Who doesn’t love some good life lessons told through the lens of sports?
Sure, there are movies that manufacture these lessons…
The power of imagination in Field of Dreams.
Grit and perseverance with Rocky (and Creed).
The underdog story in Rudy.
But things are just so much better when the drama is real, and unfolds in real time.
That was the case with the Warriors, in their 5th straight NBA Finals.
I have been following and rooting for them since living in the Bay Area and watching Steph Curry morph from undersized shooter into a transcendent generational talent–the undisputed greatest shooter ever. I admire the swagger, the skill to back it up, the calm under pressure, and the championships to validate it all. He’s a proven winner and built a dynasty around himself.
This NBA Finals this year was different though–the team was hampered by some significant injuries that happened in the playoff run — KD tears an achilles, Klay tears an ACL. They nearly lost in the Western Conference Finals. And they lost in the championship game to the Raptors.
But there were a few applicable lessons brought forth in these playoffs.
1. Run Concepts, Not Plays
This was an off-the-cuff comment from an analyst explaining the Warriors offense: the Warriors run concepts, not plays.
This is an insightful comment that captures the level of mastery that the Warriors have achieved as an entire unit. Not just on a level of individual skill level (some of the best players in the game are on the team, 4 All Stars this year), but the greatness as a whole. The feel that they have for the game, and the unified efforts.
The notion of “concepts over plays” is one that’s applicable to the greatest chefs, musicians, artists, entrepreneurs, and any creators really. When the level of mastery is so great that there’s an opportunity for the inner self to flow out without a rehearsed format.
Before this starts to get too woo-woo, it is where I aspire to as well. But I have a long way to go in many respects before I can achieve mastery in anything.
Maybe the closest I have come is with parenting, and I still have a loooong way to go before I can give myself a pat on the back. I don’t have the will to read through parenting books or forums, but rely on instinct. This really means empathy and respect. The result is having lots of moments of laughter, but when the times get fussy, I am limited in how I can help.
Regardless, the path to mastery is an open secret: focus on fundamentals, practice mindfully, and do it. Repeatedly. With high intent and conviction. Ten thousand hours became an easily digestible benchmark popularized by Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers.
This is why I love watching the NBA, as it is mastery at the highest level of a sport that I love. But in particular, the Warriors are even a few notches more masterful, because even in the most intense scenarios with scrutiny of the world watching, when the situation veers from what they planned for or expected, they fall back to fundamentals: concepts, not plays.
Now that’s a principal that you can rely on for life….
2. Shooters Shoot
Steph and Klay are killers. Knock down shooters with unshakeable confidence. They know, deep down, that they are the best shooters in the world. And they act on that belief, continuing to shoot regardless of the outcome. They can’t afford to let a cold streak shake their confidence.
This comes down to self-belief. They are shooters, and by definition, they have to shoot.
I am not really wired like this. I may err towards letting rationality set in. Or let external voices and opinions sway my decisions. I’d like to change that. To become a shooter, and take more shots.
I think that this comes from repeated practice and an internalized belief.
Starting Retainable is one take on that–starting a company with no certain outcome, no clear path, and no partners in building the company. But it’s a shot, and my shot clock is slowly ticking down (at 37, I’d probably be in the 98th percentile in age if I were in the NBA…).
3. Live With The Decisions You Make
So the Warriors ended up losing the Finals in 6 games. Steph had a shot to win at the end of Game 6. It was a tough, but makeable 3 pointer. I’m sure he’s watched this clip hundreds of times already to fuel his motivation:
And after the game, he stated basically, he lives by the sword, dies by the sword. Shooters shoot.
There is no time for regrets, he had the shot that he wanted, took it, and it didn’t go in.
Steph did so much to put the team in that very position to try to force a Game 7, on the brink of elimination multiple times in the playoffs, but that is all forgotten with the last shot, which was a failure.
Steph is so imbued with a deep self-confidence that he would take that shot again, and with better odds than not, he’d make it.
But it’s misses like this that drive him towards future success. After the game is not the time to second-guess his decisions. Being decisive and goign full throttle behind that decision is an admirable characteristic.
And he’s not alone in making critical decisions that failed:
4. It’s The Bounce back that counts
Right after the loss in the finals, reporters are asking Warriors players if their historic run is over–free agency, career-altering injuries, changes in the competition, aging were all going to make another championship run difficult. Of course all the players said that they will continue their success. But this wasn’t just lip service.
Because it’s the resiliency that defines the Warriors greatness.
One of the changes that I am still adjusting to while not an employee at a company is that every day I am on my own: exposed and vulnerable. This is particularly true now, at the early stages of launching a company.
There is no bi-weekly paycheck to validate any value I am bringing.
No meetings that I’m responsible for organizing and leading.
Damn, sometimes not even an email that hits my inbox validating that I exist.
As an employee, I was more protected from failures that hit me at the core.
As a solo founder, every day is a game day, often with a binary win/loss. And in the early days, there aren’t too many wins to tally up. And no momentum to beget momentum.
So it’s this bounce-back mentality that the Warriors show after a gut-punch of a loss that gives me, a solo founder, something to grasp on to and relate to.
Personal Update:
We are in Madrid! Jet lag has thrown a wrench in any semblance of a routine, but the benefit was being wide awake at 3am to watch Game 6.
Madrid is a beautiful city–quaint cobble-stoned streets, some understated yet opulent buildings (it is the capital of Spain after all), and an endless hum of people enjoying cerveza (the beer of choice is Mahou), tapas, pinchos, and long warm summer days (sunset is at 950p!). Life is good here, and Spanish culture is geared around enjoying a good life.
Here’s a pic:
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