When I heard people talk about our championship team this past summer I almost always heard “you guys were so talented.” And we did have talent. But if physical talent alone were the only ingredient to winning a championship then we could all name a number of teams that should have won one at all different levels.

I would never argue that we had talent, and physical talent at that. What truly separated us from the rest, though, was that we also had mental talent. Physical talent alone will win regular season games, but you need more than that to win championships.

We had the mental talent that allowed us to understand and carry out a game plan. We had the mental talent to be able to maintain our focus through even the most difficult times of the long NBA season. We had the mental talent to enable us to hold each other accountable on and off the court and not mistake that for a teammate getting on another. We had the mental talent to understand that the coaches were coaching and not criticizing in their comments to players. We had the mental talent to see what went wrong in a game and work to make sure it didn’t happen the next time out. We had the mental talent to admit that we weren’t playing well and that a sub should come in for a starter. We had the mental talent to understand that playing defense every possession every night was going to win us games. And, most important, we had the mental talent to worry only about getting the win — not about who got the glory!

I believe that physical talent wins games but physical talent plus mental talent wins championships. We were like every other team in the nation in that things did not run smoothly the entire season. Where we differed is that we had the mental capacity and strength to fight through and overcome the many obstacles that face a team in its journey to win a title. We proved that there is more to success than running, jumping, and dunking.

In the workout camp I ran with Nike and Kobe, he talked to the players about how much he watches games on TV and looks at film. It may be in his living room at home or at the practice facility. His point was that he learns from watching. It gives him an advantage over those players who don’t watch film.

One of the most interesting statements he made was that he sometimes picks up a move from another player he is watching on TV, and it doesn’t matter what level that player is. If it is a move he can put into his game that will make him a better player, then he will work on it.

This is his process for “working on it”:

• run the move over and over and over again until he feels he has it
• do it in slow motion right there in his living room
• execute the move right there as many times as he needs to
• go to the gym the next day and work on it by himself, going as slowly as he needs to so that he executes it properly
• continue to work on it, speeding up until he can do it at game speed on the practice floor
• do it against an opponent (another player, coach, etc)

The lesson here is that he is always open and willing to learn. I have found that to be a characteristic of the great players. They want to know anything that will give them an edge, because “great” isn’t a one-time thing. It takes work to stay great.

The next lesson is that he spends the time needed (no matter how much) to master something new. He invests time in his improvement.

Just as I wished that all players could have seen Ray Allen and Mike Miller in the gym 3 hours before the game (see November 25, 2008 post), I wish all players could observe one of the great players of all time, Kobe Bryant, improving his game and understanding that no one in this game has “arrived.”

A few summers ago I was working with Kobe Bryant, teaching a group of players about the game and about working out. Part of the session was “how to watch film on yourself and your opponent.” During the session Kobe brought up the process he goes through during a game with respect to how the defender is guarding him.

Kobe told the players that he “logs the action,” that is, he keeps a close mental log of what his defender is doing on the different sets the Lakers run and the different cuts he makes. He said if you are counted on to score, that also means the opponent’s defensive focus will be on limiting your production. He said it’s important that players know the opponent’s mindset even before the opening tip.

Once players understand this concept of the opponent’s preparation, they then need to pay close attention to the opponent’s game plan, as that will give them their game plan for the night. The only way to accomplish this is to focus on how the opponents are defending you. Kobe keeps track of this early in the game and may not take advantage of it until later in the game.

Kobe watches a lot of film of how different teams and players defend him. He prepares as much as he can before the game then makes adjustments during the game based on his log. What players need to understand is that Kobe’s preparation is a never-ending process. The great ones — like Kobe — think the game and understand it’s not just the coach that has to prepare for an opponent and make adjustments during the game.

Where “logging the action” most notably comes into play is with your scorers, post men and best players. They are the ones who have to make the most adjustments during the game. They are also the ones that need to put in the extra preparation knowing that the opponent is spending their time scheming to stop them.

In my next post I will discuss the importance of the point guard position and how it relates to “logging the game”. After that, I will discuss the importance of film watching to other aspects of Kobe’s game based on the things he said during the film sessions with the players.

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As I read more and more about how coaches teach shooting, I keep coming back to the same thought — keep my teaching as simple and understandable as possible. Shooting is such a difficult fundamental to master that many coaches are so technical in their teaching that it actually confuses the player.

First and foremost, the player must understand that mastering a shot takes a tremendous amount of repetition. Repetition alone is not enough, though; it has to be “perfect form repetition”. It has to be a daily process of taking hundreds and hundreds of shots. Ray Allen is one of the best shooters in the game today and he comes out every day and takes hundreds of shots either before or after practice — sometimes both. Kevin Garnett is fanatical about his daily routine and will not miss a day!

It’s no secret that the best shooters in the NBA are also the ones who work on their shots the most. Reggie Miller was always out there two or three hours before every game, perfecting his shot. Ray Allen is on the floor three hours before every game we play working on his shot. He actually works at such a game-like speed that he sweats nearly as much in his pre-game routine as many players do in a game!

Some of the key teaching points I use with our players:

• take “game shots from game spots at game speed”
• be “ready on the catch” – knees bent; feet ready; hands ready
• have “10 toes to the rim” – if you have 10 toes to the rim you will be squared up
• keep “feet under shoulders” – gives us balance
• remember that “the quality of your feet determines the quality of your shot” – footwork is so important to balance, and balance is so important to a quality shot
• have “perfect follow through”—we feel there are three ways to follow through (the first two are wrong and often lead to a missed shot): (1) straight up to the ceiling – forces shot to be short (2) straight at the rim – forces a short “no arc” shot (3) a follow through half way between both – up and over the front rim so that the shooting elbow ends up above eye level
• have “perfect feet – perfect follow through” – I am constantly repeating this to our players; we feel that the beginning of the shot (the feet) and the end of the shot (the follow through) are the most important parts of the shot; I will discuss the elbow in future blog posts as I know that many feel this is also important

As we begin our training camp with the Boston Celtics we know that one of our greatest strengths from last season, DISCIPLINE, must be carried over to this season. If you were to analyze any Championship team you would find that a big part of its DNA is discipline.

I see discipline as the bridge between goals and accomplishment. The basketball season is a long, long season. We were together for 287 days in 2007-08. Without individual discipline coupled with team discipline, we could never have accomplished our goal of winning the NBA Championship.

Discipline takes on many forms depending on the player: from Ray Allen arriving at the game site 3 hours before tip off so he can go through his shooting preparations before anyone else on either team is in there (and I will tell you this was the case every night because I was right there with him), to Rajon Rondo making a minimum of 100 shots before each game so that he develops not only good form on his shot but also the workout discipline needed on a daily basis to become an improved shooter (we estimated that he made almost 12,000 shots total before all of the games combined last year — and 12,000 shots if done with fundamental form can improve your shot, to Kevin Garnett working on some part of his game just about every one of those 287 days (he is a very big believer in fundamentals and repetition). And this doesn’t even take into account a Paul Pierce working on the treadmill many days whether we are practicing or not.

There were a number of ingredients to our Championship run and without a doubt our discipline was one of the key ingredients. If anyone out there is looking to become number one in their field, discipline must be a part of your everyday existence!…Coach E

I know there are many blogs out there. There are some great ones, and there are some that just don’t offer much real information. So what will you find in Coach E’s Blog? Relevant, practical thoughts and information that can have a real impact on your team, your philosophy, and even your own personal motivation.

I want to reach as many coaches and others interested in the game as possible and share what I have learned through the opportunities and good fortunes the game of basketball has given me…from discussions with top coaches around the world, my journey through the collegiate and NBA ranks, and my work with the best of the best from high school, college, and professional levels. I want to share as much as I can for as long as I can.

– Coach E