B0808

I am often asked what it’s like to coach in the NBA, and one of the first things I talk about is that you must deal in reality at this level. There is no time and, quite frankly, no tolerance for falsely building up your team or any player, because at this level the players know when you are telling the truth and when you are telling them what they want to hear.

I will always use Kevin Garnett as a great example for all young players in that in his first conversation with Doc Rivers he asked Doc to coach him. He asked Doc to correct him. He asked Doc to “call him out” if necessary. He wanted the truth. Sitting next to him on the bench, he will often ask one of the coaches “what do you see out there?” and he is referring not only to what our opponent is doing to us but also how he can improve his play when he gets back in there.

We deal with reality in a number of ways:

• We don’t mince words or names when we talk to our team. We may, in fact, name that player who isn’t sprinting back in defensive transition or who is over dribbling coming off of pick and rolls. We want the correction to be direct, honest, factual — but not demeaning.
• We use stats to tell the truth. We may tell the player who is over dribbling that on 3 possessions he took more than 8 dribbles; in 3 others he took 7 dribbles, emphasizing the point that we need ball movement, not dribbling. In this league, the more you dribble the more opportunity the defense has to load up their help.
• We will show players film edits of them in the areas that need improvement. We have found that showing players in this way is better than simply telling them. We feel that it is well worth the time spent on editing to ensure that the player sees and understands the area they need to improve or correct — and to make sure they understand how important this is to the player and to winning.


The other thing I have found with elite players I have worked with in High School, College, and the NBA is that great players want to hear the truth because they want to continue to improve, but also because they understand that being the best never stops. We must continuously work to improve, and the best way to improve is to know EXACTLY (the truth; the reality) what you need to work on. And if one of your players says he wants to be the best but pouts and shows an attitude when he is corrected or yelled at, you can tell him that the greatest players in the game continue to work to improve. They demand that we make them better!