This week, the NBA draft ushers in its newest class of stars. As usual, there is a lot of attention being paid to top-rated players like Cameron Boozer and AJ Dybantsa. But those who only focus on the top-tier talents often miss something much more important.
It’s easy to measure things like height and quickness. It’s easy to look at stats like points per game or shooting percentages. But determining who will be the best long-term pro? That’s a much more difficult task.
To be a great professional athlete requires something much more than pedigree.
It takes an ability to find a winning role.
The NBA’s current Finals MVP, Jalen Brunson, was a second-round pick, taken at No. 33. Nikola Jokic, another champion and Finals MVP, was taken No. 41. Even the league’s reigning two-time MVP Shai-Gilgeous-Alexander was picked outside of the top-10 in 2018 at No. 11.
For every LeBron James taken at No. 1 there is a Giannis Antetokounmpo taken at No. 15. It happens in other sports, too. Famously Tom Brady was selected with pick No. 199. And the current starting QB for the 49ers, Brock Purdy, was taken last in 2022 (No. 262).
“I’m not dying to be the best player,” said Brunson in a recent interview. “I’m not dying for that recognition, to be the person who needs all that attention for just himself. I’m a person who will gladly contribute to winning.”
That’s it right there. He gets it.
Of course, there are other contributing factors to success. Brunson didn’t really blossom until he left the Dallas Mavericks and went to the New York Knicks. The same is true for Brady. He was paired with Coach Bill Belichick in New England and a team made to win.
Work ethic, drive, determination—these are all important, as well.
The 5-foot-3 former NBA star Muggsy Bogues, who is perhaps the most unlikely player ever to be drafted into the league because of his size, often repeated the mantra “Heart over height” when asked how he bucked the odds.
But none of it matters if someone isn’t willing to contribute to winning, to the team.
That’s an important lesson for us all to consider in our work lives.
When it comes to our careers, it can be easy to think of ourselves first. Maybe you were a top recruit to a company, maybe you got a big signing bonus. But not to think past your own office door is short-sighted. What’s a corner office worth if the company is failing, if your coworkers are struggling to keep up?
To play a starring role on a losing team is no one’s idea of success.
In the NBA or NFL, every player likely wants to be the No. 1 pick. But only one can be each calendar year. In the end, it’s not about where a draftee start, it’s where they finish. If your goal is to win a championship—like Brunson, SGA, Jokic and Brady all have—you can’t let being the 11th or 200th pick deter you.
To succeed doesn’t mean being the No. 1 recruit. It means figuring out a lane and excelling at it in order to help your team rise.
Indeed, after the Knicks won the 2026 NBA title, a reporter asked Brunson what he thought all the other teams missed when they evaluated him during the draft. The point guard, who has been called too short and too slow, responded slyly and succinctly.
“Everything,” he said.
Let’s hope guys like Boozer and Dybantsa are listening.
As a Hall of Fame keynote speaker, longtime Associate Editor for Sports Illustrated, and 13-time New York Times Best-Selling author, Don Yaeger is one of America’s most provocative thought leaders. From walking into Afghanistan with the Mujahadeen to living with football legend Walter Payton, Don has spent three decades embedded with the world’s greatest "Greats." Now a sought-after executive coach and host of the Corporate Competitor Podcast, he translates the lessons of sports and business legends into actionable strategies for building a culture of greatness.
