The Game Changer

Tonight the Denver Nuggets take on the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference Finals. The Lakers are the favorites not only to win this series, but also have been picked to win the NBA title. Now, being from Northern California, my team is the Warriors, but since they sucked this year, I can't talk much sh*t about the Lakers even though I don't like them or their "fair weather" fans (with all due respect to true Laker fans, ones who've actually lived/are from SoCal, or been a fan since the Magic/Kareem era). I've always rooted for the underdog maybe because I am or at least always think of myself as that. It just makes you more hungry, more determined, more mentally tough.

Which brings me to a great article I read about Nuggets starting point guard Chauncey Billups. Billups, a 12 year veteran, spent his first 5 seasons in the league bouncing around to 6 different teams until finding a home and winning a championship ring with the Detroit Pistons. Now playing for his hometown Nuggets, he brings a veteran savvy and leadership that was cultivated through his past trials and tribulations. It's a long article, but well worth the read. Here's some "nuggets" of wisdom that I pulled from the article that can help us all:

Minnesota T-wolves teammate Sam Mitchell telling a young Billups: in order to lead he must learn to follow. He tells him he must be coachable, that he can't be a know-it-all. If you take care of the person to your right and the person to your left, the person who benefits most is the one in the middle.

(Nuggets coach George) Karl calls a meeting to introduce Chauncey, who tells his new teammates, "Look, I'm here to win. I ain't here to do a lot of talking. I'll walk the walk, and hopefully y'all be the same way, and we'll be on the same page."

(Nuggets talented, but inconsistent guard J.R.) Smith asks Chauncey why he only shot six times, and Chauncey tells him, "I read the game. I don't play for stats. I don't play for none of that no more. I play for the win." Smith's reaction: "Damn. Makes sense."

You can take your game, whether it be in sports, fitness and/or life, to the next level if you adopt a selfless attitude like Chauncey.