When developing your mental game in basketball it is important to make sure you have a good attitude. The right attitude can drive a mediocre player to great success, but a very talented player can find himself on the bench if a poor mental attitude exist. There are countless basketball players who possess tremendous mental toughness and physical ability but who failed to reach their potential simply because their attitude.

In the game with the Lakers and the Golden State Warriors, Bynum took a three-pointer, which enraged his coach, and resulted in him barely seeing the court again for the rest of the game. Bynum told the media horde following the Laker victory that he didn’t truly understand why he was benched, and said he would launch more three pointers in the future.

From the LA Times:

Brown yanked Andrew Bynum from the game early in the third quarter after the center badly missed a three-point shot, though Bynum appeared amused on the bench as he mimicked the form on his release. “That’s something that I thought could have taken us out of rhythm, so I took him out of the game,” Brown said.

Bynum sat out the rest of the third quarter and played only 2:50 in the fourth quarter, finishing with 11 points and five rebounds in 23 minutes. “I don’t know what was bench-worthy about it,” said Bynum, who indicated he wanted to continue taking shots from beyond the three-point arc. “I made one [Sunday] night and I missed one tonight.” Did Brown talk to him about the shot? “Not yet,” Bynum said. “I’m sure he wants to.”

Andrew Bynum has attempted 4 threes so far this season and actually connected on one. He claims that this is a part of his game that intends to develop going forward.

So what does this say about Andrew Bynum’s mental game in basketball? What does it say about his attitude? What does it say about attitude in general? Defiance of the coach and what he wants a player to do in a situation is a display of poor
attitude. A player determining to do it his way is a display of poor attitude. But one thing is clear, attitude and the way you channel it is extremely important in not only your own success as an athlete but also in the success of your team as a whole.

Let’s look at some specific habits of good and bad attitudes as reported by BasketballsBest:

Good attitude: Hustles, Plays team basketball, Desire to listen to the coach, Takes responsibility for mistakes and does not blame them on teammates, Never blames any teammate or coach for a defeat, Never makes excuses, Concentrates on what the coach is saying, Does not use foul language, Competitive, Plays Hard.

Bad Attitude: Loafing, Playing selfishly….worrying about how many points he has rather than the team points…Will not take responsibility for his mistakes, instead, he blames a mistake on one of his teammates or his coach…Always blames a teammate or a coach for a defeat, Is quick to make excuses for mistakes, Often does not listen to the coach, Uses profanity extensively, Tends to let up and not play hard in a competitive situation. Is a “Locker Room Lawyer”, criticizing the coach to his teammates.

As you work to develop your mental game of basketball, nothing can be more important than developing the right mental attitude. Remember attitude is everything. It will be the dominant factor in your success or failure. It will make you great–or it will bring you down on your knees in defeat!