JERRY West, Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, Shaquille O’Neal, and Kobe Bryant.
Six names who have made their marks as members of famous basketball club, Los Angeles Lakers. In their eras, they have carried the ball club to the pinnacle of sports success, hoisting the Larry O’Brien trophy with beaming pride and confidence after each successful campaign to become the best of the NBA. Among themselves, they have a combined total of 16 NBA titles for the franchise. The second most titles after their famed and legendary rivals, Boston Celtics’ 17 titles.
This franchise is where the legends were also made, and it came as no surprise for me when LeBron James signed with them last July at the start of the free-agency. He is the “King” of the modern NBA. He has been dominating the league for the past fifteen seasons he has been playing. He has lived up to the hype ever since he entered the NBA in 2003 as a rookie sensation.
He still has the current streak of nine consecutive finals appearances by an NBA player and he can immediately impact any team he plays for. And donning the purple and gold at the start of this NBA season only adds to his growing legend and greatness.
When he joined the Miami Heat in 2010, it was about chasing titles. When he returned to Cleveland and won them their first title in 2016, it was about redemption. Now, joining the Lakers can be all about establishing himself as one of the greats among the greatest who loved and played the game. To be among the greatest, he had to be where the greats have played, to understand the culture and tradition of greatness espoused by the greats before him.
This is something we can also learn from. In our quest for being the best, we have to walk where the best walked, we have to breathe the air they breathed, and we have to be where the best once where. This is done to understand the culture and tradition that they advocate for and how it made them the best.
Just like Lebron and the greats before him, we all have our talents and skills that can bring us success in all our endeavors. What makes us the best and standout among the rest, alongside our skills and talents, is advocating and creating a culture and tradition where greatness flourish.