A very successful local High School quote sent me this gem from the most winning coach in NBA history, Lenny Wilkens, "
“You’ve got to risk failure to be successful. You can’t be afraid to take a shot because you might miss. You can’t play to keep from losing, because you’re going to lose if you do.”
Lenny Wilkens
This quote reminds me of a quote from the greatest:
"I've missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed."
Michael Jordan
Many young player tend to forget that this is ultimately a game of failure. Earning 50% on any test in school would constitute a failing grade but shooting 50% in the game of basketball is a great accomplishment.
Here are the field goal shooting percentages of some all time greats:
Artis Gilmore 60%
Shaquille O'Neal 59%
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 56%
Wilt Chamberlain 54%
Charles Barkley 54%
The above percentages would explain the importance of having solid post play. All the above players (with the exception of Barkley) played the post. The stats may lead some to believe that the bigger you are , the better you shoot. However the truth is, the closer to the basket you shoot, the better the results.
Here are some shooting stats from some past perimeter greats:
Micheal Jordan 50%
Magic Johnson 52%
Larry Bird 50%
Isiah Thomas 45%
Jerry West 47%
Now look at some current perimeter players shooting percentages:
Allen Iverson 42%
Steve Nash 48%
Ray Allen 44%
Kobe Bryant 45%
Manu Ginobili 45%
All these statistics confirm a simple fact. Great players work on becoming the perfect player but only make roughly half of their shots.
