Posted by Jeff Sack under NBA PLAYOFFS
Ubuntu is a South African word, it’s loose English translation is unity, but that barely scratches the surface of the meaning of the word. Ubuntu means sacrificing personal gains for the good of the whole. We have sayings that reflect the same thing in the USA, “United we stand, divided we fall“;? “We?must all hang together, or we will all hang separately.”? Ubuntu was a concept brought to the Boston Celtics by their coach Doc Rivers back at the beginning of training camp last Summer. He spent the entire preseason explaining it and instilled it into everything the Green Team did. In Rivers mind he now had three key weapons in Kevin Garnett,?Ray Allen, and the returning Paul Pierce?to bring back the lustre of the “Celtic Mystique.”? But unless his three stars bought into the concept of Ubuntu, it might be just the opposite with the team on a schedule for implosion.
The 1977-1978 Philadelphia 76ers may have been the most talented team ever assembled that did not win a NBA Championship. In fact they did not make it out of the Eastern Conference, losing in the Conference Finals to the Washington Bullets 4-2. But what a roster, George McGinnis, Henry Bibby, Doug Collins, Maurice Cheeks, Lloyd Free, Darryl “Dunkenstein” Dawkins, and of course the Doctor Julius Erving. The?knock on that team was there was just one ball, and everyone wanted it. Yes they had a virtual All-Star roster, but every player wanted to be “The Man.”
Let’s track the evolution of a NBA player. He starts out as the best player in the neighborhood, then the best in his junior league, eventually he becomes the best player on his high school team, is recruited by top colleges, and becomes the go to guy on his team. Mean while, he has the hottest girl friend, he is big man on campus, and people give him things. Is there any wonder that many players who are drafted into the NBA have a sense of entitlement, that they are owed something? Don’t blame the athlete, blame the system!
A few seasons ago when Smush Parker played his rookie season in the Association for the Cleveland Cavaliers, I sat down with him and had a long and deep discussion of “Street Ball Legends.” That was how Smush got his rep, which eventually led to his NBA career. Houston point guard Rafer Alston, was a former “Street Ball Legend”??getting his first recognition playing under the name of “Skip-To-My-Lu.” The best basketball players in the world, do not play in the NBA, or in Europe, or in the Far East. They play in South Central, Watts, Roxbury, MA., Bed-Stuy, Gary, Indiana. They don’t play in luxurious arenas, they play on the street, in the cold, with fingerless gloves. They play in front of crowds of tens, not thousands, and they don’t make a nickle.?Why aren’t they playing in the NBA, these men who can make cross court passes that would take your breath away? Why do these men who can make a slam dunk so incredible it makes most NBA players look like they?belong in a CYO League play on the streets? Because they can play the game of basketball, but they can’t play the game of life. They can’t deal with authority, can’t follow rules, can’t conform. They get waylaid by their pride, instead of concentrating on their mission.
When I saw the Boston Celtics play the Cleveland Cavaliers in the last preseason game before the season started, the thing that struck me most was how cohesive a?unit they were. It had looked like “The Elite Three” had been playing together their entire careers. That was just the first sign that this could be a special season for Boston. Many pundits, and NBA observers worried that The Elite Three would eventually start bickering, wanting more of the spotlight. What those folks failed to realize was all three of these players had enough personal recognition, they hungered for one thing, that Championship Ring.
Sunday’s game against the Atlanta Hawks was a perfect example of Ubuntu, there were no stand out performances, just a bunch of very good ones. The Boston Celtics, with Garnett, Allen, Pierce, along with help from guys like James Posey, Sam Cassell, Eddie House, Rajon Rondo, and Tony Allen have the talent to go all the way. If they keep following the concepts of Ubuntu, Boston Celtics fans may be raising a new banner on Opening Night of next season.
? Copyright 2008 thesackattack.com
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