Do They Train to Play or Train to Win?
The biggest news of the summer in the NBA was LeBron James heading to the Philadelphia 76ers to finish out his career—a last-ditch effort to win another NBA Championship.
LeBron James has played 23 seasons in the NBA, the most by any player in the history of the league. Across all 23 of those seasons, as long as he has been healthy, he has lived with the absolute certainty that he will play.
Most NBA players do not have that luxury.
The average NBA career is just 4.5 years.
Only 20% of NBA players last more than 5 years.
Only 10% play more than 10 years.
Less than 1% play more than 15 years.
LeBron’s entire career has been defined by his pursuit of NBA Championships. The vast majority of NBA players' careers are simply about survival.
LeBron trains to win. Most players train to play.
This dynamic isn't unique to the pros. Look at almost any sports team, and you can divide the roster into the exact same two groups:
Players who train to play.
Players who train to win.
As leaders, we desperately want athletes who train to win—not just athletes who train to earn minutes.
In a recent conversation with a client, a head coach was telling me the story of a player who stepped up to demonstrate peer accountability. The player called a team huddle and warned everyone that if they didn’t work harder to hit their conditioning times, they wouldn’t play this season.
Later, that same player reflected privately with the coach: “The problem is, some of the players missing their times are still going to play regardless. They’re just that good.”
While that presents an obvious cultural issue regarding standards, a much deeper problem was at play. Subconsciously, that leader was reinforcing the mindset to work hard so you can get playing time. They were unintentionally reinforcing the "train to play" mentality.
One issue is around the reality on a 15-player basketball roster is that only 8 or 9 players will see competitive minutes. It doesn’t matter how hard players 10 through 15 practice or train—their role might still be on the bench. When you tie effort to playing time, it creates severe cultural challenges down the line when those fringe players work hard, don't play, and feel cheated. That’s not all.
We don’t want players to train hard just so they can play. We want them to train hard so the team can win.
Our challenge as leaders is instilling the "train to win" mindset in everyone—both the star who is safe in the knowledge that they will play, and the reserve who fears they might not be good enough to get on the field.
This is precisely why threats around playing time so often backfire.
Instead of telling a player, "If you don't work hard, you won't play," the message must be: "If you don't work hard, our team won't be as successful. You will be letting the group down."
Playing time is a variable; winning is the shared purpose. Practice isn’t a bargaining chip for minutes—it is a privilege and an opportunity to improve yourself and make the entire team better.
—J.P. Nerbun
If you want to help your athletes have the train to win mindset, check out The Culture Captain, this book provides a 4-Level Framework for Athletes to Know Yourself, Lead Yourself, Lead Others, Lead the Team.
