Warriors basketball and this thing called life

NBA

SAN FRANCISCO — The NBA  has not witnessed, in most recent history, the brand and caliber of team basketball the Golden State Warriors (GSW) are playing. It is unique, out of the ordinary and original.

The Warriors remain the team to beat, and if you closely follow their games, you’ll see why they’re favorites to bring home the championship trophy. Their play is non-traditional, creative, dependent on height (which is might) alone, but also on speed, three-point shooting and solid defense.

Their games are unique, fun to watch (i.e.,not boring) and certainly entertaining. With the Warriors, it is teamwork at its best, and there are lessons (or pointers) we can learn, draw from and apply in our daily life, individual careers and surely in human organizations. Here are some of them:

• position-less basketball– the ability for each player to play and step into any position as the matchup dictates; simply it is situational basketball, no single superstar and everyone is a positive contributor in all facets of the game
• essentially, the purpose is for a non-predictable (fluid) play on offense and defense — to create, capitalize on mismatches and dictate the flow of the game
• they have, in place, self-coaching (correcting) processes such that when mistakes or miscues happen or things get out of hand, the coach calls a timeout to get back composure and player focus
• up-tempo play — played, paced and dictated to their rhythm, not the opponents’ and generally sticking to a surgical game plan for for quarters
• they trust, respect and follow their coaches; it is interesting to note that no great players such as Larry Bird, Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan ever became great coaches; the GSW coaching team is successful not only because they have an excellent understanding of the game, but they also “experiment” and challenge the traditional ways the sport is played; they are unconventional and do not conform to the status quo
• they build chemistry, not just inside but outside the court, realizing that off-the-court relationships are what counts and builds on-the-court teamwork
• players are selected based not only on talent, but also on character because they know this builds a strong work ethic which cultivates patience, perseverance and perfection
• they are aware that the best formula for defeat (or an upset) is overconfidence and defeat comes not from the next best team but from a team with young upcoming players; they need to play their best — no matter who they play

In a capsule, this is Warriors basketball, played on a physical space, called a court, for 48 minutes, with rules and protocols, driven by creative minds and spirit as if boundaries of time and space did not exist, motivated by the desire to give fans the best style of winning basketball and mindful that an NBA championship is a collective outcome of every game played.

Isn’t this how this thing called life should be played?