Basketball: Teammates, What Does It Mean to You? Concepts and Stories

Basketball presents a paradox. Show individual excellence within a team framework. Wonderful 'talents' may not be wonderful teammates. Teamwork is incremental. Bringing a diverse group together and announcing, "we are a team" doesn't make it so. 

We teach concepts; we live stories.

"Help your teammates." Find ways to help.
- Communicate. ELO - early, loud, often. Never let a teammate get blown up (screens).
- Encourage each other. Have energy; spread energy.
- Move without the ball. 
- Set great screens. 
- Not everyone can be a great player. Everyone can be a great teammate. 

"Teammates are there for you." In Teammates Matter, Alan Williams lost his walk-on spot at Wake after a coaching change. During walk-on tryouts, his Deacons teammates showed up to cheer him on. They didn't have to; they wanted to.

"Teammates sacrifice for each other." Former Dallas Cowboy Everson Walls donated a kidney to former teammate Ron Springs. They work out together. They study together. The Navy SEALs say, "two is one and one is none." In Above the Line, Urban Meyer demanded that a top 10 percenter bring a teammate to work out. Drag someone from the middle 80 (10-80-10) into the top 10 percent. 

"Teammates make big things happen together." President Lyndon Johnson's Great Society was launched through collaboration to pass civil rights legislation in 1964. Johnson sought to shatter the bitter divide, a century after the Civil War. Legislation was blocked by filibuster. Johnson worked across the aisle with Illinois Senator Everett Dirksen appealing to Lincoln's legacy. On June 10, 1964, with Dirksen's aid, the Senate invoked cloture, ending the filibuster by a 71-29 vote. 

"Adversaries can become teammates." Disney's CEO Bob Iger sought a tech and storytelling partner to accelerate Disney's growth. He arranged a meeting with Pixar's Steve Jobs who constructed a list of pros and cons for a merger. Iger saw that the list of cons was much longer. But Jobs noted that the list of pros was much stronger. Disney and Pixar became a powerful synergy. 

Teammates aren't perfect. Bob Cousy reached a rapprochement with Bill Russell. Cousy regrets not doing more to heal racial splits during their careers. "Arnold [Red Auerbach] deserves credit for how he handled the integration of the Celtics. He handled it easily, by treating everybody the same: badly."

Coaches, like teammates, have flaws. We don't always read the tea leaves right, don't see the differences and jealousy among players, among families. It's probably best to presume it's always there and work to discover and resolve it. Calm it or embalm it. 

Lagniappe: Who was your best teammate and why? My best teammate is my wife, by far. 

Lagniappe 2: From the Playbook, Celtics 45 Scissors

Lagniappe 3: Popovich on PTRW

"Play the right way means play unselfishly, respect each other's achievements, play hard, and fulfill your role"

- Gregg Popovich

— Coach Mac 🏀 (@BballCoachMac) March 18, 2020

Lagniappe 4: What is the fuller version of reality?

In his Investigative Journalism MasterClass, Bob Woodward asks whether we are determined enough, creative enough, and focused enough to understand what is the best version of the truth.