Pat Summitt had this boss quote I’ve always loved: “Here’s how I’m going to beat you. I’m going to outwork you. That’s it. That’s all there is to it.”
It’s so clean a sentiment, so straightforward: You get out what you put in. Championship advice, from a coach whose Tennessee women’s basketball team won eight national titles.
But these days there’s another quote that’s rattling around in my head too: “Work smarter, not harder.”
There’s a whole cottage industry that’s sprouted up around it, prioritization in the spirit of productivity. Work smarter, study smarter, parent smarter … hoop smarter?
The NBA has bought in, which is why load management – or “rest,” or sometimes “injury management,” or whatever it is when uninjured players are inactive – has become such a ubiquitous part of the league’s ethos.
Pssst! It’s the devil on my right shoulder, interrupting. Working smarter really just means working less.
Hey, wait a minute! retorts the angel on my left. That’s not fair! This isn’t about slacking off. ‘Smarter’ means strategizing according to the scientific data, taking people’s health into account!
OK, sure, the guy with the pitchfork says. But what happened to pushing through, building endurance, having pride in your work?
You old codger, snarls the haloed one. You antiquated, backward-thinking dinosaur!
And their debate goes ’round, both of them scoring points until I can’t tell who’s actually the good guy or bad guy, let alone who’s winning.
But I know who’s losing: You, the fan.
While the NBA goes about its business of trying to predict and limit injury risk, your risk is rising: It’s more likely now that you’ll purchase a ticket to see one of the load-bearing stars around which the league has been built up only to wind up watching his understudy.
And those particularly delectable NBA matchups that make for appointment TV? For you, the viewer, maybe. There’s no guarantee the…
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