Shane Battier will be remembered as one of the greatest teammates in NBA history.
Battier was never the star at the NBA level, but he was always a premiere role player. Habits honed under Mike Krzyzewski at Duke shaped him into a great defender (on-ball and off), efficient outside shooter, and possessor of an extremely high basketball IQ.
As a player that experienced success in this way, it's fitting that Battier has this to say from his website The Dumpster Diving Batter Brothers:
“Yet despite not having the ‘talent’ or raw athleticism of my teammates and competitors, I always found myself on the court in the 4th quarter, in crunch time. My coaches knew that I would always put myself and my team in a position to win by doing whatever the situation required. Diving for loose balls, sacrificing my body, being a pest on defense, and simply being present and focused mentally were all things that kept me on the floor at crunch time. Whatever my team needed, I tried to not only supply, but supply at a high level.
“For what it’s worth, ‘naturally talented’ is a phrase that makes me laugh. There is no such thing. ALL skills are learned and earned.”
Battier may be going a little overboard here. There are definitely athletes who make it a long way, even to the pros, thanks mostly to God-givien gifts. A work ethic no doubt is also always required, but natural gifts shouldn't be totally ignored.
Battier isn't exactly saying that, he just wants to shift the spotlight on to things like hardwork. It worked for him and there are a lot of athletes out there who would benefit by learning from Battier.
[button width=”full” button size=”bigger” color=”custom” align=”center” textcolor=”#ffffff” texthcolor=”#ffffff” bgcolor=”#8b0000″ link=”https://clutchpoints.com/crazy-talents-kobe-bryant-has-outside-of-basketball/”]NEXT: Crazy Talents Kobe Bryant Has Outside Of Basketball[/button]
Follow Us
Subscribe