The Leadership of Derek Fisher

"I'm used to having him in the locker room. I'm used to hearing his voice, saying things that he and I have talked about, in terms of the direction of the team and what the team needs to hear, and he vocalizes it. And I don't have that."

--Kobe Bryant, discussing the leadership of Derek Fisher that is missing in the Los Angeles Laker locker room.

Fisher was traded away from the Lakers in the mid-season. Fisher ended up with the Oklahoma City Thunder, who then beat the Lakers four games to one in the 2012 NBA Playoffs.

"Leadership. He says stuff every single day that helps us out and motivates us to want to go out there and compete."

--James Harden, Oklahoma City Thunder guard, who won the NBA Sixth Man award.

Could Derek Fisher be the difference between these two NBA playoff teams?

Excerpt from nytimes.com (5/20/2012).

Ray Lewis: The Team Player

"As a man, I said it earlier, not one play won or lost this game. Could you have put us in a position to keep playing, absolutely. But one play didn't win or lose the game. There is no one man who has ever lost a game. Don't you ever drop your head. We win as a team, we lose as a team. There is no 'Billy is the fault, Bill missed the kick.' It happens, move on, move on, as a man, because life doesn't stop."

--Ray Lewis, Baltimore Ravens' linebacker, telling the media what he will tell Billy Cundiff, who missed a game-tying field goal that allowed the New England Patriots to win the AFC Championship.