I love the start of the NCAA Tournament, and the NBA, so today I thought I’d write about the love I have for the game of basketball and compare that to the similarities that happen in the game of life. Because in the course of a basketball game, many analogies can be made as to what transpires in a person’s life. The ups and downs, the challenges, the adversities and what it takes to meet them head on.
Before you can play the game of basketball you must learn the basics or the fundamentals – how to play the game, how to pass, to dribble, run the court and shoot the ball. You have to develop the necessary skills to play at an acceptable level. Similar in life, you must establish what life means to you and what you want from it. You must develop the requisite skills and strategies for attaining it.
Elite athletes know that you can’t function optimally or win games if you’re not prepared both mentally and physically. You must be in great physical shape to withstand a long, grueling and demanding basketball season. Equally important, you must have mental fitness. Mental fitness includes a positive, willing and winning mindset. One without the other will not win games. In life, being prepared mentally and physically is equally essential.
Basketball is a team sport, which means it requires contribution and co-operation from every member in order to play well and win. Everyone must focus, work together and fulfill their individual role for the common good of the team. So it is with life. Contribute, co-operate and share.
The greatest players in basketball have all been credited for having extraordinary court vision and awareness. Larry Bird,
Magic Johnson,
Michael Jordan,
Kobe Bryant and other great players knew exactly where everyone was on the court, the players’ tendencies, and which plays would work against the different teams. The ability to anticipate and be ready for a play made them active, rather than reactive, players in a game. It’s one of the factors that separates the great players from good players. Being conscious and aware in life sets the stage for achievement.
Every great basketball player knows that when your plays aren’t working you have to adjust, and then adjust some more. The varying strengths and styles of different opponents require different tactics. You have to be able to withstand and respond to, whichever attack an opponent comes at you with. Life presents us with many challenges for which we must adjust our game plan.
Another characteristic common to the brilliance of Larry, Magic, Michael and Kobe 
was that they never gave up on a play. When they missed shots they would be the ones to retrieve their own rebounds, dive for loose balls, outwit defenders, and make every last second count (many times it did). They were willing to do the small things that the statistics didn’t reflect. Many a dagger was thrust into an opponent’s heart when the outcome of the game seemed a foregone conclusion. Why? Because they never gave up. Not on the play, not on the game, not on themselves! Persevere. Never, ever give up.
No matter what sport you play, you can’t win every game. In a 7 game championship series, two evenly matched teams often win only one more game than they’ve lost. It takes blood, sweat and tears to win a championship. If you give it everything you’ve got, no matter what the outcome, you can walk away with your head held high. Learn what it takes to win and come back and try again. Larry, Magic, Michael, Kobe before they won, lost many, many games and championships. They had to learn to accept defeat before they understood what it took to win. So it is with life. Everything will not always go your way. There will be both losses and wins. If you give everything your best shot and learn the lessons along the way, you will come out a winner.
So, today I am grateful that I can integrate basketball as a metaphor for life. When your dribbling the ball, and the clock is ticking, make the assist, for the best play you can. Look for the open man who is driving toward the basket. Or use your big man to set up a screen. Be decisive and creative with your moves, avoid any fouls, and use what the defense allows. A jump shot, a hook shot, a lay up, or a slam dunk. But in case you miss, be ready to rebound the ball, by using your body to block others, and put it back into the basket. That’s how you score!
Basketball is a game of desire, a question of will. It is nice to be talented. It is even better to be lucky, but in the end the one thing that we can control is ourselves. And that means that we can control how hard we work. This is your life, play to win!
