If you were an NBA player would you care about winning?

[tsherkin]

You don't become an NBA player unless you care very deeply about winning, at a cellular level.

This is very, very obviously not true.

Yeah it is

No, but like, demonstrably untrue with so many different players over the years.

[Calvin Klein]

This is very, very obviously not true.

Yeah it is

Zion
Lamelo
Ayton
Ja


You think those top 2 picks care about winning more than money/lifestyle?



They all say they care about winning, and I'm sure a lot of them do, but to a point. Nobody cares about winning above anything else, specially money.

[CoP]

This is very, very obviously not true.

Yeah it is

Zion
Lamelo
Ayton
Ja


You think those top 2 picks care about winning more than money/lifestyle?



They all say they care about winning, and I'm sure a lot of them do, but to a point. Nobody cares about winning above anything else, specially money.

They absolutely got there by being ultra competitive and deeply caring about winning. If you reread my original post, then you will see that was the point I made.

[tsherkin]

Yeah it is

Zion
Lamelo
Ayton
Ja


You think those top 2 picks care about winning more than money/lifestyle?



They all say they care about winning, and I'm sure a lot of them do, but to a point. Nobody cares about winning above anything else, specially money.

They absolutely got there by being ultra competitive and deeply caring about winning. If you reread my original post, then you will see that was the point I made.

It isn't an accurate point, though.

[CoP]

Zion
Lamelo
Ayton
Ja


You think those top 2 picks care about winning more than money/lifestyle?



They all say they care about winning, and I'm sure a lot of them do, but to a point. Nobody cares about winning above anything else, specially money.

They absolutely got there by being ultra competitive and deeply caring about winning. If you reread my original post, then you will see that was the point I made.

It isn't an accurate point, though.

Yes, it is.

[CoP]

Zion
Lamelo
Ayton
Ja

You think those top 2 picks care about winning more than money/lifestyle?

They all say they care about winning, and I'm sure a lot of them do, but to a point. Nobody cares about winning above anything else, specially money.

I'll also add that a player can be ultracompetitive, deeply care about winning, and also care a lot about money and lifestyle.

You don't have to care about winning more than anything else ever in order to be someone who deeply cares about winning.

[76thBearCub]

There are more tears shed thru this forum than there are in an NBA locker room after a team is eliminated.

[Nate505]

Quite a few middle / upper middle class people in here by the sound of it. Depends how many people you need to pull up with you.

Even middle and upper middle class people are going to be pulled up by someone who makes the average NBA contract.

[76thBearCub]

Quite a few middle / upper middle class people in here by the sound of it. Depends how many people you need to pull up with you.

Even middle and upper middle class people are going to be pulled up by someone who makes the average NBA contract.

I'm talking people who came from less trying to bring people up from the same.

[AmIWrongDude]

If I’m a role player that hasn’t made a ton of money, I don’t give a **** about winning. I try to put up the best stats possible and go hard as hell in garbage time lol

[Wargreymon]

Why not both? Money and rings like LeBron and Curry

[tsherkin]

They absolutely got there by being ultra competitive and deeply caring about winning. If you reread my original post, then you will see that was the point I made.

It isn't an accurate point, though.

Yes, it is.

You need to get more familiar with a long chain of players who have managed to get by on pure physical ability and not actually being very competitive or caring at all.

[CoP]

It isn't an accurate point, though.

Yes, it is.

You need to get more familiar with a long chain of players who have managed to get by on pure physical ability and not actually being very competitive or caring at all.

Lol. You clearly have no idea what it takes to become a professional athlete, especially in this day and age when competition starting at the youth level is as fierce as ever. Implying it can be done solely through pure physical ability is laughably naive and ignorant.

[morosis]

like any other group there's a range. unlike most other professions, i think in the nba the range starts at "wants to win" and ends at "would burn the world to win".

its not that guys "don't want to" as much as it is that they all have varying limits of what they are willing to do. for some guys, they take pride in the fact that they are up at 4am running hills and getting shots up. for other guys, they might be more family oriented or just have a more "reasonable" approach. it all depends on the guy and whether they are a "thats good enough" guy or a "im not going home til my hands are bleeding" guy. this is their profession, not necessarily their entire life, at least not for everyone.

its a bit unfair to say any pro doesnt want to win. but i think its fair to say some prioritize it over other things in life more than others.

[sikma42]

Delete. App is broken for me.
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[G35]

Winning is all I would think about. Why else do you play the game (Herm Edwards voice).....

[JDR720]

It isn't an accurate point, though.

Yes, it is.

You need to get more familiar with a long chain of players who have managed to get by on pure physical ability and not actually being very competitive or caring at all.

The ones that aren't competitive, regardless of physical gifts, fall away by the time they get into higher level competition. Any NBA player has expectations to, and are used to, winning. If they didn't have competitiveness, they'd get steamrolled before they got to the pro level.

Now, there are plenty of players who were competitive BECAUSE they wanted to get paid. And once they get paid, they stop caring as much. As far as those players are concerned, they accomplished their life goal to play in the NBA and to get rich doing it. Sometimes, this is their rookie contract (I've never seen a player care less than James Bouknight) and others do this after their 1st/2nd big contract.

[chilluminati]

I get what your point is OP, but if you don't care about winning you have less of a chance to make the most you possibly can. Contract incentives aside, you're not building your resume in a way that guarantees your next contract will be bigger than the last.

But if you don't care about maximizing your salary over an extended period of time, you absolutely can run through your career like Zion or Poole if you're talented on a desperate team. If you don't have the talent to think that way though, you'll find yourself playing for the Guangdong Southern Tigers after long.

[thamadkant]

What a dumb question.

Of course you do.

But depending on situation, you'd be happy just getting to live a luxurious life, doing what you love for a living and being successful is great but trying to win may also be good enough.

[Dennis 37]

Brunson cares about winning because he took a paycut to enable his team to sign better players.

Any star player getting the max available to him does not care about winning as much as getting paid.

A lot of noise about Pacers winning the Siakam trade. Pascal would not sign in Toronto for less than the maximum available to him. Raptors would not have been able to afford, under the luxury tax, good enough players around him and Anunoby, who also wanted the max possible, to win. Add 40 million for Fred van Vleet and it makes it even harder.