What the NBA Playoffs Can Teach Us about Versatility
Two nights ago, the Cleveland Cavaliers finished a historic series with a victory over the Golden State Warriors. There are many articles that have written about how it happened, and the what if scenarios… but at the end of the day it happened, and one of the biggest arguments for how it happened comes down to versatility.
Looking at this NBA playoffs, you saw Kevin Durant who plays the Small Forward position most often, switch to the Power Forward because the Thunder were best served with more length and play making on the court. It’s the exact same reason that LeBron played significant minutes at Power Forward as well. Both players are considered in the top 5 in the NBA, and while it has so much to do with their ability to make plays, I believe it has even more to do with their versatility. Chris Paul is arguably the best traditional Point Guard in the game right now… but he can’t guard a Forward. Steph Curry is the greatest shooter we have ever seen, but he has no business playing defense against the different forwards in the NBA. Then there are people like LeBron who plays impeccable offense and defense, and can play any position on the court. There is a reason that he is the greatest player of this generation… even if he didn’t win the MVP this year.
All of this to say, versatility is becoming such a key aspect in every aspect of our lives. From sports to business, versatility is one of the greatest assets that one can have. I look at it from the lens of a startup, especially after a conversation I had with my brother last night. Every person in a company needs to see the whole picture. Just looking at my own path- as a founder of a three person startup I’ve needed to sell, quality check, raise money, and show product vision, and as a project manager at FedEx, I needed to know what the overall purpose of any given project was so I could have a better understanding of what we were actually trying to implement and why. In both situations, decisions should be dictated based on the grand vision, and the more skills and tools you have at your disposal the more prepared you are to be the piece that tilts the organization to success instead of failure.
The world is changing more and more every day. From autonomous cars to machine learning to how the game of basketball is played… we are aiming at a constantly moving target, and we need to stay ahead of the curve. The best way to stay ahead is constantly be learning and improving in many different ways so when the time comes to play D on the best shooter of all time… you won’t fall down, but instead you’ll be the one holding the trophy at the end of the game.
