"Making others great" Leadership in the NBA Finals

Could the stunning 2023 NBA Finals herald a shift away from franchise player iso-heroics to team-centered play??Do the improbable successes of the Denver Nuggets and Miami Heat provide lessons to businesses about the power of generous teamwork over the cult of the superhero manager??The 2023 NBA championship finals between the Nuggets and the Heat shocked bookies and fans alike and possibly marked a dramatic turn from the current generation of NBA conventional wisdom.?

Throughout the game’s history, basketball had its stars, but team success was still mostly predicated on a range of team contributors.?This teamwork ethos seemed to peak in the Bird-Magic era of the 80s where these two marquee players were both renowned not just for the individual prowess, but especially for their playmaking and team leadership abilities:

• “Bird also knew when any of there individuals were not getting enough shots in the game or were not involved in the offense, and he’d make a concerted effort to get them involved…The other guys knew that if you just moved and got in the right place, it’s your only responsibility, you know that ball is going to be there…You get four other guys overachieving.” - Making Others Great

The successor era was the Jordan 90s where Michael seemed to take individual prowess to another level…and yet, his superstardom was not enough to carry his team to championship victory until he toned down the individual heroics and focused more on supporting his teammates:

• “Coach Jackson successfully convinced Jordan that in order to win championships, which was Jordan’s ultimate goal, he had to bring out the best in his teammates. This is called the “Inclusion Rule,” and it holds true in other team settings as well.” – Small World Solutions Group

But since the Last Dance, those paragons seemed to have been superseded by two decades of “iso” (short for “isolation”) heroics by megastars like LeBron James carrying the load and having the rest of the team get out of the way.?Jxmhighroller’s “I Think The NBA Is Broken” video looked at the latest trend of unprecedented one-man mega-performances:?

• “I think I see what is going on here…these players are finding absolutely any reason to tee off on 30 shots and throw the playbook out the window as the barrel their way for another and-one.”

But the 2023 Championship has showcased a completely different type of floor leader.?Someone who brought out the best in every member of the team.?Both teams – the Nuggets led by Nicola Jokic and the Heat led by Jimmy Butler – defied the odds and predictions with a “making others great” style of leadership.?Jokic and Butler are without question exceptional talents in their own right, but the strength of their team’s performance lay not in their dominant individual heroics, but their catalytic effect on the performance of their teammates (arguably the Heat team-orientation stemmed from an organization-wide ethos):.

• “One of the ways to describe (Denver’s) Jokic’s game is that he makes it difficult for his teammates to even make a bad play.?If you’re open, he’ll find you…One of the many negative side-effects to iso-heavy ball, is that even if the player getting the majority of the shots is the best option, it completely disincentivizes his teammates from moving without the ball.?Now since they’re less willing to run around and make cuts for what feels like no reason, these teammates end up standing around even more, leading to them being open even less, leading to an iso-heavy player passing even less, and it just snowballs until your offence is completely stagnant.?But when Jokic has the ball, his teammates are engaged.” - “The Most Unguardable Player In The NBA”
• “The (Miami) team has built an entire culture around one thing…winning basketball…if you come through the Heat’s doors and are committed to winning, it doesn’t matter your story or how high of a pick you were, we’re gonna give you the same opportunity we’re gonna give the number 1 pick…We believe in leadership at all levels…They want to work with you and see you be great…Bringing in these guys and giving them big roles nearly immediately is an organizational philosophy of the Heat.” - “The Heat Are Playing Chess. Everyone Else Is Playing Checkers...”

Could the 2023 NBA Finals be basketball’s equivalent of the 2002 Oakland A’s landmark “Moneyball”??While Moneyball taught lessons of objectivity over cognitive biases, the Nuggets/Heat have taught lessons about the triumph through the teamwork of making others great over individual heroics.

And could such lessons make their way to the business world which has also long been seduced my the lure of the superstar executive, a franchise rainmaker coming in to transform the organization single-handedly.?The wizards are parachuted in to transform the company’s fortunes often strong-arming some short-term gains, but heading out the scapegoat revolving door just as often.

What can businesses learn from the NBA legends and recent championship about making others great??The key thing is adopting a holistic perspective:

• Eyes on the Prize - Focus on the ultimate objective (eg.?winning a championship) and keep all other considerations in perspective.?Don’t confuse means-to-the-ends (eg. KPIs, dashboards) with the end itself.
• Patience – Disappointments are inevitable, but don’t let them derail the overall mission (see “Eyes on the Prize”).?Seek the wisdom to know the difference between slumps and set-backs with fundamental problems needing repair.
• Superstar Selflessness – Recruit (Bird, Jokic) or steer (Jordan) generosity from the leader.?Make sure they care more about championship rings than individual records.?Phil Jackson called such leaders “warriors” saying “A warrior didn’t try to stand out from his fellow band members; he strove to act bravely and honorably, to help the group in whatever way he could to accomplish its mission.”