Defining ‘Teammateship’

Shane Battier is a retired NBA player— with one of the best winning percentages in basketball history—but he is not a household name.

As an NBA player, he won NBA Championships. As a college player at Duke University, he won an NCAA Championship. At Detroit Country Day High School, his team won multiple state championships.

Robin Shelton

Shane Battier won at every level he competed in. As a professional in the NBA, over his career, he averaged 8.2 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 1.8 assists per game. For the non-avid basketball fans, these statistics do not show any meaningful contribution to the outcome of the team.

For comparison, LeBron James, over his career, has averaged 27.1 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 7.3 assists per game. And Michael Jordan averaged 30.1 points over his career, 6.2 rebounds, and 5.3 assists per game.

Shane Battier averaged over his career, based on the ‘big three statistics,’ a production that was one-half, or one-third, of the production of the top players in the game. However, Shane Battier was always on winning teams.

The question must be asked: How did Shane Battier have one of the greatest winning percentages over his career, playing on four different teams, and is there anything we can learn from his career?

A huge takeaway on the success of the teams of Shane Battier comes from the article, “The No Stats All Star” written in 2009 by Michael Lewis in The New York Times. In the article, Lewis attempts to explain why Shane Battier, with no meaningful statistical contribution, was always on winning teams. Lewis uncovers a number of new, or different, ways of thinking about contributions to the team beyond points, rebounds, and assists.

Shane Battier had all-star levels of contribution and performance in newer statistics, such as team rebound percentage when Battier was on the floor. One such metric is Plus/Minus, which measures the difference between team points scored and allowed while the player is on the court.

He would also lead the league in charges taken and minutes played. There were other contributions that could not be measured: diving for loose balls, first player to run back on defense, number of positions played, ‘box out’ quality, rebounds tipped to another player, defensive preparation, or inbound passer.

Kobe Bryant was one of the best offensive players of all time. In his book “The Mamba Mentality: How I Play,” Kobe specifically lists Shane Battier as one of the few “Kobe stoppers.”  Battier’s preparation was the best of his era as a defensive player. He studied, he prepared, he researched. He shared insights about his preparation, including identifying and forcing Kobe’s statistically weakest shots: left-handed off the double bounce.

Battier was selfless as a teammate. He identified how he could help his team win, rather than just score points. He was not trying to be on television, get financial endorsements, or get applause from a crowd. Everything he did was about what was best for the team, rather than what was best for himself.

Other authors have gone on to call this the “Shane Battier effect,” where victory is defined as achievement for the team. His role in optimizing his contributions, in the context of where he can maximize his team’s impact against opponents, has led to accomplishment and championships.

I suggest the term that Battier himself coined, “Teammateship,” or the art of being a good teammate, be shared with staff. All teams need role players. All teams need players who care most about helping their team win. All teams need selfless players. All teams need players who will be the first to run back on defense—and do all of the other intangibles that cause the team to win. We, along with all of our employees, should strive to be great examples of “teammateship.”