(PROCESS)[A GOOD COACH IS OF THE UTMOST IMPORTANCE.]

When Byron came back to coach the Lakers in the last years of my career, we were like brothers. We picked up our conversations and relationship right where we had left off. Suffice to say, it was great to have him back on the same sideline.

Coaches are teachers. Some coaches—lesser coaches—try telling you things. Good coaches, however, teach you how to think and arm you with the fundamental tools necessary to execute properly. Simply put, good coaches make sure you know how to use both hands, how to make proper reads, how to understand the game. Good coaches tell you where the fish are, great coaches teach you how to find them. That’s the same at every level.

In certain situations, like in the midst of a game, good coaches relay executional information. They point out what specifically is and isn’t working. Based on that and your own feel for the game, you utilize some of that information immediately and you save some of it in your back pocket for crucial moments during the game. Then, when the time is right … boom!