“Many people think sports are totally physical, that you don’t have to think, everything is done for you and you’re catered to, I found that to be so far removed from the truth that it’s almost a joke. The ones who become stars are the ones who have a head on their shoulders and know how to use it”. – Julius Erving

Modern day athletes are far more like finely tuned regimented machines these days. More or less everyone has access to the same physical training equipment, nutritional information and can spend hour after hour practicing on the court. The key ingredient to the making of a Champion has nothing to do with their physical abilities; it will always come down to their basketball mental toughness.

With both finalists possessing similar physical qualities, this year’s NBA Finals emphatically demonstrated the benefits of possessing a superior mental game. Basketball, perhaps even more so than most sports, is a game in which athletes experience a plethora of forever changing obstacles. Those that have adapted in the rigorous mental demands of the sport will always be the one that will prevail when all else is equal.

Take the mental toughness, focus, composure and concentration of the Spurs in this year’s finals and especially of the Finals MVP, San Antonio’s swingman Kawhi Leonard. At the tender age of 22 Kawhi (the youngest Finals MVP since Ervin “Magic” Johnson) has been long burdened with carrying the future hopes of the Spurs since 2011, when he was acquired by Sa Antonio, when they agreed to send George Hill to the Pacers for Indiana’s no. 15 pick in the 2011 NBA Draft.

Having managed to shake off a forgettable start in the first two games of the 2014 Finals, Kawhi bounced back in three back to back dominant performances (29 points on 10-of-13 shooting in Game 3, 20 points and 14 rebounds his next time out, then 22 points and 10 boards in the series clincher). What made his performance even more memorable is that he did so whilst being matched up and also shutting down King James.

The demands placed on our professional athletes, in terms of social, physical and mental aspects, is so high, on and off the court, that it will be interesting to see what the long term effects of these external and internal pressures will be on this generation on NBA stars. Over time we have seen the pace of the game constantly gathering momentum, athletes are getting bigger and stronger and it is both exciting and somewhat frightening at the same time to see how the sport will develop and what new challenges athletes will have to face.

These pressures are not only felt and experienced by professional athletes; there are many cases when athletes of all levels, basketball coaches and even the parents of young athletes have come face to face with the constantly shifting demands of the psychology behind basketball.

By tapping into the rich resources that are available in sports psychology for basketball everyone can be assisted in starting to sculpt and nurture their very own Champion mind-set. The added beauty is that by identifying an athlete’s mental weakness and targeting them the benefits also ripple into their daily lives as they learn how to become the masters of their own minds and domains.

With the aid of a sports psychologist and mental game coach, athletes can be assisted in their quest to becoming the best versions of themselves and gaining the competitive edge over their competition.

* Download the free mental game assessment and get started on Improving your Mental Game in basketball.