The Teachings of Success from LeBron James

The best basketball player in the world sets out to teach success to his hometown

Last night LeBron James helped his Cleveland Cavaliers team to a 118-111 victory against New Orleans to take Cleveland to 3-3 on the season so far. LeBron had a triple double of 32 points, had 12 rebounds and 10 assists in the game. It was a vintage James performance, where he dominated the game in his usual fashion. However prior to this game there have been serious questions about Cleveland, notably from James himself. In this article The Whitehouse Address will examine LeBron’s assessment of his Cavs team and the lessons he needs to teach his players in order to win a championship.

In July 2014 LeBron James, one of the greatest basketball players in the history of the game made the decision to leave Miami and return back to Cleveland. It sent shockwaves across the game and America as a whole. After winning two championships and getting to four straight finals with Miami it was seen as a surprise that he should choose to return to the Cavs, especially after deciding to leave Cleveland in 2010 to join Miami. Was his not interested in seeking to match Kobe's fix or Jordan's six rings? 

"The Decision" was deemed a betrayal by his home state team and his reputation appeared tarnished with Cavalier fans. Yes success was important for LeBron yet his decision to return was in part due to a personal responsibility to give something back to the fans and state where he was born and grew up.

As he says, "My relationship with Northeast Ohio is bigger than basketball," James told SI.com."I didn't realize that four years ago. I do now. Before anyone ever cared where I would play basketball, I was a kid from Northeast Ohio. It's where I walked. It's where I ran. It's where I cried. It's where I bled. It holds a special place in my heart. People there have seen me grow up. I sometimes feel like I'm their son. Their passion can be overwhelming. But it drives me. I want to give them hope when I can. I want to inspire them when I can."

Winning a championship for his home town state was deemed of greater importance than winning another somewhere else. He wanted to give something back to the place he was given his opportunity. In that alone one has to commend and applaud James' decision. 

Born in Akron, Ohio LeBron was raised by his mother, who was just 16 years old when she had him. It was not an easy upbringing and they would move a lot as he mother sought work. Basketball was James’ release and during his teens he would become a national sensation. Playing for St Vincent-St Mary High School LeBron, along with his friends (who had all decided to go to the same high school to play together) would become national news with LeBron in particular generating national coverage, particualry from ESPN where he was labelled "the best high school player in America" at that time. 

For many young teenagers the attention and fame could be all too much. Yet LeBron seemed comfortable with it, seemed at ease with what his talent brought him. In the documentary film “More Than a Game” we see the pathway LeBron and his teammates took to become household names, we see the difficulties and also extreme bond of LeBron and his mother, we see the importance of the team and friendship, the sense of family and role of the coach in helping young players develop and improve. All those lessons as a teenager can be seen in the man James is today and the lessons he is seeking to help his new teammates in Cleveland.

On a mission to educate

As a young player in the NBA James was exciting, creative and flash. He loved the attention, revelled in it and entertained the crowd. He was a perfect showman. However his time in Miami matured him as a player. He became more focused, experience made him wiser and the player now see is perhaps the most complete player in NBA history. His return to Cleveland signifies his maturity and respect to his home state, appreciating his role transcends basketball, he is a beacon of hope for Ohio. Yet his maturity has helped him understand what his role as a leader truly requires. On his announcement back to Cleveland LeBron made this comment,

"My patience will get tested. I know that. I'm going into a situation with a young team and a new coach. I will be the old head. But I get a thrill out of bringing a group together and helping them reach a place they didn't know they could go. I see myself as a mentor now and I'm excited to lead some of these talented young guys."

And test it they have. LeBron has been proven right regarding the team’s naivety in their play, in their approach to the game mentally. And with a new coach in David Blatt, who has never coached in the NBA before, it does appear that Cleveland need LeBron not just as their star player, but as their leader and perhaps coach too. This will be one of the most intriguing stories in sports this year, the world’s best player leading and educating his team to succeed. 

Cleveland on paper have the talents in James, Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving to be serious contenders to win the NBA championship this year. However, there are problems with the team at this time, an issue LeBron has made his mission to fix. And LeBron appears to be taking it on himself to be the Jordan and Jackson figure. 

As he says; “There’s been a lot of losing basketball around here for a few years,” James said. “A lot of guys who are going to help us ultimately win haven’t played a lot of meaningful games in our league. When we get to that point where every possession matters, no possessions off … we have to share the ball, we have to move the ball, we’ve got to be a team and be unselfish and we’ll be a better team.”

Now this is in near complete contrast to the stories of Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant, previous greats of their generation. In both cases their success came from the methods and philosophy of Phil Jackson and his ability to work the famed ‘triangle offence’ as well as bring a group together and mould them into a team. LeBron is star player, coach and guru all in one.

And his lessons and teachings are impressive also. In the game against Portland where Cleveland lost 101-82 LeBron didn’t score a single point in the second half.  He posted just eleven points for the game — his lowest tally since December 2008. After the game his comments suggested his performance was not about him, but more a desire to see teammates take more personal accountability after several seasons of indifferent performances.

His comments were fascinating in the scope of coach development. Instead of giving them the answers, of helping them out and perhaps taking too much on himself, he sought to take the approach of education. His performance was a lesson to Kyrie Irving and Dion Waiters to lift their games, to learn how to win. He spoke of this as his ‘mission’ believing that these ‘lessons’ early on in the season will lead to success later in the post-season.

“My mission is not a one-game thing. We have to do multiple things in order to win. We got to share the ball. We got to play defence. We got to sacrifice in order to ultimately win. And obviously when you’re going through the process, it’s not the best part of the process, but I’m looking at the end of the tunnel.”

His time in Miami had taught him the importance of team work to produce success. Yet it was more about what he and the team offered on the defensive end which helped bring two championships to South Florida. Yes they had great offensive weapons but they were tenacious and aggressive defensive. His goal now is to educate and bring out the best of the players in Cleveland to produce a cohesive and strong team.

 “It’s going to be a process. I keep on harping on that word, but it’s the truth. I’ve been there before and understand it. But you do have to go through it even though you don’t like to go through it.

Now there were many who were sceptical of James’ approach in the Portland game. They believed that he needed to be the key figure to help bring the best out of the other players. But this approach isn’t always conducive to success. Yes individual performances may win games, but it is teamwork which wins championships. 

What is happening in Cleveland is in contrast to the stories of Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant, who were the previous greats of their generation. In both cases their success came from the methods and philosophy of Phil Jackson and his ability to work the famed ‘triangle offence’ as well as bring a group together and mould them into a team. Yes Jordan was a great player before Jackson arrived in Chicago, but the Bulls weren't a great team until Jordan understood the teachings of Jackson in the value in playing for the team and working as a team. As Jackson said to him in one of their first meetings; “the real mark of a star is how much better he makes his teammates”.

Yes Jordan was the greatest player to play the game yet Jackson could not rely just on him to succeed. “A great player can only do so much on his own – no matter how breathtaking his one-on-one moves. If he is out of sync psychologically with everyone else, the team will never achieve the harmony needed to win a championship.” 

This eencapsulatedJackson’s ideas on the game; the ideas of selflessness, sacrificing yourself for the team. For Jackson “At the heart of my vision was the selfless ideal of teamwork. More than anything I wanted to build a team that would blend individual talent with a heightened group consciousness.” And in Jackson’s opinion “No team understood better than the championship Chicago Bulls that selflessness is the soul of teamwork.”  

Is it possible that LeBron is seeking to educate his team on these principles of teamwork and selflessness in the same way Jackson did with the Bulls and Lakers? As he says, ‘bad habits’ have been allowed to creep in to the Cavs game, and by this he means selfish play, not willing to work as a team, and an overall failure to understand the key principles of success. 

LeBron has taken it upon himself to change the mentality of the team and produce a winning team. The incredible part about it is that this is usually the role of the coach. So it David Blatt pointless? Not entirely. He should be delighted to have the best player in the NBA in his team and also pleased that James ‘understands’ the value of teamwork.

The key to success is teamwork and defence

There are many similarities with basketball to football, or ‘soccer’, more so than American Football and other US sports. It is probably why basketball appeals to myself as a coach because the principles of both are similar. The key lesson is that players have dual responsibilities in terms of offence and defence. And in the modern game of both sports players must be adept and willing to perform on both sides of the ball, there are no luxury players allowed anymore. 

Therefore players must be tuned in, focused and willing to work, especially defensively, where many switch off and lose concentration. History has taught us that the key to success is in a strong defence and those teams, coaches and players who neglect this part of the game, believing that a strong attack, or talented individuals will bring trophies are very much mistaken. Team cohesion, team defending and selflessness have all been proven to be the formula for success. 

LeBron James knows that and his job is to educate his teammates on what success requires; it’s hard work, sacrifice and togetherness. It's not easy, yet everything work having is hard, otherwise everyone would be able to achieve it. As Bill Cartwright said, “Most teams have guys who want to win but aren’t willing to do what it takes. What it takes is to give yourself over to the team and play your part. That may not always make you happy, but you’ve got to do it. Because when you do, that’s when you win.” 

The Whitehouse Address @The_W_Address