KAT’s offseason comments were alarming, but not for the reasons you think

Let your play on the basketball court speak for you

Was Karl-Anthony Towns in the wrong? Or did the multitude of NBA analysts, pundits, and bloggers simply express outrage to fill their news timeslot on a slow news day? It is that reason that compelled me to hold off on even addressing the topic.

Should KAT have been so outspoken in the Patrick Beverley podcast?  No.  Let others praise your accomplishments.  Be willing to display humility. Take a page out of your teammate’s book, All-Star shooting guard Anthony Edwards, who has repeatedly deferred and deflected praise in his game to highlight how much he depends upon his teammates.  Nobody gets upset with teammates who praise others.

Show us, don’t tell us

It’s a concerning statement, but perhaps not in the way that some have chided him in response. There is never a shortage of discontent with plays called by an NBA team’s head coach on a struggling team, and just like arseholes, everybody has their own opinion. However, the willingness to promote oneself publicly when competing in a team sport is a huge concern.

Of course, others were more than happy to push back on the words themselves.

I’ve always believed that if professional athletes want everyone to see how great they are, they need to show us before telling us. Humility is a better path to greatness than overconfidence and cockiness. That’s just my personal preference.

Competition can bring out the best and the worst in us. The challenge of any competitive sport can drive us to become the best version of ourselves each and every day. But that competitive drive must be matched with an equally strong level of discipline. The goal is not to win, per se, but rather to become the best version of oneself, and the best competitor the sport has ever witnessed.