If you were fortunate enough to see the end of the NBA playoff game Wednesday between Miami and Indiana, you saw one of the greatest plays of all time. It is also one that exemplifies how you can help your company achieve greatness. You may have seen the highlight (Below is a link to the play), but with about two seconds left in overtime, the Miami Heat were down by one point. LeBron James got the ball, blew past the defender and scored a game-winning layup with no time left to give the Heat the win and a 1-0 lead in the series.
What you probably did not realize is that although LeBron made a great play, it would never have happened without Shane Battier, the Miami Heat player who in-bounded the ball. Battier recognized the defense and put the ball in the perfect space for LeBron to get it mid-stride and be able to make the play now shown millions of times throughout the world. Without Battier, the Heat would be down 1-0 in the series with home court advantage belonging to Indiana and people questioning the Heat’s ability to repeat as NBA Champions.
It is not a coincidence that Battier was responsible for such an important play and that the in-bound pass was not made by another player. Continue reading “The importance of the assist (or why it is good to be Shane Battier)”
