Basketball Values

Bill Bradley’s book “Values of the Game” discuss the values installed in basketball players and how these values make basketball players better people in society. Bradley breaks down his belief that the values learned from basketball apply to everyday life and ultimately shape the player’s character. I agree with Bradley. Basketball athletes do learn great values from the game that should be applied to society. Passion, discipline, selflessness, respect, perspective, courage, leadership, responsibility, resilience and imagination are all great traits that all great player’s use in the game. Although all players possess theses great traits many players only use these characteristics as they apply to the game and do not apply them to everyday personal life.

Basketball players have a general passion for the game and begin playing for the pure joy and pleasure of the game. Being a professional basketball athlete is a dream come true for basketball players because it means they can earn money playing a sport they love. Basketball players dedicate lots of time to the sport because they are so passionate about it. If basketball players apply the same passion, pleasure and joy to life and the world as a whole they would have a unique outlook on life and would be able to make a huge impact on many lives.

To be a great basketball player you must have discipline. Professional athletes must discipline their bodies to stay in shape. Professional athletes must work hard and train hard. To be a successful basketball player you must be disciplined to show up to practices, eat the proper foods and continuously work on bettering your game. All successful players have discipline when it comes to the game but all players don’t have that same discipline when it comes to everyday personal life.

Basketball is a team sport. When playing team sports you must possess selflessness. To play basketball the team must show unity. To have unity each player in the team must demonstrate a high degree of selflessness. One good player on a basketball team cannot win the game alone. To win basketball games teams must play together as one. If one player on the team is selfish it will affect the entire team. A good team helps the team by helping someone else on the team and ultimately helping themselves.

Respect is a very important factor in sports. To be successful in any sport you must show respect. You must respect the game enough to prepare yourself for the game. You must respect your teammates, your coach, the referee, the fans and your opponent. You must show up on time for games and practices and respect the rules of the game and the rules of the league you are playing for. If you don’t have respect for the game you won’t be given respect and will not be able to be successful in basketball.

Perspective on yourself as a public figure is very important in basketball. As a basketball player you must always represent yourself as a role model. When playing basketball you must also show good sportsmanship. According to the book “Knowledge of one’s strengths and weaknesses remains a necessary but not sufficient step to success; acting on that knowledge requires perspective.”  When playing a basketball game a perspective on victory comes from knowing who is responsible for the victory. In basketball one player is never solely responsible for the victory.  

To play basketball you must have courage. When playing basketball you must take risk and be brave. In sport nothing is guaranteed. When playing basketball many times you will have to take the shot or make a play and put it all on the line out of courage. In basketball you give 100 percent for your team. In the reading “Sports in Society” by Jay Coakley, athletes are expected to over conform. Over conforming is also an act of deviant behavior. Athletes are expected to sacrifice their bodies and sometime their values for the good of the team. That leaves me with the question at what cost? And how far is too far? Is it the responsibility of the athlete to sacrifice his body for the team? What if it means taking steroids so he or she can perform better at games? Is it okay to cheat on your wife so you can earn the respect of your team? No, it is not okay. Athletes are often so dedicated to their teams that they place respect and responsibility of the team above everything else.

All good athletes are leaders. Leadership is very important in basketball as a coach or as a player. As a player or as a coach you want to bring out the best in your team and lead your team to the finals, the championship and ultimately to the playoffs. It is important to be a leader in basketball because it’s important to make a name for yourself. Many players lead during a game by virtue of their self confidence. The best player can lead by example, contributing more than anyone else to the effort of winning the game. The leader brings out the best in his/her teammates and convinces the team to outdo themselves. The team’s best player may not always be the leader but the one who is held in the greatest respect by the team.

Playing serious basketball is a responsibility. To play serious basketball you have a responsibility to show up to practices and show up to all games prepared to play the game. As a basketball player it is your responsibility to keep your body healthy and in shape. You have a responsibility to know the rules of the game and to follow the rules of the game. It is the responsibility of the player to be professional and ready to play the best game he/she can play and lead the team to victory.

All great athletes must have resilience. When playing basketball you will have many games. Some games you win some games you lose. It is important to understand that you win some you lose some but no matter what you must keep faith in yourself and your team, never allowing a defeat to crush you. To be a great basketball player you have to always try your best and know that your teammates tried their best and never place blame. In basketball injuries are part of the game but great players do not allow injury or any other defeat discourage them. A great player wins with a smile and loses with a smile knowing he did the best he can.

  Imagination is important in basketball. In basketball new ways of dunking and making layups are created due to the creativity of the players. Imagination brings individuality to basketball. With basketball players using their imagination and being creative it changes the game and makes the game more interesting season after season. All professional basketball players before going to the pros had to use their imagination to imagine them self playing in the NBA. If the players didn’t imagine themselves playing for the NBA they would have not worked so hard to make it to such an elite status.

It is clear that every professional and serious basketball player possess all the ten values described in Bradley’s “Values of the Game”. It is impossible to be a successful basketball player without possessing these values. Although all basketball players have these values they may not always apply them to life, society and their personal life. The way athletes feel about their team and basketball may not be a reflection of how they feel about society so they may not always express the same values in life as they do for the game.

 Many athletes show that they are not disciplined and have very little respect. Tiger Woods, Michael Jordon, Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal are all great dedicated athletes but have all been publicly displayed as cheating womanizers. Although these athletes show discipline, responsibility, selflessness and respect for the sport they love they don’t apply those same character traits to relationships and the women in their lives.

If teams stop following these ten characteristics how would that reshape the nature of the game? Would professional basketball exist if players were not passionate about the game? How could the game be played if the players didn’t have respect and courage for the game?  Athletes know that they have a responsibility to the game. If athletes didn’t show responsibility for the way they approach a game would the NBA still exist? Is it the competitive nature of the NBA that makes athletes follow these ten characteristics in sport?

If I could speak with Bradley I would ask if he believes all athletes apply these characteristics to everyday life. I would also ask Bradley what percent of professional athletes he believe apply these ten characteristics to their life and how often.  I know that if basketball players did use these ten characteristics in everyday life it would be very beneficial to society. If I met Bradley I would tell him we know athlete’s posses all these characteristics, therefore what would a coach have to do to ensure that athletes are continuously using them. I would also ask Bradley if he believe these ten values of the game only apply to professional athletes, professional athletes as well as student athletes or if these characteristics also apply to street basketball players that don’t play the game for a school team or professionally but just for recreational purposes.