Former Spurs Coach Gregg Popovich told players to "Figure it out." That followed his admonition to "Get over yourself."
Every season teaches lessons - some we choose, some we earn the hard way. One of the most painful but productive is this: "experience is what you get when you don’t get what you want." Missed opportunities, tough losses, reduced roles, and disappointing minutes can sting. But they also reveal who we are and who we’re willing to become.
And often, they collide with one of the great threats to team success - the “Killer S’s”: selfishness, softness, and sloth.
There’s not much worse in team sports than being labeled selfish, soft, or lazy. It’s not critique of talent or basketball IQ. It’s an indictment of character.
Individual vs. Team: Why Selfishness Matters More Here
In golf, chess, or bowling, you’re responsible only to yourself. You cannot be “too selfish” on the PGA Tour unless it’s the Ryder Cup.
But team sports are different. The Prime Directive is simple:
Team First.
In baseball, it’s literally called a sacrifice.
In football, it shows up in blocking for someone else’s glory.
In basketball, it’s screens, box-outs, help defense, and the extra pass that creates a great shot over a good one.
None of these make SportsCenter. All of them build winners.
What Team Players Actually Do
Elite teammates share common habits - habits available to every player, not just the most athletic ones:
Team players…
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Energize the group with effort, voice, and presence.
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Encourage teammates without waiting for permission.
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Play for the scoreboard, not the scorebook.
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Practice hard, knowing they make the team better by making each other better.
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Don’t whine, complain, or make excuses.
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Stay engaged on the bench, because focus is a choice, not a substitution pattern.
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Set the standard - on the court, in the classroom, and in the community.
These behaviors require no vertical jump, no shooting percentage, no highlight clips. Just commitment.
What Actually Hurts the Most
Most players will never know the feeling of being a great scorer or the star in the local paper. That’s reality.
But there is a label no one wants on their legacy:
“Bad teammate.”
Talent fades. Stats disappear. But reputation - how you treated people, how you competed, how you responded to adversity sticks.
And that’s where the opening line comes back.
Disappointment gives us a choice:
Do I grow from this, or do I shrink?
Do I serve the team, or do I serve myself?
Experience earned through setbacks, gives players the chance to decide who they want to be. The teams that thrive are the ones where players choose contribution over complaint, responsibility over resentment, team over self.
Because in the end, greatness in team sport isn’t about shining the brightest.
Make the whole brighter because you’re in it.
Lagniappe. Be patient.
Lagniappe 2. Stay in the fight.
