Total Pageviews

Sunday, October 19, 2025

Basketball Selfishness - Work to Defuse It

“Our selfishness will condemn us to the worst suffering that we ourselves have invented — loneliness.” — Paulo Coelho

"Basketball is sharing.” — Phil Jackson

The three deadliest S’s in basketball—selfishness, softness, and sloth—don’t show up on box scores. They surface in habits, effort, and in how teammates feel when you walk into the gym. The best teams pass the ball—and the credit. The worst teams guard both like possessions. Invert selfishness and you get connection. Invert ego and you get trust. Sharing becomes competitive advantage.

What selfishness looks like

Selfishness isn’t only a bad shot. It’s any act that puts me over we:

  • “Me first” or “me, too” shot selection

  • Unwilling passer - dead ends the offense

  • Conserving energy for offense - less defense, transition, or closeouts

  • Uncoachable - rejects feedback, blames others

  • Sulking over minutes - lowers the huddle’s temperature

  • Credit-seeking - media, social posts, stat-hunting

  • No mentorship - won’t help the next player up

Diagnosis is easy. Cure is hard.

The coach’s dilemma: benching or belief?

Every coach wrestles with the line between individual freedom and team discipline.

  • The bench teaches lessons the scoreboard can’t. Some learn. Some pout.

  • Belief invests in growth: clarity and accountability.

Most coaches would rather have a productive player on the floor than a disenchanted one on the bench. But production must align with team standards.

Antidotes to selfishness (standards → behaviors)

  • Team first - celebrate the helper, effort always.

  • Communication - creates energy and advantage.

  • Effort - effort is not a given. Coach it up.

  • Sharing - extra pass, screen to score, hockey assist pride.

  • Growth - accept feedback, film one clip you’d change, fix it.

A simple framework: freedom earned, trust kept

  1. Role clarity: “Here’s your job; here’s how it helps us win.”

  2. Freedom within role: More trust unlocks more touches, reads, and late-game usage.

  3. Accountability: Miss the standard? We adjust minutes or touches until it’s met.

Player pledge (post it)

  • I will share the ball and the credit.

  • I will defend first actions even when tired.

  • I will accept coaching and pass it on.

  • I will make my teammates better today.

Exceptional teams share vision, sacrifice, and rewards. When a few won’t share, the challenge becomes a distraction. The cure is the same as the diagnosis: make the we visible—in roles, in reps, in praise, and in minutes. If the standard is sharing, the culture starts to keep itself. 

Lagniappe. Brad Stevens: 

Lagniappe 2. Powerful messaging.  

Posted by at