It was a memorable conversation several years ago at a Team USA training camp when NBA superstar Lebron James gave me his definition of Excellence. It was obvious the subject was meaningful to him, and recently San Antonio Spurs head coach Greg Popovich shared with reporters his appreciation of Lebron’s “commitment to Excellence.” –By Brian Hurlburt, Host, Magnifying Excellence Podcast.
Popovich is a 5-time NBA champion head coach and knows Excellence when he sees it. ‘Pop’ shared the following with USA Today writer Mark Medina:
“It’s a tribute to both his intelligence level and his tenacity, his character and his commitment to excellence. When you combine those things, you get what we see in LeBron James after all these years. He looks pretty much like when he first came into the league. He deserves a lot of credit for being the consummate professional, using every technique that he can and being on the cutting edge of things. His mental state along with his physical state really makes him very special. Probably more than anybody that has played the game.”
As for James’ definition, this is how he described Excellence:
“Excellence can mean a lot of things: there can be an excellent play, an excellent person, or an excellent team. It means that the team or player you are watching is making you feel like what you are seeing isn’t true because it is so good. Witnessing excellence is like you are watching something that is beyond this earth and from a different planet.”
It’s safe to say that witnessing James play basketball is like watching something that is beyond this earth.
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