Simply from a pure numbers standpoint, it’s easy to see how…of the 3 major U.S. sports…basketball has become the most individualistic.

Football has 22 different starting positions….throw in special teams and it’s even more.  Baseball has 10 different starting positions (except in the Natioanl League, with only 9).  Basketball has only 5 starting positions!!

Add in the fact that fans want someone to idolize, and the media is all about hyping ‘superstars’…..basketball too often slips down the slippery slope of an individual becoming bigger than the team.

Case in point:  the 2018 Cleveland Cavaliers.  They have on their team, arguably one of the top 5 players of all time in LaBron James.  I’m not an LBJ hater…..I think he’s an absolutely incredible athlete and player.  But, we sit here with 65% of the season having been played, and Cleveland has just traded a large part of their team and are basically attempting a mid-season start over.

Cleveland’s record is a respectable 31-22…..but that only puts them at 3rd in the conference.  Take into consideration that in December, they had a 13 game winning streak and that record seems a little misleading.  They appear from the outside to be a train wreck of disfunction.

To me, the Cavs are proving an important axiom in all team sports:

When an individual player becomes ‘bigger’ than the team, that team is doomed for failure.

I put ‘bigger’ in quotations because I’m not sure how to define it.  I think maybe I mean that the individual is drawing more attention for who he is rather than what he is doing in the field of play.  Think Johnny Manziel here….think Colin Kaepenick here….and, for different reasons, think LeBron James here.

A great player in no way spells doom for a basketball team.  Phil Jackson was too strong to let MJ become bigger than the team.  Pat Riley was too strong to let Magic become bigger than the team.  Bill Belicheck is too strong to let Tom Brady become bigger than the team.  One of the things I love about Chris Beard at Texas Tech…..whenever he is asked about one of his kids that has had a great game;  he gives credit to the kid, but quickly shifts attention back to the team by mentioning others that helped that kid have a great game.  Coaching and leadership brilliance.

A PLAYER THAT MAKES HIS TEAM GREAT IS MORE VALUABLE THAN A GREAT PLAYER