I used to be a big NBA and men’s college basketball fan.
On the NBA side, I used to love watching the battles between the Sixers and Celtics when they had such legendary players as Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell.
They were true “teams” that zipped the ball around the court to each other as if it were a hot potato.
But along came Jordan to influence the pro and college games in such a manner I can barely watch it anymore.
Yeah, I agree with most everyone else that Jordan is the GOAT when it comes to basketball. But what I hate about him is how he started the trend that caused the team concept to disappear.
Team became, as Jordan dubbed it “me and my supporting cast”.
Basketball devolved into a game where it became about the “star” of the team and everyone else. Media began promoting the star players rather than the team.
That’s why I was so thrilled when Dawn Staley’s South Carolina Gamecocks women’s basketball team won the NCAA National Championship. They showed that ‘team’ most often prevails against the star.
It was somewhat poetic justice that South Carolina flew under the proverbial radar leading up to the final four as the media loudly drummed the individual player exploits of Caitlin Clark, of Iowa; JuJu Watkins, of University of Southern California; Page Bueckers of University of Connecticut; and others.
South Carolina’s team had many “star” players but rather than focus on individual stats and popularity they bought into Coach Staley’s culture of playing as a team in which everybody contributes.
Coach Staley regularly played nine players, and ten before one of them violated team standards and was released. The nine players didn’t care who the leading scorer was and it was usually a different one from game to game. All they cared about was each other and winning.
Despite having a team of McDonald’s All-Americans, none of Dawn’s players had scoring statistics that jumped off the page. No member of the team made first team All-American. That’s because they sacrificed individual stats for the sake of the team. And, it was that team approach that made them champions.
I’ve always been a firm believer in the team concept. For example, when I coached my two son’s 11-12 year-old recreational basketball teams, I told my boys they were all starters and rotated every player into the starting lineup, from the best player to the worst. I wanted them to know they were all valued members of the team.
After watching South Carolina win the National Championship thanks to every players’ contribution, I pondered the virtue of team. I later happened to see a movie titled “The Match”. The movie – inspired by true events – is about a football (soccer) match that was organized to celebrate Adolph Hitler’s birthday in 1944. The match pitted a team of elite Nazi footballers against a squad of inmates from prison camps made up of ex-footballers and political prisoners.
The prisoners exemplified the team concept when they united in solidarity to win the match even though intentionally losing it could have resulted in their freedom. Instead, they refused to throw the match, won and were killed.
When it comes to team, it’s always been said there is no “I” in the word – TEAM. It’s a word that says one for all and all for one, meaning there is no selfishness in team.
From a Biblical standpoint, Jesus also gave a great example of what the concept of team means. While, as God in the flesh, Jesus could have heaped all the glory upon Himself during His ministry on earth. Instead, He gave the same authority that He had – to preach, teach, heal and perform miracles – to the team of 12 disciples He called to follow Him.
Jesus knew His time on earth was limited and in order for the Gospel about Him to be shared throughout history, He needed the contributions of His disciples. Those disciples ultimately became the greatest winning team of all time. Because of the “team” Jesus put together and developed, the Gospel is still being preached today.
My End-Time Musings 