A Sense of Where You Are: Bill Bradley at Princeton

Russell always knew what he was doing on the court. A great winner is, above all, self-aware. He understands the impact that he has on other players.

one night, while I was leading a break up the floor, I noticed Bob Cousy over my shoulder, running behind me. I told myself something was wrong, the picture was out of whack, the signature style was missing. Bob Cousy, to this day, is the best I’ve ever seen in the NBA at running a fast break. What I was inadvertently doing was taking him out of hi

When a ball reached me in the middle, it was as though my eyesight and my hands got better. I could see from sideline to sideline, knowing where each of my teammates was. My impulse was to get the ball to someone who was in a position to shoot. More and more, I prided myself on my passing. I never made fancy passes, but I always made good ones that

The real secret of his success, the way he changed the flow of the game, was his focus on small, single actions he needed to take. He knew what he wanted. But he never allowed himself to think beyond what he had to do in the moment.

Personally, I found a great thrill in using my craft as fully as I could. But it was always about winning. I loved those times when a situation looked absolutely hopeless and yet I could still do something to turn things around. I probably broke up thirty-five to forty three-on-one breaks in my career, for instance. The feeling of joy and accomplis

I realized at a young age that winning was the ultimate form of athletic expression. And to win regularly, I would have to subordinate my individual goals so my team would be able to win. As a result, I became the kind of leader who understood that doing the most for my team would best guarantee success. To get there, I had to get past a lot of thi