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!