Down by three, Ray Allen knocked down one of the greatest shots, if not the greatest, in NBA Finals history to keep the Miami Heat alive in Game 6 of the 2013 NBA Finals. Before this moment of brilliance, he was regarded as one of the most pure shooters in the history of the game and a great teammate. But that was it. This one shot escalated his status to a legend.
Except it wasn’t one shot. It was years of morning practices, hundreds of late night shootarounds, months away from loved ones, and hours of analyzing film. If you watch the replay of the shot, you can see every second of Ray Allen’s effort paying off. The experience to back pedal to the three point line with seconds left, the instinct to know where exactly his foot is relative to the three point line, and the quickness to release the ball with pinpoint accuracy with a defender’s hand in his face is the most tense situation an athlete can possibly imagine. It’s the moment Ray Allen had lived for, and he definitely lived up to it.
That’s how life works. After practicing a certain art or becoming an expert in a technical field, life throws an opportunity at you where you can define yourself. A moment where you can create your legacy. Sometimes you don’t see results for all the effort you put in, but always remember Ray Allen and how he worked to perfect his art and never worried about results. He knew opportunities would come themselves, it’s just about grabbing that opportunity with both hands and making the most of it.
Honestly, I approach life as if it was a basketball game. Every time I fail, when things look bleak and things seem as if they never will get better, I tell myself I can come back. I remember T-Mac’s epic performance again the San Antonio Spurs. With thirty seconds left, fans were heading to the exit knowing the Houston Rockets wouldn’t be able to overcome a thirteen point deficit. If you don’t understand the sport of basketball, the probability of winning at that stage for the Rockets was basically equivalent to the chances of the Big Bang occurring.
So every day I fail and think about giving up in life, I remember Tracy McGrady’s performance. I tell myself he didn’t give up so why should I? If he believed he could do the impossible, why should I stop myself from pursuing things that others have done?
But the sport teaches more than that. Every time something terrible happens in life, I remember losing is part of the game. Things like sickness, death, failure, and conflicts are inevitable and no matter what you do, you will lose in life sometimes and that’s how games are too. Sometimes you can’t make a shot to save your life, sometimes the opponent is just too good. You just have to bounce back.
Last week, I failed my first exam ever. I wanted to drop the class and just make remove the stress of thermodynamics from my life. But then I remembered life as if it were just a basketball game. Yes, I played horrible in the first quarter and was down by a huge margin. But I had so much more time to come back. I just had to pick my game up. Work harder. Practice more. It was up to me whether I was going to give up and be a quitter. And then I remembered the words I like to live my life by:
Quitters never win. And winners never quit.
