The NBA crowned the Miami Heat as the 2012 Champions on June 21st after beating the Oklahoma City Thunder in the series 3-1. What is most impressive is how the players maintained their basketball mental toughness and mental focus throughout the playoffs, even fighting an injury to one of their main players. Typically there are only five starters on a basketball team, but during the finals series Coach Erik Spoelstra effectively rotated six players as his starters depending on who was healthy and who was on a hot streak. The critical focus of the team remained on the goal despite who started on the floor and who started on the bench. The team mentality and mental toughness ultimately is what won the championship based on the play of Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, LeBron James, Udonis Haslem, Mario Chalmers, and Shane Battier.
With Bosh hurt during Game 1, Haslem entered the lineup as a starter. Haslem along with Wade was a member of the 2006 championship team and are no stranger to the intensity of the finals series. His work ethic is noteworthy, and his willingness to sacrifice anything for his team is an understatement. Haslem is reverent to the game when he says, “It don’t get no higher than this. If you want to compete with these guys, you got to put in the work.” As a championship veteran his presence is also calming on some of the younger players.
When point guard Mario Chalmers struggled in Game 3, his teammates continued to believe in him. “They just kept finding me and getting me the ball. They give me encouraging words when I’m struggling.” said Chalmers.
The injured Bosh returned in Game 2, but Coach Spoelstra decided to keep Battier in the lineup for his recent phenomenal shooting in the three point zone, and Haslem moved to the bench. The mental preparation for the game never changed however, because the goal remained unchanged. Battier explained, “We just want to stay the course. Just keep coming. Our goal is just to grind it out.” The basketball mental toughness associated with such words exhibits the ability to focus on the positive, and never weaken in the face of adversity. That mental focus is attainable when all the members of the team improve each other’s mindset. Bosh noted, “This is a team. It’s always a team effort. It takes everybody to “stay in the moment” and execute what you can at that particular instant.”
LeBron James played the best series of his career winning his first NBA Championship. However, it was his team play that elevated his team’s play as well. James was an integral component of a mentally strong and focused team which ultimately won the series. “To all the positions, I just bring the determination to win. Me being an unselfish player, I think that can carry on to my teammates. When you have one of the best players on the court being unselfish, I think that transfers to the other players.” says James. Dwyane Wade added about James positive influence on the team, “He’s just focused. Just like the rest of this team he has a goal. He wants to reach that goal. This year so far every game we’ve played to this point we can away and say we gave it our all, and you can sleep a little better at night because of that.”
The 2012 Miami Heat proved the importance of a team mentality and basketball mental toughness through the course of adversity and injury. Their continual positive mindset allowed their focus to remain constant no matter who started the game. The result was the 2012 Championship trophy.
