The NBA & NHL Playoffs are just getting started. And I love the playoffs in any sport.
The intensity goes up. Focus increases. The pulse in the arenas and stadiums rise big-time. Everything else is extremely heightened.
I don’t watch a ton of these games on TV during the regular season. But during the playoffs, I try to catch as much as I can. It’s just another level.
Right now, one of my favorite players to watch in the NBA is Stephen Curry, from the Golden State Warriors. To me, he’s the MVP in the NBA this year. He’s just incredible. Shooting. Ball-handling. Passing. You name it, he can do it.
For many of you “old-timers,” you may remember his sharp-shooting father Del Curry. He played for the Charlotte Hornets for a number of years and was a great pure shooter also.
And his son Stephen is cut from the same cloth. And even smoother.
Steph averaged 23 points per game this season, is a strong candidate for the NBA MVP, and he has his Warriors playing great basketball.
But I want to talk about something that Steph did this past week in practice. “Yes, we talkin’ practice” (thank you Allen Iverson!).
It is reported that he made 77 straight 3-point buckets at the end of one of their practices this week. 77 in a row!!!
Think about that. 77 straight 3-point buckets from different spots outside the 3-point arc. Without missing ONE.
Now if you have seen Stephen shoot, you know he has an incredibly quick release. He catches the ball and it’s gone before you can “swoosh.”
In this incredible feat of 77 straight 3-point buckets, I did some quick math. If he took one shot every 5 seconds, he shot for approximately 7 minutes without missing a 3-point basket.
Now the 3-point line is approximately 23’ 9” feet from the basket.
The rim is 10-feet high from the ground.
The rim itself is 18” wide in diameter.
7 minutes. Continuous shooting. No missing. Incredible.
So I think, “Is Steph Curry great because he made 77 straight 3 pointers in practice?”
Or is he great because he averages 23 points per game and the way he plays the game night-in & night-out?
Or is he great because of the mere fact that he is willing to practice so diligently, constantly trying to hone his craft and get better, regardless of the time of year it is?
I believe the latter is true as the process always ends up affecting the end-product!
This week, our WOW will be “77”.
Maybe you want to do 77 pushups. Or 77 squats. Or 77 burpees. Uggghhh. J
Or maybe you want to pick one thing you can improve at and relentlessly work at it when no one else is watching.
Or maybe “77” just represents the PROCESS that you must endure to eventually make the “playoffs.”
And whether you are a pro athlete, a business owner, teacher, parent, lawyer, contractor, salesperson, armed-forces personnel, or someone that just wants to be GREAT at what you do…remember what practice can do for you, your team, and your craft.
Great lesson this week Stephen Curry. Best of luck in the playoffs.
And to all of you, set a big goal this week and go attack it with ferocity, tenacity, and fervor.
“77” this week. Go get it!
Todd
Todd Durkin, MA, CSCS, is an internationally-recognized performance trainer, bodyworker, speaker, author, and owner of award-winning gym Fitness Quest 10 in San Diego, CA (one of the Top 10 Gyms in the U.S.). His outstanding team of 38 professionals deliver extraordinary service in personal training, sports performance training, massage/bodywork, Pilates, yoga, physical therapy and chiropractic. Todd is the Lead Training Advisor for Under Armour, regular contributor to Men’s Health, and author of The IMPACT! Body Plan.
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