When it comes to the NBA we are talking about the best basketball players in the world. At this level everyone is talented and athletic, the separator is mindset. This week I wanted to share with you three different stories from my workouts with NBA players.
In 2012, Mike and I were working out Steve Novak. At this time he was playing for the New York Knicks and was known as one of the best shooters in the NBA. When Steve was shooting the ball it would almost always go through the rim the same way – hit the back rim and go straight down. If he made the shot, but it didn’t go through the rim that exact way he was unhappy. That mindset was unlike any I’d ever seen before. He was completely focused on shooting a perfect shot every time he shot the ball. Just making the shot was not good enough.
Around that same time we were also working out Wes Matthews. During one of the workouts we were doing the Celtic 3’s shooting drill. In the drill you have to make 2 in a row to move to the next spot. The goal is to beat 10 spots in under 2 minutes. In his first attempt, with about 30 seconds left there was no way he was going to finish, but he continued to stay focused. He shot every shot with focus and purpose even though he knew he wasn’t going to beat the drill. Most young players “mail it in” when they know they aren’t going to beat a drill. What Wes understood is that it wasn’t about beating a drill, it was about improving. He wasn’t going to waste any shots. We immediately did the drill over again and he beat it with one of the fastest times ever.
In 2017 I was in Las Vegas for NBA Summer League. I was asked to help with some workouts that included Yogi Farrell, Deonte Burton, and Zak Irvin. At the time Yogi was the only player in the group that had an official NBA contract. During the workout we were working on some finishes and Deonte had a few shots rattle in and out off the rim. He then complained about the rims being too tight, causing his shots to not go in. Yogi stepped up to him and said “You’re about to be an NBA player, you shouldn’t even be hitting the rim.” I’ll never forget when he said that because of the standard the he held himself to. It wasn’t good enough to just make the finish, it should be clean with no rim. It also showed his level of ownership, it was not the rim’s fault for any miss… it was your own.
To me, these stories are a great reminder of the professionalism, focus, and mentality that NBA players work with. If you’re reading this you probably don’t play in the NBA or never will, but you can evaluate your own mindset in workouts. You don’t have to be a pro to work like one. If you can adopt a similar mindset and focus as the guys above, you can take your game to a new level.