Teammate

The best part about a good basketball team is always your teammates. Like I talked about earlier on in my blog, good team chemistry will help make a better basketball team. Being a good teammate means much more than just one thing. It means trying your hardest not only for yourself, but for all of the people on your team. When you care about the game, and your team, they'll care about you. And in the end, it will benefit you overall, as a player, and as a teammate.

Dunking

I'm not going to lie, dunking is badass. But to be completely honest, you either have to have a hell of a vertical, or you have to be tall. Nothing is more legit, yet completely embarrassing, than having someone on the opposing team dunk on you. And if you can dunk, I give props to you because that is something that most of the population cannot do. Beside watching the occasional dunks on SportsCenter Top 10 Plays, the must watch is the Sprite Slam Dunk Contest. Each player brings their own move and style to the court and it is something you won't want to miss. The 2014 winner was John Wall with an incredible dunk. If you are interested in watching the dunk contest this past February, I encourage you to search it on YouTube. It'll be worth it.

Being Coachable

Every player has something they need to work on. And the purpose of having a coach is for this reason exactly. Your coach is someone who can help improve your game, but they are not going to want to help you do anything if you aren't coachable. This is a term used to define someone who can listen and try and take what they have been learned and put it to use on the court. When a player is taught a new skill or technique, they can deal with it in two ways: they can either take it and use it to benefit them, or they can let it go in one year and out the other. When a coach has a player that isn't coachable, they don't focus on that player anymore because with experience in the past, it seems worthless. And when that happens, as a player, you won't become any better than you started, which is the complete opposite of what you want. So make sure when a coach or a professional tells you something to work on, do it. Be coachable.

Teamwork

The one word everyone needs to remember when thinking of basketball, or any team sport for that matter, is teamwork. A team is not going to get anywhere or do anything productive if only one or two people are doing all of the work. A perfect balance of effort and cooperation needs to be found within the team to improve and succeed. When you look at college or NBA teams playing on the court, one thing that's definitely evident is whether or not the team has good chemistry. Having chemistry between your teammates is important because it creates a calm, yet energized atmosphere to play in. Personally, playing on a team with good chemistry was better than any other team I had played on before. This is because I am comfortable with everyone on the court. I trusted each one of my teammates to go just as hard as me and to play the game the same way with a unified mindset. Teamwork is more than just a word. Teamwork is the basic foundation of a good basketball team. Teamwork is success.

Assists

An assist is my absolute favorite thing in the game of basketball. It's not about you making a shot and driving to the basket on your own. It's about creating the perfect shot that is available on the floor. It doesn't have to be all about one person, and when an assist is made, it's because the person with the ball saw that someone else had an open shot and had confidence in their teammate that they would make it. I have always felt more comfortable giving the ball off to one of my teammates than keep it for myself. One of the great things about an assist is that it doesn't only have to happen in basketball; it can happen in anyone's every day life. Chris Paul from the Clippers is known for his assists, having a number of 6,069 assists in his 9 years of basketball in the NBA. He is even in a commercial for State Farm because of his assists, and acts as a twin brother who assists people with their insurance. An assist is an assist, whether it is basketball, or just a simple act of kindness.

Jordan vs. James

1. Michael Jordan and Lebron James. Over the past couple of years, the debate of whether or not Lebron has surpassed the greatness of Michael Jordan has been a popular one. Of course, Jordan played for more years, and with completely different competition, but you can make your own opinions. Personally, I believe that only the people who watched both Michael Jordan and Lebron James can give a reliable argument as to who is better and I will listen. If you do not have an opinion on this debate, maybe looking at some stat comparisons may influence your idea of the subject.
   Click on the link below from Land Of Basketball to catch a quick comparison of Michael Jordan and Lebron James over their course of time in the NBA.

http://www.landofbasketball.com/player_comparison/lebron_james_vs_michael_jordan.htm

Halftime

*Halftime* Short, hard breaths. Yelling. Re-group. Gatorade. Speech. More Gatorade. Focus. Draw plays. Break down. Run Out. Game time.

Halftime is every player's getaway. Whether you're playing a hell of a game and you need time to regroup, or you're completely out of it and you need to start over. Either way, halftime is beneficial... if you use it right. Every good athlete knows that the start of the 3rd quarter is the start of a new game. The second half can be a completely different story than the first because each team gets another chance to start over with warm legs and a new attitude. Go into halftime with one question: How will we win this game? And every single person on the team must know to give their absolute best effort, not only as an individual, but as a teammate, to finish the game off strong. And that is using halftime to your advantage.