There's No "I" In Nowitzki

A funny thing happened on the way to the NBA championship title.  The less athletic and less talented team walked away with the Larry O'Brien Trophy.  Dallas Mavericks star Dirk Nowitzki and a supporting cast of past-their-prime players outplayed, outcompeted, and outclassed the overhyped and overconfident Lebron James and the Miami Heat.

     The win for the Mavs epitomized the adage that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, and that disciplined play, teamwork, and fundamentals will usually outlast showtime and showboating.  Or in this case, the self-proclaimed "King" James and "The Big Three".

     Beyond the on-court differences in strategy and personel between the two teams, what I found quite interesting was the post game press conferences afterward.  A few sample quotes:

     Nowitzki: "This is a win for team basketball.  This is a win for playing as a team on both ends of the floor.  For sharing and passing the ball.  We worked so hard and for so long.  The team had an unbelievable ride.  No one can take this away from us."

     James: "I was able to do things the last two series.  I won two more games than I did in '07.  And hopefully next time I get here I'll win two more games than I did in '11."
   
     "There's no 'I' in team" may be an overused cliche, but it's certainly a cliche that rings true time and time again, with Nowitzki and the Mavericks its latest example, and James and his egocentric personality the losing beneficiary of its opposite.  Whether his comments were made unconsciously or not, the number of times he speaks of "I" is quite telling.  Compare that to the perspective of Nowitzki and his use of the words "we" and "us". 

     Way too often in sports, from youth ages all the way up to the professional level, the "I" has replaced the "we".  Success it seems, is defined as much if not more by individual accomplishments and statistics than by games or championships won by the collective effort of the entire team.

     Recently I watched a proud parent of a high school lacrosse player congratulate his wide-smiling son after his team had just suffered an embarrassing loss.  The player and his father exchanged jubilant hi-fives because Junior had scored a couple of goals in the game.  That the team's success, or lack thereof on this day, should be the primary determinant of accomplishment was obviously lost on these two.

     When a player's individual stats, or his amount of playing time, or his recognition and name in the newspaper is as important or more important to that player than the team winning, then the whole concept of playing a team sport is reduced to a meaningless oxymoron.  I've even witnessed players (and parents) actually root for the failure of their own teammates with the hope it would mean more playing time or attention placed upon them.    

     Only when the "I", "me", and "my" are replaced with "we", "us", and "our", and not only in words but in philosophy, will success in a team sport truly be achieved.  And when substance overrides style, teamwork supercedes individualism, and wins trump stats, only then is when the team places itself in the best position to win.  Dirk Nowitzki understands that.  Lebron James, with his ever-so-telling "Chosen 1" and "King James" tattoos, does not.