"I love how you are with your
teammates. Stay that way man, stay that way. This is going to be your league in
a little while. I appreciate you giving us this year" – words from Tim Duncan, spoken to LeBron James after
San Antonio defeated Cleveland for the NBA Championship back in 2007 when James
was just 21 years old.
I have written well over 150 stories and sent
too many of you over the last three years. If there’s ever one person that sums
up every single human element and lesson I’ve tried to bestow upon you during
this time, it would be LeBron James!
I have never seen a player overcome the obstacles he has … and just in the last
13 months? Go back prior to the start of last year’s NBA playoff season, James was still carrying many labels. Some thought he was
not able to perform in the clutch. Some thought his game seemed to
shrink under pressure? Before that he was literally crucified and hated by
America let alone the city of Cleveland and state of Ohio for exercising his
right to explore free agency?
Through it all, he grew up. He learned some
valuable lessons. Sought help from other professionals to better his game. He
actually turned one of sport’s biggest negatives into one amazingly positive
one! Today, he has truly earned the moniker “King
James” and as dominant of an offensive talent as he is, what makes LeBron even
more awe-inspiring is that for a player of his stature, he might be the BEST
TEAMMATE in any sport and perhaps the most giving of one’s self? And that is a
rare, if never seen before combination from a global superstar and icon!
As an example, prior to the Miami Heat’s Game
#7 series-clinching win over Indiana on Monday, it was reported that James
delivered an inspirational address of sorts to his team during their morning
meeting and shoot-around. Then he stood up and volunteered to guard Paul George, the Pacers’ best offensive
weapon (who was averaging 21.5 points per game in the Miami series playing up
against a less than 100% Dwayne Wade
as the principal defender). James’ motive was to allow Wade to take a breather
on defense and use what strength he had left in his body to focus on his
offensive game and be able to use his legs to drive with more authority to the
basket.
“Any little pressure I could take off D-Wade, I wanted to do that,” James
said. “I told him, I’ll take Paul George.
I’ll allow him to focus on his offense and not have to worry about stopping Paul George every possession and allow
him to get out in transition and get a few cuts and get to the line. I think
that was huge for him.”
And to make sure James’ strategy would work,
LeBron went out of his way to get Wade some buckets right at the start Monday
night. “First play of the game, I called a play for D. Wade,” James said. “Even though he didn’t shoot the ball, he got
a touch in the paint. Just make him feel a part of the offense. I called a
couple of sets for him early in the game. Just get a feel for it. He showed
early in the game he was in a good rhythm, started to attack the lane, started
to make his free throws.”
"LeBron was like a coach on the
floor," Wade said after the game. "To call sets, to put us in
situations where he felt like I would succeed early on was pretty good … he
understood”.
What blew me away from Monday’s outcome was
that not only did LeBron shut down and smother George’s offensive game (he held
him to 2-of-9 from the floor and “7 points” before this player fouled out of
Pacers’ biggest must-win game of the year) yet he managed to score 32 points
himself and worked both ends of the court relentlessly! Even better than that,
James’ selfless play as a teammate helped spark Wade to pump in a series high
21 points for himself!
"He's the best player in the
world," Pacers coach Frank Vogel said of James after the series.
"Maybe the best defensive player in the world too."
And yes, the NBA is HIS League now! But in order to achieve this plateau, he had
to overcome his fears just like everyone else. He got the memo
and realized that he wasn’t born to be a villain or a bad guy. In the last year
he found himself and how much that distractions only lead to wasted energy. He found
peace in his mind! With every one of my stories, that is the key word – winning
the battle of your mind! When you do, that is what triggers the skill from your
neck on down to unleash its natural abilities within and allow you to perform
out on the field! And then there is the part of being a helpful teammate! Don’t
ever forget that lesson as well!
ALL THE BEST MY FRIEND!
Jim Loria
-------------------------------------------------------------
PLAYERS: PHIL JACKSON ON KEYS FOR A TEAM TO BE
SUCCESSFUL: “Commitment to Giving”
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
“Follow the three R’s:
RESPECT for Self! … RESPECT for Others! … RESPONSIBILITY for all your Actions!”
– stated by Unknown Author
-----------------------------------------------------
“The Past is your Lesson;
the Present is your Gift; the Future is your Motivation” – stated by an Unknown
Author
-------------------------------------------------------------
“Sooner or later, something seems to call us onto a
particular path – this is what I must do, this is who I am” – stated by James
Hillman, American Psychologist
###
No comments:
Post a Comment