Mitch Johnson shares the biggest lesson he learned from Gregg Popovich.
"How important people and relationships are."
"He understands people and relationships and the significance of every moment and every touch point with every person."
The best leaders and coaches invest in people.
Then he explained what investing in people really looks like:
"That can be having to yell and hold someone accountable. And that can be to put your arm around someone's shoulder and love 'em."
The best leaders combine high standards with high support.
"He did it better than anybody, I think, that's ever walked the sidelines."
"I will attempt to do it my way in whatever that looks like moving forward."
Great leadership isn't one style. It's knowing your people well enough to give them what they need.
Invest in the relationships. Care about people, hold them to their potential, and lead in your style.
(🎥 KENS5 - San Antonio)
I know 3 D1 Head Mens Basketball Coaches and 1 Major Program Assistant that were all NAIA Head Coaches less than 5-6 years ago.
Those same coaches would get ignored left and right by recruits and coaches then….but now everyone wants to be their friend and “has a player for them”.
Don’t ignore ANY coach because you simply never know what it can lead to.
there is no secret recipe. it really is about showing up every single day no matter what with your actions aimed at a specific goal. you can't break someone with patience and purpose.
Cavs Locker Room:
Kenny Atkinson:
“I was gonna do this whether we won or whether we lost. We turn to you [Donovan Mitchell]. Not just your on court but your leadership. Your positivity when things are not going great…we never celebrate you in these things…you don’t want the praise but tonight, you deserve the praise. You’re going home & you deserve this more than everybody. Everybody played great.”
Donovan Mitchell:
“Enjoy it. We didn’t just come here just to do this…enjoy it & we go from there.”
April 2013: a Florida law student asks to meet at the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament.
May 2026: Senior VP of Basketball Operations for the Chicago Bulls.
Congrats Stephen, you earned this. Couldn't be happier for you.
Help others. It’s an investment
Some will not appreciate it and will prove they’re rats
But it’s a numbers game.The more you help others, the more friends you’ll have.
More friends, stronger social circle, more opportunities
Simple reality.
If you are wanting to expand your understanding of the game. Jump down these rabbit holes. 👇🏼
Tuomas Iiaslo (NBA)
Pablo Laso
Pedro Martinez
Saras Jasikevicius
Zeliko Obradovic ( 🐐)
Ergin Ataman
Ettore Messina
Georgios Bartzokas
The innovation coming from across the pond never ceases to amaze me.
Here are the best and worst archetype pairings in college basketball over the last 3 seasons. The biggest takeaway?Complimentary players win and redundant creators lose.