The Celtics way
They say inspiration can come from anywhere. And indeed, it can. Because today, I’m inspired by the Boston Celtics.
In 2008, I watched Paul Pierce, and the Boston Celtics beat the late, great Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers to secure the Celtics’ 17th championship trophy.
I became a Celtics fan during that playoff run. Since then, I’ve watched the team fall short, time and again, in their attempts to win their 18th championship trophy. With time, one starts to lose hope.
But this year, this year feels different.
And that feeling has nothing to do with the fact that the Celtics just beat the reigning champions to book their ticket to the Eastern Conference Finals.
It also has nothing to do with the fact that the team has two of the best young forwards in the NBA, plus the current defensive player of the year. Or that the team’s new, first-time head coach is Nigerian (and you know how incredibly brilliant Nigerians can be.)
Nothing to do with that.
It feels different because, although the team is currently one of four finalists to win the trophy this year, they were one of the most disappointing teams five months ago. Many had written the team off, and others called for the coach to be fired.
But at the turn of the new year, the team dug deeper and reshuffled its roster by bringing back former players who understood the culture that the organization had been trying to set. They learned that although it’s important to start well, it’s vital to persist through four quarters of a game and close games out the right way.
Most importantly, they established their identity as a defensive team after figuring out that by weakening the opponent’s point of attack, you could deflate and knock them off as they try to find their balance.
These five-month-old changes have seen this team get back to being a contender.
So as I look ahead to the next year of my life, I’m inspired by the resilience, introspection, resolve, and fearlessness displayed by a basketball team. And I’m reminded of the value of digging deeper, surrounding oneself with the right people, finishing well, and striking while the iron is hot.
Most importantly, I’m reminded that the long game matters, and everything that I aspire to do (and be) depends on what happens in the middle.
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