Prior to the start of the 2012-2013 NBA season, the Los Angeles Lakers made a series of trades that made them a sure bet to challenge for the championships at the end of the season. The team posted a respectable 45-37 record, enough to get them a short-lived bid in the post season. For a variety of reasons, including the lack of teamwork, the team’s season has best been described as a nightmare.
In early January, Laker Center Dwight Howard assessed the situation on ESPN.com, “We have to play like we like each other. Even if we don’t want to be friends off the court, whatever that may be, when we step in between the lines or we step in the locker room or the gym, we have to respect each other and what we bring to the table.”
Were Howard’s comments a simple explanation of why the team had not been more successful, was he condemning his teammates for their inability to work together as a team, or was he trying to offer motivation to get his teammates fired up? Whatever the reason, his words didn’t help the team reach its potential.
The moral of the story is that money can buy talent, but it can’t buy teamwork, a strong work ethic, and wins.