Jimmy Butler's competitiveness, ignoring the noise with Kevin Durant, and Gregg Popovich managing NBA personalities
Howdy Y’all,
This week’s Highest Level includes:
Jimmy Butler and the Ripple Effect of Intangibles
Perspective on "Ignoring the Noise" from Kevin Durant and Chris Paul
Managing powerful personalities in the NBA
ESPN featuring SMU's Life After Ball program
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EB
Ignoring the Noise
Kevin Durant and Chris Paul gave some great perspective last week on dealing with the criticism that comes with success and understanding where most criticism comes from.
Kevin Durant on the criticism that comes with success
“People are always going to criticize when you’re successful and doing your thing for this long. People are always going to find something that they don’t like about you.”
Chris Paul on the recognizing sources of criticism
"I feel like the only people [criticizing Russell Westbrook] are people who don’t know basketball and don’t know what it’s like to compete….People that talk crazy probably wish they could be in that situation.”
Everyone is susceptible to allowing the words and thoughts of others penetrate our own self-image from time to time. These two great players give a good perspective to keep in mind on where those thoughts come from and how the noise comes with any success that is earned, even at the highest levels of basketball.
Jimmy Butler and the Ripple Effect of Intangibles
In my book Finding Intangibles , I wrote about the ripple effect that the intangibles of certain players can have on their team’s environment, behavior and culture. This becomes especially potent when teams can align their culture’s values with the character traits of the star players. Any fan can sense how Steph Curry, and by extension the Warriors’ team, plays the game with absolute joy, one of four core values that power Golden State’s team culture.
The same effect is happening with the Miami Heat, where competitiveness has long been a staple of HEAT culture through the years. And no player has displayed competitiveness in the NBA this decade quite like Jimmy Butler, where his intense desire to win and challenge those around him to meet his competitiveness has gotten him run out of Minnesota and Philadelphia. But the ‘trash’ of those organizations has been Miami’s treasure, with Butler being a perfect fit to match the intensity of his coach and the organization’s burning desire to win.
Spoelstra talked about this ripple effect that Butler has on the team in his post-game press conference Wednesday night after the eighth-seeded Heat eliminated the title-favorite Bucks in their first round playoff series.
Erik Spoelstra on the Ripple Effect of Intangibles with Jimmy Butler
“I respect him so much as being such a unique, world-class competitor. A lot of guys play basketball in this league. He competes to win. That’s a different language. And he’s desperate, urgent, and maniacal, and sometime psychotic, about the will to try and win. And he’ll make everybody in the building feel it. And that’s why he is us, and we are him. And that’s the way we operate as well.”
Check out Spoelstra’s full post-game interview remarks about Butler here at the 7:30 mark .
Managing Powerful Personalities
A topic I’ve been researching lately is how coaches can manage powerful personalities on their teams. And in no sport is the power dynamic more lopsided in favor of the players than in the NBA, where high-paid superstar players have the ability to influence major organizational decisions and can even usurp a coach’s authority should they decide they want a different voice in the locker room.
The Athletic
The Athletic’s recent anonymous poll of NBA players gave interesting insight into what coaches the players would most like to play for, and who they appear to have the most respect for in the NBA.
No surprise ranking high on the list is Steve Kerr, a former player who has won 4 NBA championships with the Golden State Warriors. While Kerr’s calm demeanor makes him a desirable coach to play for, the runaway winner possesses the exact opposite type of sideline demeanor: San Antonio Spurs’ head coach Gregg Popovich.
Popovich, while having the most career success of any current NBA head coach with five NBA titles over the past two decades, can be a very demanding coach who has no problem attacking problems with star players. In San Antonio, the Spurs’ system is the star of the program, not the players. But even with a coaching style that seems to defy what most believe is necessary to be successful with today’s NBA players, Popovich continues to coach, and continues to garner huge amounts of respect from current crop of NBA players, most of whom were toddlers when he first took over as Spurs head coach over 20 years ago.
How has Popovich done it? The answer is simple, and also why Kerr, a former player under Popovich, appears so highly respected in the league: These coaches prioritize their people and their relationships with each player.
Gregg Popovich on Dealing with Players
“Relationships with people are what it’s all about. You have to make players realize you care about them”
Regardless of the theatrics of how Kerr and Popovich lead their team, or handle emotions when things go wrong on the sideline, both of these coaches understand the true art of being an influential coach and getting buy-in from highly paid NBA players comes down not to the power dynamics within the team, but rather to the relationships with each person on the team.
For more on Popovich, check out my recent writing on how Gregg Popovich builds a culture of character in San Antonio .
Evan’s Journey
SMU’s Life After Ball Program
In August last year, I began partnering with SMU’s Life After Ball program to present “The Senior Series”, a program of career development workshops to SMU student-athletes. The Senior Series curriculum focusing on key areas such as personal branding, networking, and interview preparation.
In March, with the SMU women’s basketball team competing in the NCAA tournament, ESPN had a cool feature on the Life After Ball program during the broadcast.
I’m very proud to be able to play a small role in such an impactful program for the SMU student-athletes as they transition from their college sports career into the professional world. To learn more about the Life After Ball program, follow them on Linkedin .
Upcoming Speaking Event at Newcastle University
Tuesday May 2nd, 2023 | 9:45am CST
On May 2nd, I’ll be delivering a keynote speech for the Psychological Insights into Coaching Practice Sports Psychology Showcase at Newcastle University.
The talk title is “4th Grade Football to the NFL: How to Build a Successful Career in Coaching” where I’ll be sharing the unique path of my football career, lessons learned throughout my coaching journey, and advice to young coaches in the audience looking to build a successful career as a coach.
The presentation will be followed by a fireside chat with Newcastle University event organizers and presenters. Should be a fun event. If you are a sport coach, athlete, or interested in attending the event, sign up here .
Thanks for reading and see you next time at the highest level.
Dominate Today,
Evan
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