Mike Malone knew that nothing could kill a championship run like celebrating too early or letting off the gas before the final whistle.
As the Denver Nuggets were preparing to do one of the most difficult things in professional sports and close out a finals series against an opponent, their head coach, Mike Malone, uttered some words that anyone who writes and thinks about leadership and high-performing teams hears again and again from the leaders of great organizations.
“My biggest concern going into any close-out game is human nature and fighting against that,” were the words Malone used to describe the challenge his team faced even as they were on the cusp of doing something truly spectacular. “You’re up 3-1. Most teams, when you’re up 3-1, they come up for air. They relax and they just kind of take it for granted that, ‘Oh, we’re going to win this.’”
Yes, Denver had already gone through the likes of Kevin Durant, LeBron James and other greats to get to the NBA Finals against the Miami Heat. But Coach Malone wasn’t concerned about his team’s opponent.
