🐐 Mentality. @Espn #TheLastDance #BamaFactor pic.twitter.com/yKrGrgJYHU
— Alabama Football (@AlabamaFTBL) May 18, 2020
It takes a leader to truly understand a leader. The video above is fascinating. It shows Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban watching the closing moments Michael Jordan’s emotional and now iconic speech from episode 7 of The Last Dance documentary. What you are witnessing is the greatest head coach in college football history listening to and learning from the greatest basketball player in history.
After doing so, Coach Saban provided his analysis on Jordan’s comments. I may be reading into it but I feel very confident in analyzing the coach’s thoughts based upon what he said next. Coach Saban begins by discussing why he has so much respect for what he just heard.
Therefore, the following are 9 Reasons Nick Saban Respects Michael Jordan So Much I gleaned from his subsequent comments. All quotes are from Coach Saban. And if you wish to watch the entirety of Jordan’s must-watch speech, click HERE.
- Nick Saban Respects Michael Jordan Because He Paid The Ultimate Sacrifice Required To Win – “It (the speech) defines the ultimate competitor, the ultimate sacrifice that you have to make to win.”
- Nick Saban Respects Michael Jordan Because He Paid The Ultimate Sacrifice Required To Be A Leader – “The ultimate sacrifice you have to make to be a leader.”
- Nick Saban Respects Michael Jordan Because He Paid The Price Needed To Become The Best Version Of Himself – “It (Jordan’s comments) probably explains what we’ve tried to accomplish here in this program by what we try to bring out in our players which is to be the best version of themselves as people, as students, and as players and get people to aspire to be the very best they can be. That’s all we’ve ever tried to do here.”
- Nick Saban Respects Michael Jordan Because He Is The Subject Matter Expert On Competition – “I’ve never heard anybody articulate it any better than what Michael Jordan did because of the kind of competitor he was.”
- Nick Saban Respects Michael Jordan Because He Edited His Behavior To Accomplish His Goals – “When Kobe Bryant was here he made a statement, you have to edit your behavior to accomplish the goals that you have.” To see a full recap of Bryant’s visit with the Alabama football squad, click 16 Lessons From Kobe Bryant’s Visit With Nick Saban And Their Message For Young Leaders.
- Nick Saban Respects Michael Jordan Because He Was Willing To Be Uncomfortable – “Sometimes people are reluctant to do that because it’s hard. It’s not comfortable. It’s very uncomfortable.”
- Nick Saban Respects Michael Jordan Because He Also Got Used To Being Uncomfortable – “You have to get used to being uncomfortable if you really want to be good at something”
- Nick Saban Respects Michael Jordan Because He Overcame Much Adversity – “because it’s going to be difficult and you have to overcome adversity.”
- Nick Saban Respects Michael Jordan Because He Is The Portrait Of The Desired Destination At Which He Wishes For The Alabama Team To Arrive – “These statements epitomize what we believe in terms of what we try to do to get our players to be the best they can be.”
After watching the video, one questions you must ask yourself is are you willing to pay the price needed to be the best version of yourself? Also check out 43 Leadership Quotes And Lessons From Michael Jordan From The Last Dance Parts 1 & 2.
To receive more leadership insights from Coach Saban, click HERE or on the image to the left for my new ebook The Leadership Of Nick Saban: Timeless Truths From The Incomparable Head Coach Of The Alabama Crimson Tide. This is an invaluable resource for both sports fans or anyone interested in organizational leadership. Enjoy!