Kevin Garnett: Unwavingly High Standards

One of the crucial personality and behavioral characteristics of peak performers is "unwaveringly high standards."

The Boston Celtics are the most storied and successful team in NBA history. Banners hang from the rafters in their new arena depicting their past glory and multiple championships.

In 2007, Boston Celtics went 24-58, easily missing the playoffs. Included in this horrible season was an 18-game losing streak.

One year later, the Celtics began the 2007-2008 season with a 30-4 record, a team record, and the fourth best start in NBA history. The season end with the Celtics taking the NBA championship home with them.

Danny Ainge, the Boston Celtics' general manager acquired Ray Allen from the Seattle Supersonics and eight-time NBA All-Star Kevin Garnett from the Minnesota Timberwolves. These acquisitions, designed to instantly turnaround and re-invent a stagnant franchise, have been celebrated for fast results and a completely different team climate.

The team appeared to have a renewed focus and a sense of pride not existent in recent years in Boston. What could be the reason? Many think it is Kevin Garnett. 

Kevin Garnett Getting Ready to Do Battle

"KG is unique in that regard. It's important to his game to get himself pumped up, to make sure when he steps on the court that it is the most important thing in his life for 48 minutes. He might be the best at it.

"Maybe it's a function of my age, but I kind of like it. Amusing isn't the right word, because that's too flippant. More like intriguing, or interesting. Any coach would love a player as focused as Kevin."

--San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich, on how Kevin Garnett gets himself ready for games. 

The Difference in the Boston Celtics:  KG's Leadership

"This is my seventh year in the NBA. I've been to the finals twice, and those teams were great. But they were not like this team. And the reason why is Kevin Garnett.

"The media perception about Garnett is real. When Kevin walks into the facility and the weight room, he jokes around and makes fun of guys. But then about 15 minutes before practice, it's all focus. It's all work."

"If he is not clear about something, we don't move on until we are all clear. He solves a lot of problems. I mean, I've played with good players. I played with Jason Kidd, and Kidd is an incredible gamer. But he was never as demanding of his teammates the way Kevin is. Not half as much. Not a quarter as much."

"The impact of one person can be immense. It's much larger than in any other sport. So when you add Kevin Garnett, the defensive intelligence he brings is huge. It's not just that he's adding 20 points and 10 rebounds a night. There are other guys who can get you 20 and 10 who are not the player that he is. He demands a different level of focus from everybody."

--Brian Scalabrine, veteran NBA forward who played on the 2006-2007 Celtic team.

Taken from PLAY Magazine, March 2008.

 
Can High Standards Affect A Team's Culture?:  The KG Effect

"The whole face of the Celtics turned around when the trade happened with this guy. Everyone talks about MVP, and they talk about numbers, but this guy has changed the whole culture around here."
--Paul Pierce, veteran Boston Celtic all-star.

from ESPN.com, 3/27/08

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Ubuntu

South African concept of selflessness, unity and teamwork

"When the team is elevated, the individual is elevated; when the team is diminished, the individual is diminished."

"The strength of a team is its players; the strength of the players is the team."

Ubuntu is an ethic or humanist philosophy focusing on people's allegiances and relations with each other. The word has its origin in the Bantu languages of Southern Africa. Ubuntu is seen as a traditional African concept.

Ubuntu was introduced to the Boston Celtics by head coach Doc Rivers. The Celtics have chanted "ubuntu" when breaking a huddle since the start of the 2007-2008 season. It proved to be successful as Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and veteran Celtic Paul Pierce blended their talents with the other teammates to win an NBA championship. The championship was an example of great individual talent yielding to the team concept.

"A person is a person through another person. I can't be all I can be unless you are all you can be.

"There's an amazing amount of hurt that goes with that. The only way you're going to win is that you've got to open yourself up to hurt. You've got to open yourself up and go for it. You may have to pass more, you may have to set an extra pick you may have to dive on the floor for a loose ball.

"You can't do it by yourself. Individuals don't win, teams win."

--Doc Rivers.

Excerpts from the New York Times and Wikipedia, 10/5/2008.

Boston Celtics' Rajon Rondo Plays Brilliantly

"I know we're all in this together, but it's great when he takes over like that.  He's the smartest point guard I've ever been around. He's a brilliant player like that."

--Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers, after Rajon Rondo, recorded 18 points, 17 rebounds (career high) and 20 assists in a come-from-behind overtime win over the New York Knicks on Sunday.

This was Rondo's fourth triple-double this season and the 17th of his career. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the last player to record a triple-double with at least 17 in each category was Magic Johnson, who had 24 points, 17 assists and 17 rebounds on April 18, 1989. The last player to exceed Rondo's performance in each category was Wilt Chamberlain, who had 22 points, 25 rebounds and 21 assists on Feb. 2, 1968.

"That's the Rondo we like to see, playing with all that energy," teammate Paul Pierce said. "He got the guys the ball in open spots; he did everything for us tonight. He rebounded, he passed, he got the clutch rebound there in overtime and got the layup. That's the Rondo I like to see."

Pierce also had a great game, scoring 34 points, including a 3-point basket with 4.9 seconds left in regulation.

Excerpts from ESPN.com (March 4, 2012).

The Dangers of Violating Chemistry Laws

"I hate to lose a teammate like [Kendrick] Perkins," Pierce said. "He meant so much. People don't understand chemistry is from the bus to the plane to the locker room, so it's definitely a blow. It depends on how the other guys make the adjustment."

--Paul Pierce, veteran Boston Celtic great.  

The Boston Celtics were held scoreless over the final six-plus minutes Thursday night by the Denver Nuggets who closed the game with a 16-0 run for an 89-75 win.

The Celtics suited up just nine players and had to fight through the emotions of losing Perkins, who was dealt to Oklahoma City for forward Jeff Green in the biggest of Boston's trio of trades Thursday.

"Tough day to play basketball," Kevin Garnett said. "Very tough day to play basketball, to even concentrate. Just being bluntly honest. You feel like you lost a family member today. Tough day."

"It was very emotional, especially for me being that I had a chance to see Perkins grow up from day one, fresh out of high school, coming in here and seeing the level he got to, a championship team," said Pierce. "It's definitely emotional. I had a chance to talk to him this afternoon a little bit, he was definitely hurt. The guys around this locker room were definitely hurt to see Perk go."

Pierce also said this is an example of how the business of basketball and ruthlessness of the NBA cuts both ways.

"It's the nature of the business," he said. "People thought LeBron James was cold for leaving Cleveland the way it is. This is an example of how it happens on the management end. You can't get mad at the players because it can happen to them unexpectedly, just like a player can go where he wants. It's just the nature of the beast."

The Eastern Conference-leading Celtics also mysteriously dealt reserve Nate Robinson to the Thunder and received Nenad Krstic, a future first-round draft pick and cash in the Perkins deal.

Earlier in the day, the Celtics acquired draft picks by sending forward Luke Harangody and rookie center Semih Erden to Cleveland and injured swingman Marquis Daniels to Sacramento.

Why would the Celtics do that to a team that was known for chemistry and had performed so well for the past four years, including one NBA championship?  Was it about money?  Or was it about making a serious run for the championship.  Time will tell.  

Excerpts from ESPN.com (February 24, 2011) 

Two Teams, One Championship Formula?

The Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics are both in the 2010 NBA finals...again. They are meeting in the finals for the 12th time in their long histories. They last met in 2008. The Lakers have been in three straight finals, while the Celtics have been in two of the last three years.

Perhaps they are there again for good reason. Perhaps it has something to do with their culture or their perspective on how to approach the game. Let's look at their championship mentalities.

Continuous Improvement Mentality

“We’re constantly thinking about what this team needs in order to win a championship.”

--Derek Fisher, Los Angeles Laker point guard, talking particularly about his long and close relationship with Laker teammate, Kobe Bryant.

A Championship Vision

“Listen, Kobe’s always been like, ‘Everybody’s in my way, I have goals, you’re either with me or not.’ From the start he had a visual of how he wanted his career to go, what he wanted to accomplish and how hard he was going to work to get it. I picked up on that early on, which is why I love the guy.”

“In reverse, as we’ve both aged, I think he respected the things I had to do to stay at a high level.”

The Celtics Stick to the Game Plan

“As players, we kind of fight a little bit,” Boston Celtics' guard Ray Allen said, discussing head coach Doc Rivers' leadership. “We need to do this, we need to do that. Doc would come into the locker room and say we’re not changing anything.”

Allen added, “He stuck to the script the whole time.”

“As a coach, I just believed that I saw what they did and what they had. We kept saying as a staff, it’s in us. We’ve got to try to get it back out of us.”

--Doc Rivers, Boston Celtics' head coach, on his trust in his team.

Reliance on Team Chemistry and Continuity

“The thing that we had more, if you look at the contenders, you look at Orlando, they changed their starting five. You look at Cleveland, they’ve got a different starting five. But the one constant Boston had as a contender, we have the same starting five that won a championship [in 2008].”

--Paul Pierce, Boston Celtics' star, who averaged 24.3 points per game in the conference finals against the Orlando Magic (including 31 points, 13 rebounds, and 5 assists in the clinching of Game Six).

Excerpts from The New York Times (May 29, 2010).

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Championship Playoff Mindset

Perhaps the Boston Celtics have something to teach businesses. Here are some interview statements from Paul Pierce, the Boston Celtic star who scored 28 points Tuesday night in a 95-92 win. The Celtics are trying to get back to the NBA Finals and win another championship as they did in 2008.

Understanding the Customer

The Boston Celtics know who their customer is.

"Our fans won't let us relax. We're going to try and close it out in four games."

--Paul Pierce, Boston Celtics, discussing the Celtic mindset after taking a 2-0 lead in the NBA Eastern Conference Finals.

Mindful of the Competition

The Celtics know that they can't relax even with a leg up on the competition.

"[I] just think our mindset was to be ready for the type of intensity they would bring after losing at home," Pierce said. "We know the Magic are a talented team and we won't take these two wins for granted."

Dealing with Complacency

The Celtics realize that there is a bigger prize to be sought.

"The feeling of the team right now is just focus," Pierce said. "[The] only thing we did was win two games."

Does your organization have the same championship mindset? Are you effectively dealing with focus, complacency, and your competition? Is your organization mentally ready?

For more on the Peak Performance System, click on The Handbook of Peak Performance.

Paul Pierce, Boston Celtics: Work Ethic Pays Off

“When you look at it, it was kind of nasty because you went to class all sweaty at the time. But, hey, that’s what you had to do back then to get to this point.

“It helped me get a work ethic and it helped me sacrifice. Who wants to wake up at 5:30 to go to the gym? I know nowadays I don’t. But when you’re a kid who had dreams and tried to develop a work ethic, those were the things that you wanted to do. Any chance you got you wanted to get in, and that’s pretty much where it all started.”

--Paul Pierce, NBA Boston Celtics' All-Star, discussing the development of his craft which started in Inglewood, California at the YMCA and Rogers Park Community Center. He often played from early morning until the gyms closed at 10 PM.