Basketball - Learning How to Win

Gary Washburn's Boston Sunday Globe column addresses the difficulty in winning with young players.

He notes that many young players can score and put up numbers but don't win. Jazz coach Will Hardy explains, "I think when development is talked about like, ‘Hey I’m just here to get better every day.’ It’s very focused on me, I. We’re a team. This is team sports. You want to win. So think there’s development of my ability to contribute to winning."

Wizards' coach Brian Keefe said, "How do we build consistent habits? The things that are going to lead to sustainability. That’s what we focus on here."

What do other notable coaches say about learning to win? 

Pete Carroll's book, "Win Forever" is built around maximizing compete levels. 

John Wooden specifically talked about success more than winning. He said, "My idea is that you can lose when you outscore somebody and win when you’re outscored.”

Coach Bob Knight had answers. 

Knight preached that because many games are lost via errors, that teams have to stop doing losing things. The Power of Negative Thinking revolves around knowing and avoiding what not to do. He said, "Victory favors the team making the fewest mistakes."

Dean Smith had the temperature of his team decades ago. He believed that effort, IQ, and unselfishness decided outcomes. That meant, "Play hard, play smart, and play together." 

Brad Stevens emphasized breaking the game down into possessions. "My goal is to win the next game one possession at a time." Good offensive possessions mean high quality scoring chances with unselfishness showing up in player and ball movement and good decisions as shot selection and avoiding turnovers. When players can see more possessions as "Got to Have It," playing harder for longer, then better results ensue. 

Phil Jackson's approach reflected his Zen mindset, “The most we can hope for is to create the best possible conditions for success, then let go of the outcome.”

Gregg Popovich stressed simplicity and teamwork. He said, “We believe in people executing their role and caring about the team more than anything individually.” Pop’s “learning to win” was boring excellence: consistency, competitiveness, and role acceptance.

What works against coaches? 

• The emphasis on individual achievement over team, starting at a young age. 
• Players can earn generational wealth early in their careers. Some may not have the same motivation after being set for life. 
• Agendas. Former UNC Women's Soccer coach Anson Dorrance had a sign in the locker room, "Excellence is our only agenda." 

What did we emphasize? 

1) Shot quality. Take better shots, unselfishly. 

2) Avoid zero percent possessions. Track and reduce turnovers.

3) Handle pressure defense. Advantage-disadvantage drills...

4) "Foul for profit" as "fouls negate hustle." Better technique and decisions help limit fouls. 

5) Recognize contributions not in the scorebook - hustle plays, forced turnovers, blocking out.

How did Coach Ellis Lane "teach winning" in high school? 

• Shot charts and film. Everyone was supposed to know what a good shot was for themselves and teammates. 
• Turnovers. We heard "the ball is gold" over and over. 
• Handling pressure. We played "5 against 7" full court each practice after we had lost by two in OT against the defending State Champ. 

Lagniappe. Serve our community. Serve our players. Serve our teammates. Adopt servant leadership as a theme. 

Most people think leadership is about control.

The best leaders know it’s about service.

Phil Jackson proved that leading with the heart wins every time. 👇 pic.twitter.com/29jIffOiAe

— Coach AJ 🎯 Mental Fitness (@coachajkings) October 14, 2025