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The Highest Level: Steve Kerr on How to Win Game 7s, NFL Team Building Strategies, and Handling Superstar Athletes
Actionable insights on coaching, leadership, culture, and teams May 5, 2023 Howdy Y’all, This week’s Highest Level includes:
Let's go! EB Steve Kerr on How to Win a Game 7The Golden State Warriors’ performance in Game 7 on Sunday against the Sacramento Kings showed the character of a championship team in both how the Warriors performed under pressure and how they responded to a resounding loss in Game 6 on their home court. Steph Curry got the obvious headlines with his 50-point scoring outburst, but Steve Kerr’s comments after the game 7 win highlighted the championship DNA that’s been the hallmark of the Warriors’ dynasty the last decade. It takes a process-driven approach to win in those highly hostile and competitive environments consistently time after time. Steve Kerr on what it takes to win a game 7
“I think that it takes is: just taking the game possession by possession, which our guys did beautifully tonight. Not thinking about the outcome. Just thinking about the process. And repeating. And repeating. And repeating. And breathing during the timeouts, and staying locked in, and staying focused. And our guys did that. But they’ve learned to do that through a decade of these type of games.”
Steve Kerr on the most impressive thing about the Warriors’ dynasty “The most impressive thing to me…To do this for a decade - It’s incredible. The energy that it takes to fight off challengers year after year, and to have to prepare and win big games and doing it over and over again. It’s a reason why these guys are hall-of-famers and champions. This is not a one-year flash-in-the-pan. This is a decade that they’ve done it, and it’s incredible to watch.”
It’s so tough to be in those moments and have the ability to handle and perform under that amount of pressure, let alone experiencing as individuals and as a team for the first time. Sacramento had never been there before. The Warriors have built their legacy over the last decade off of those type of games. The mental approach and the readiness to be fully immersed in those moments of a critical game are what separated the Warriors in Game 7. Kerr’s comments above pick up at the 2:40 mark of his post-game press conference from Sunday. Tomlin, Belichick Value Familiarity in the DraftSucceeding at any professional level has very little to do with a person's talent and has much more to do with a person's development and their rate of maturity. So while drafting NFL players that come from similar programs in terms of playing and coaching styles will not guarantee a player's success at the next level, it certainly can reduce the uncertainty associated with drafting players because you are acquiring a player that already has some familiarity with the requirements to be successful at the next level. This is why I loved Steelers' head coach Mike Tomlin's answer in the post-draft press conference this past weekend on why Pittsburgh continues to go back and draft from specific programs they are familiar with, both in terms of the coaches that run those programs (something I've noticed Patriots' coach Bill Belichick has done over the years) and the type of players they can expect to get when they draft from those programs. Q: What is it about certain places that you’ve been back to before that makes you comfortable drafting from again? Mike Tomlin drafting from Wisconsin multiple times over the years “Sometimes a place like Wisconsin is a stylistic match. Always had a lot of resect for Jim Leonard, their former coordinator, and they do a lot of similar things that we do, so it makes it an easy eval, there is less speculation in terms of what they might be able to do in our system of football” Some joke that NFL can stand for "Not For Long" when it comes to the length of player's careers, but teams are on limited timelines when it comes to the job security of team executives and coaches, which directly influences the tolerance level certain organizations will have in waiting for talented players to develop into productive pros and how long to wait before a player understands how to be a successful athlete. Prioritizing players in the selection process that are great team fits, for culture and playing style, increases the chances those players 1) mature at a faster rate than others, and 2) continue to develop and improve throughout their pro careers, and 3) play a valuable role on the team. No More “Best Player Available” in NFL DraftPeter King's article on the NFL Draft this week was a great read about sitting in on the Las Vegas Raiders draft room, and he brought up an interesting point about how NFL teams are no longer using the strategy of "taking the best available player," which was a phase commonly thrown around in discussions within draft war rooms and post-draft press conferences. I've always felt this is a flawed philosophy to begin with. There are times when it makes sense to add a widely talented player to your team and figure out how to make it work, but my belief is that the draft is about team building, not collecting players. The best teams understand this and use their draft picks to create a more complete team, not simply adding players to the mix just because they were productive in college or are talented prospects. The purpose of the draft is to fill the holes on your team, which is highlighted by the discussion in the Dallas Cowboys' war room prior to making their first round selection. In the clip, Cowboys' owner Jerry Jones asks VP of player personnel Will McClay which player he prefers to draft. McClay states that while an offensive linemen would add to a position they already have depth at, the defensive player will start right away and fill a vital team need. We won't know if any of the players taken last weekend will develop into legitimate pro players for another two or three years, but by knowing their team identity is in alignment with their drafting strategies to build a team (and not just collecting talent), franchises can create small competitive advatages over the rest of the league that will show up down the line. "I Love You Enough to Allow you to Fail"Part of the above conversation on Jemele Hill's show provided some excellent insight into the coaching style that has helped South Carolina women's basketball head coach Dawn Staley ascend to the top of the college basketball game. Here are a few of my favorite pieces of leadership wisdom from this interview. On handling superstar athletes + knowing your players
"I treat them like people. There’s a relationship...They’re people, when it comes down to it. They want to try and get back to what it is like to be normal. And that’s the part that the coaches that are very successful in the NBA, or on any level, they know their players. They take the time to talk to them. They have lunch with them. They have dinner with them. They spend time [together]. And that’s what people want.
We get to the point to where you are having an almost emotional relationship. You almost have to. But nowadays it’s becoming harder nowadays because of NIL. It’s becoming more transactional because players are going to do things that will help them win as far as money. And it’s a real thing. I think it’s cool.”
On dealing with players + the importance of honest communication “Honest, real conversations. That’s how I talk to my players. I’m probably not the coach for everybody. If you can handle real truth and real conversations, you’re probably not going to like it but you respect it. .….I’m going to tell it like it is. That’s the only way I know.” On loving players enough to allow them to fail
“I tell them, ‘I love you enough to allow you to fail'. Because if you’re trying to get to the next level, you’re going to have those days. And if you can’t operate in that space, you’re not going to be at that next level. And that’s not just basketball, that’s anything. You’re going to have bad days that you have to fight through, because the competition is waiting. They are waiting for you to fail so they can swoop in to take your raise or take your place. And that’s what I try to prepare my players for." Thanks for reading and see you next time at the highest level. Dominate Today, Evan Find me on Twitter or my website. Thank you for subscribing to The Highest Level. If this newsletter was forwarded to you, you can sign up for the newsletter here. |
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The Highest Level Newsletter
by Evan Burk
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