't have anything to prove."

Words from Steph in 2021.  He had his rings, his accolades, his max contract extension.  He doesn't need to win anything else and would still be a great player (as he was already in the top 75 players named by the NBA). But he continues to find the motivation to keep playing winning basketball. Motivation is the key to make one take action.  To wake up in the morning and continue to grind.  Every morning - not some mornings.

 

Mind you, post game 6 and watching the celebrations, these Golden State players definitely kept receipts of all the naysayers/slights/negative comments during the season and threw it back into people's faces.  But that's fuel for the individual to keep going.  

 

The core starters of Steph, Klay, Draymond all were getting paid handsomely, and had won it all three times before.  But they stayed hungry and motivated to finish the job.  They certainly looked and played more hungry than some of those who had never won it before!

 

Reminds of when I started going to the gym and not seeing results. Questions creep in - will I get there, when will it happen etc.  Remember the long haul, not about seeing results in one or two weeks.

 

3) Setbacks happen - stay positive and look forward

 

Injuries to KD and Klay left them disappointingly short in the NBA finals. The departure of KD and then further injuries to Klay, Steph and Draymond left them at the bottom of the league and not making the playoffs for two years.  Everyone was looking at them as an embarrassing fall from grace and end of their title runs.  

These would have been dark times for individuals and the team.  I have been injured before and had to take extended time off sports.  Okay, I don't have the luxury of multi-million dollar medical teams at my disposal, but watching various sports stars return from Achilles and ACL injuries highlighted a lot of them are not the players they once were.  

For the team and individual they had to accept they faced a setback and plan a path to recovery.  They had to buy into that plan - and nurture the young talent they could afford on their roster in order to move forward.  Yes, sometimes, one gets dealt a devastating blow and there are setbacks - but one has to stay positive that the path is right and continue to accept that one will be tested on their journey.

 
4) Let your game speak for itself, but you do it as a team, not individual

 

So many experts (and some who had never played the game at a high level) were making predictions.  Only a few faithful believed but the casual observer would not have picked them to win it all.  Even the ESPN BPI had the Celtics at over 80% chance of winning before the series started.

But at the end of the game, the Warriors let their game do the talking - as a team.  IMO, the Mavs and the Celtic's supporting cast failed to deliver in the clutch moments.  Steph Curry was great (as he is almost expected to be). But contributions up and down the roster also helped when it mattered.  Wiggins.  Looney.  Poole. Payton. Green.  Thompson.  They won it as a team throughout the various series and played collective basketball - and yes, they played off Steph's brilliance, but that's what they can do. 

5) Success is not guaranteed, so enjoy every moment

Like many in professional sports, there are a litter of bodies who don't make the NBA, or are out of the league after a short period of time.  Of those who stay, there are still only a few who collect a ring or any hardware.  One can be top of class, top of state, number one pick or MVP of the league - and still be ringless (*Charles Barkley/Karl Malone/Westbrook/Harden). Winning it all is not a guarantee, despite all the success one has had prior to that point.  Working hard doesn't mean success will follow automatically.

If the Celtics had won, then the stories written would be quite different.  No talk of dynasty.  No talk of greatness.  More talk of KD being the reason for them winning two championships. 

The two year hiatus reminds me of the Bull's championship run.  Sure, it was not due to injuries, but they needed motivation to keep winning - and it was the drive to become great and do something special.

But there are no guarantees - a missed shot, turnover etc would have ended that streak.  And even when the Bulls were on top, they blew up the team anyway and have not been contenders for a while.  

So one has to learn to accept defeat - bask in what one has achieved but need the drive/hunger and will to keep striving forward.

I personally was never good at enjoying what success I had - rather I would be quite shy about anyone giving me "props" and embarrassed so I tried to keep my head down.  From now on, I will try to accept and acknowledge the positive comments but know where I want to get to and keep striving forward.

 

Anyway, I hope I can look back at these one day and say I incorporated them into my daily life and thinking.   Hopefully I can add more thoughts as I go along!