11 January 2023

Word Count: 709

                                            Being a Leader in Basketball

        Leaders are the best basketball players which are mentally though. Basketball leaders are all those who have the most experience and set a good example for their teammates.

        The Website, “Four Values of Great Leaders in Basketball and Business” talked about 4 key elements on being a good leader in basketball. These are being

Accountable. Good leaders hold themselves and their team accountable.

Encourage Self-Motivation. On a sports team, players are usually motivated by their own internal desire to win. Sometimes when your teammates are sad it's the leader's goal to encourage and motivate them for the match.

Promoting Good Work Ethic. Leaders work the hardest and make their team work hard too. If a leader's lazy, the entire team would be lazy.

Be Flexible. Deciding fast and adapting is a key skill in basketball. When things go wrong, making new strategies is a big advantage.

I strongly agree with these skills, in my 7-year and ongoing basketball career I have witnessed and implemented the skills written on the website.

The other website, "Five ways to show leadership on the court.” talked about being a leader in a match, it noted 5 key topics which are,

1) Mental Toughness, how do you react when things get difficult? When you are down by 20 in a finals match. A leader should always encourage his teammates to be better. A leader never quits, he always plays until the end. When his or her teammates are sad, he should do motivating acts. A leader should never fall. If he or she falls the whole team falls.

2) Don't Take Your Opponent Lightly. Always give your best because if you don’t take your opponent seriously, they might shock you with their skills and maybe beat you. A Leader is always serious and doesn’t take actions lightly.

3) Responding To an Injury. When you or your teammates get injured, always visit them. This shows connection with your teammates, making you play better and more skillfully together.

4) Taking The Blame. If something happened because of you. The fact that you are the leader, means you should take responsibility for your actions. You shouldn’t complain about it.

5) Thanking Your Teammates. If your teammates hate you, they won't see you as a leader. They won't pass to you in the game, and that leads to you being a bad captain. Making good connections with your teammates is a key thing to being a better leader.

(Currah).

In the hundreds of games, I have been through, controlling your emotions is the most important thing to have as a leader. A leader is like a person who Is in charge of everything. If he collapses, everything breaks down. He is like the energy source of a town.

If we want to give an example of a leader in basketball, Kobe Bryant is a perfect example.

Kobe Bean Bryant (August 23, 1978 – January 26, 2020) was an American professional basketball player. As a shooting guard, he spent his entire 20-year career with the Los Angeles Lakers in the National Basketball Association (NBA) (“Kobe Bryant”).

Widely regarded as one of the greatest basketball players and scorers of all time. He was a great leader. He was known as very hardworking. He wouldn’t go to parties and would always be a perfect example for his teammates. He would shout at his teammates for not working as hard as him and sometimes fight with them. He wouldn’t pass to the lazy teammates and would rather play all by himself. He would push his teammates to work harder (“Kobe Bryant”).

In summary, Kobe was a fantastic leader. He did all the things the 2 websites mentioned. On the court he didn’t have any feelings, He would just be eager to dominate the game and wreck everyone else. He would come up super clutch in the final minutes. He wouldn’t understand why people went to parties instead of going to the gym; his mindset was just different. This is what we call a leader in basketball.

Overall, being a leader takes much more than just working more than others. It has psychological requirements too and it isn't easy. Being a leader is great, but it is hard, that’s why everyone isn’t a leader.

Works Citied

Currah, Brett. “Five Ways to Show Leadership on the Court - PGC Basketball.” Five Ways to Show Leadership on the Court, PGC Basketball, 28 Mar. 2018, pgcbasketball.com/blog/five-ways-show-leadership-court/.

“Four Values of Great Leaders in Basketball and Business.” Villanovau.com, Villanova University, 18 Feb. 2020, villanovau.com/resources/leadership/basketball-and-leadership/.

“Kobe Bryant.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 11 Jan. 2023, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kobe_Bryant.