In the spring of 2013, Ted talk featured Angela Lee Duckworth to talk about what leads to success in life. Duckworth conducted multiple surveys on multiple age groups. From there she would attempt to predict who will become successful and who would fail. Only one characteristic stood out in the more achieved group:Grit. Grit is the ability to stay determined and persevered for an extended amount of time in order to achieve long term goals. This leads us to the question: How does Grit affect today's NBA? In a recent study I have conducted, it has come to my attention Duckworth's theory applies to basketball as well. Players who are able to stay determined for a long periods of time fare better than those who don't. Please note that this will not always apply, as players who lack grit will sometimes become highly successful while players oozing with grit who see their careers derailed by a chain of difficult injuries(Penny Hardaway).The most notable example of this would be Kevin Durant and Michael Beasley.
Both were drafted because of astounding shot making abilities and one of a kind athleticism. The former is last years MVP and led his team to the Conference Finals last season, where the Thunder took the eventual champion to 6 games. The latter is an OK role player at best. So what factor differentiated between the success of these 2 ? both were former number 2 overall picks. Neither has ever suffered a serious injury. Both were given equal opportunities to prove themselves. Both had high expectations to begin with. What differentiated between these 2 is grit.Durant has stayed determined, even through tough playoff losses, to become the unstoppable offensive force he is today. According to Basketball-Reference.com, Durant has improved in at least one statistical category every year he has been in the league. Last year he averaged a mind-blowing 32.0 points per game to go along with 7.4 rebounds and 5.5 assists. this means that KD alone generated about 45 points per game for his team. Beasley, on the other hand, improved dramatically in each of his first three years in the league, only to suffer a huge downfall in each of the next three.
There are many forms of grit in basketball: The grit to be better than Michael Jordan(Kobe), the grit to be better than Lebron(Kevin Durant, the grit to be better than Kevin Durant(Lebron), and the grit to win championships( most notably Tim Duncan). All of these people have one thing in common: they have at least one finals appearance, an MVP award, and grit. Grit is mostly given from birth, although there have been basketball players who had suddenly become gritty. The best example of this is Piston's big man Andre Drummond. People had doubts about his long term motivation, and yet, after a semi succesful rookie season, Drummond broke out big time, averaging 13 points and 13 rebounds per game- establishing himself as a reasonable all star. In conclusion, with high grit and some luck, anyone can become a good basketball player.
Both were drafted because of astounding shot making abilities and one of a kind athleticism. The former is last years MVP and led his team to the Conference Finals last season, where the Thunder took the eventual champion to 6 games. The latter is an OK role player at best. So what factor differentiated between the success of these 2 ? both were former number 2 overall picks. Neither has ever suffered a serious injury. Both were given equal opportunities to prove themselves. Both had high expectations to begin with. What differentiated between these 2 is grit.Durant has stayed determined, even through tough playoff losses, to become the unstoppable offensive force he is today. According to Basketball-Reference.com, Durant has improved in at least one statistical category every year he has been in the league. Last year he averaged a mind-blowing 32.0 points per game to go along with 7.4 rebounds and 5.5 assists. this means that KD alone generated about 45 points per game for his team. Beasley, on the other hand, improved dramatically in each of his first three years in the league, only to suffer a huge downfall in each of the next three.
There are many forms of grit in basketball: The grit to be better than Michael Jordan(Kobe), the grit to be better than Lebron(Kevin Durant, the grit to be better than Kevin Durant(Lebron), and the grit to win championships( most notably Tim Duncan). All of these people have one thing in common: they have at least one finals appearance, an MVP award, and grit. Grit is mostly given from birth, although there have been basketball players who had suddenly become gritty. The best example of this is Piston's big man Andre Drummond. People had doubts about his long term motivation, and yet, after a semi succesful rookie season, Drummond broke out big time, averaging 13 points and 13 rebounds per game- establishing himself as a reasonable all star. In conclusion, with high grit and some luck, anyone can become a good basketball player.
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