Chance to Preach “The Secret”
In Bill Simmons book, “The Book of Basketball: The NBA According to the Sports Guy,” he recalls a time when he ran into Detroit Pistons’ legend Isiah Thomas in Vegas and had some profound wisdom imparted to him. In their interaction, Thomas reveals that the secret to basketball is that it isn’t actually about basketball. Sounds like a riddle at first but when you think about it more, it actually makes sense.
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This is to say, it’s rarely the team with the best players who win championships, rather the one that’s learned how to play as a team, with players that know their role, that are often the most successful. “The Secret” is about avoiding complacency and finding guys willing to sacrifice for each other towards the ultimate goal of winning.
Simmons goes on to reference teams who’ve neglected or didn’t know “The Secret,” with examples of players leaving championship making machines for more money, more playing time, because of pride, etc.
As a Laker fan, you should know this story all too well, considering what happened with Kobe and Shaq. Had they put aside their egos, who knows how many rings they could have won.
With the definition fresh in mind, it becomes apparent that the current Warriors truly embody “The Secret.” They play for each other, seemingly care little about stats or personal awards, though the true litmus test of their devotion to “The Secret,” will come this off season with Harrison Barnes free agency decision.
Klay Thompson on if he would ever want to branch out, lead his own team: "Nah. Winning is too much fun." https://t.co/Ob7a3jhXdf
— Chris Mannix (@SIChrisMannix) November 17, 2015
That said, the young Lakers are currently a prideful team especially when it comes to Julius Randle. Randle found success at every level of basketball — AAU, high school and college — so it’s only right that he expect the same coming into the NBA.
But for the Lakers to truly be successful, Randle must take a page out of Green’s book and realize that padding your stats or getting individual awards doesn’t guarantee a championship. In actuality, chasing individual records often hurts your championship aspirations (see Wilt Chamberlain).
Jordan Clarkson and D’Angelo Russell seem to have the right mindset, but as Draymond so confusingly explained Thursday night, he is the heartbeat of the Warriors, and it’s true. It’s been said before, but while Steph may be the MVP of the league, Draymond is the MVP of the Warriors.
Whut? 🙃 pic.twitter.com/RB7cAJmJdg
— Mutiple Sources (@ericdyee) January 15, 2016
The Lakers are currently in the perfect situation to channel their inner Golden State Warriors, and considering the amount of success that they’ve had in recent years, they’d be wise to start preaching ‘The Secret” now.
Next: Jordan Clarkson Could Tragically Be the Next Monta Ellis
The next few months will define the future of the Lakers organization for the next decade or so — whether or not they get a draft pick, who they select as their new coach, how they handle Jordan Clarkson and D’Angelo Russell — meaning they must choose their next moves carefully or risk shaming the proud organization even further.