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Welcome Back, G-Tribe!

October 21, 2025 | Issue #107

The NBA season starts this week. Courts across the country will light up. Fans will argue about standings. Sports shows will debate who the MVP is.

But here's what won't make the highlight reel: the quiet moments that build character.

The player who stays late to work with the rookie. The veteran who takes the blame for a team loss. The star who shows up to community events when cameras aren't rolling.

Those moments matter more than any stat line.

This week, we're talking about what sports teach us about integrity. Not the sanitized Instagram version. The real stuff. The lessons that stick with young men long after the final buzzer sounds.

Your mentees are watching sports. They see the dunks and the endorsement deals. But are they seeing the character moves that separate legends from average players?

Let's break it down.

Growth Spotlight: Integrity on the Court - What Sports Teach Us About Character

Basketball teaches life lessons that textbooks can't touch.

You learn fast what matters, who you can count on when the game is close, how to handle failure when everyone's watching, what it means to be part of something bigger than yourself.

But here's the problem: most young players only see the surface.

They see the crossovers. They miss the character.

Why Sports Build Character (When Done Right)

Accountability is immediate

Miss the pass and everyone knows. Show up late to practice, and your teammates pay the price. There's no hiding on a basketball court.

Pressure reveals who you are

Down by two with ten seconds left. Do you want the ball or hope someone else takes the shot? Those moments show your core.

Teams expose selfishness

One player hunting stats while the team loses? Everyone sees it. Everyone feels it. Basketball punishes ego fast.

Failure is public

You can't delete a blown game like a bad tweet. You face your teammates the next day. You either grow from it or quit.

The Character Moves That Matter

Most coaches focus on X's and O's. The best coaches teach something deeper.

Hustle when tired

Championship teams have players who dive for loose balls in the fourth quarter. That's not about skill. That's about who you are when it hurts.

Lift teammates up

Great players make everyone around them better, not just with passes, but with encouragement, accountability, and example.

Own mistakes

The strongest player on any team is the one who can say "My bad" without making excuses. That builds trust faster than any game winner.

Stay ready

Sitting on the bench for three quarters, then getting called in for the biggest possession of the game. Are you ready? Did you stay locked in when you weren't playing?

Respect the game

Trash talk happens. But there's a line between competition and disrespect. Players with integrity know where that line is.

Real Examples Your Mentees Need to Hear

Giannis Antetokounmpo grew up selling items on the street in Athens to help his family survive. He stayed humble through two MVP awards and a championship. He still works on his game, fighting to make the roster.

Damian Lillard stayed loyal to Portland for over a decade while other stars chased super teams. He built his legacy on consistency and character before requesting a trade. When he left, he did it with integrity.

Jayson Tatum mentors young players in St. Louis every summer. There are no cameras, no press releases, just showing up for kids who look like he did at their age.

These players win because of talent. They matter because of character.

What This Means for Your Mentees

Your mentee might never play in the NBA. That's fine. Most won't.

But he will face moments where his character gets tested. He will work on teams where he can choose between personal stats and group success. He will experience failure in front of people who matter to him.

Sports teach you how to handle those moments.

Watch games together if you're mentoring a young man who plays basketball. But talk about more than points. Ask him:

Who hustled hardest tonight?

Which player made their teammates better?

How did that player respond when the ref made a bad call?

What did you see in that player's character during the postgame interview?

These questions build awareness. They help young men see past the highlights to the character underneath.

Takeaway: Watch one game this week with your mentee. Focus on character moves, not just scoring plays. Point out the moments that reveal integrity.

Professional Growth Gateway: Leadership Lessons from Team Sports

Leaders who played team sports have an edge.

They understand something that can't be taught in a boardroom: how to move a group toward a shared goal when the stakes are high and everyone's watching.

What Team Sports Teach About Leadership

1. Trust is earned through consistency

Players don't trust teammates who show up for big games but skip practice, and teams don't trust leaders who perform when it's convenient.

Trust builds through repeated action. Show up every day. Do the work when no one's watching. That's how you earn the right to lead.

2. Communication prevents chaos

On defense, one missed call creates an open shot. In leadership, one failure to communicate creates confusion.

Great teams talk constantly, and great leaders overcommunicate. They don't assume people know the plan; they ensure everyone's on the same page before the play starts.

3. Ego kills teams

The most talented roster doesn't always win. The most connected roster does.

Leaders who prioritize their stats over team success create resentment. Leaders who make others better create loyalty.

4. Adaptability wins games

Your game plan works until it doesn't. The other team adjusts, injuries happen, and unexpected challenges emerge.

Leaders who can adjust strategy mid-game keep their teams competitive, while leaders who stubbornly stick to the plan watch their teams fall apart.

5. How you lose matters as much as how you win

Teams remember how leaders respond to failure. Do you blame others? Do you make excuses? Or do you take responsibility and figure out what went wrong?

The best leaders own losses and share wins.

Applying Team Sports Principles to Work

In meetings, think like a point guard.

Your job is to get everyone involved. Make sure quieter voices get heard. Set up others to succeed. Don't dominate the conversation just because you can.

In projects, think like a coach.

Put people in positions where they can contribute their strengths. Adjust roles based on what's working. Give feedback in real time, not just during annual reviews.

In crises, think like a captain.

Stay calm when pressure rises. Communicate clearly. Make decisions with incomplete information. Take responsibility for outcomes.

In conflict, think like a teammate.

Address issues directly but respectfully. Focus on solving the problem, not winning the argument. Remember that you're on the same team working toward the same goal.

Takeaway: Pick one team sports principle this week. Apply it to your leadership. Notice what changes.

Success Spotlight: Athletes Leading Off the Court with Integrity

Championships get remembered. Character gets passed down.

These athletes built legacies that extend far beyond the court.

Chris Paul: The Point God of Community Investment

Chris Paul became one of the greatest point guards in NBA history and a model of what athletes can do when they lead with purpose.

Paul grew up in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. He watched his grandfather get attacked at age 61. The experience shaped how he views community and protection.

He started the Chris Paul Family Foundation in 2005. The foundation focuses on education, sports, and social responsibility. He's raised millions for communities that need it most.

But Paul's leadership goes deeper than checks. He served as the President of the National Basketball Players Association, fought for players' rights, negotiated during a pandemic, and protected younger players who couldn't speak for themselves.

Paul shows young men what leadership looks like when you have power: you use it to protect people who don't.

Maya Moore: Choosing Justice Over Championships

Maya Moore walked away from basketball at her peak.

She was 29. She'd won four WNBA championships. She was the best player in the league. And she left.

Why?

To fight for Jonathan Irons, a man she believed was wrongfully convicted of burglary and assault. Moore spent two years working to overturn his conviction.

In 2020, Irons was freed after serving 23 years.

Moore sacrificed millions of dollars and the prime years of her career. She chose integrity over fame, justice over championships, and integrity over fame.

She later married Irons. She's slowly returning to basketball on her terms, but her legacy is already set: She proved that character matters more than trophies.

Young women watching sports need to see that courage, and young men need to understand that true strength sometimes means walking away from what everyone expects you to chase.

What These Athletes Teach Us

Each profile above made different choices. But they share the same core principle: use your platform for something bigger than yourself.

You don't need to be an NBA player to apply this lesson. You need to ask: What can I do with my influence?

Maybe you coach youth sports. How are you building character, not just skills?

Maybe you work in an office. How are you mentoring younger employees?

Maybe you're a parent or mentor. How are you modeling integrity when your kids are watching?

The platform changes. The principle stays the same.

Takeaway: These athletes chose character over convenience. What choice will you make this week when the stakes are high?

Michael's Hot Take: People Say They Want Confidence - They're Lying

I've been thinking a lot about leadership this week.

Not the motivational poster version. The real version. The kind that actually makes people want to follow you.

I keep coming back to this: we say we want confident leaders, but what we really want is humble ones.

The Confidence Con

Every leadership book tells you to project confidence. Walk into the room like you own it. Never let them see you sweat. Fake it till you make it.

That's garbage.

Do you know what happens when someone walks into a room and acts like they own it? Everyone else in the room starts hoping they fail.

Confidence without humility is just arrogance with better PR.

But humility? Real humility? That's magnetic.

Why We're Drawn to Humble Leaders

Watch any NBA game. The player talking the most trash usually isn't the one people respect most. The player who plays, who lifts teammates up, who takes responsibility when things go wrong? That's who people remember.

We're drawn to humility because it's honest. It says, "I'm good at what I do, but I don't need to prove it to you every five minutes."

Humble leaders make space for other people to shine. Arrogant leaders need all the light in the room.

Humble leaders admit mistakes. Arrogant leaders blame the team.

Humble leaders ask questions. Arrogant leaders already know everything.

Guess which one people actually want to work with?

What This Means for Mentors (All of Us)

You're leading someone. Maybe it's a young man. Maybe it's a young woman. Maybe it's a colleague at work who looks up to you.

Doesn't matter. They're watching you. Not just when you're teaching them. All the time.

How do you respond when you don't know something? Do you admit it, or do you bluff your way through?

How do you treat people who cannot help you? With respect, or like they're invisible?

How do you talk about your accomplishments? Do you let your work speak for itself, or do you need everyone to know how great you are?

Your mentee is taking notes. And they're learning what leadership looks like by watching what you do, not just what you preach.

The Humility Gap

Here's the sarcastic truth: we love humble leaders until we're in a position to be one.

Then suddenly, it's "I need to advocate for myself," "I earned the right to talk about my success," and "Why should I be humble when other people aren't?"

Fair questions. Terrible leadership.

Because here's what happens when you lead with humility:

People trust you faster. They don't spend energy wondering if you're trying to manipulate them.

People work harder for you. They're not working to inflate your ego. They're working because they believe in the mission.

People forgive your mistakes. Because you've already shown you're human.

People remember you. Not because you told them how great you were. Because you made them feel valued.

That's the real power move. And it doesn't require you to convince anyone of anything.

The Examples No One Talks About

I remember the mentors who changed my life. None of them walked in acting like they had all the answers.

I remember the mentor who said, "I don't know, but let's figure it out together." That taught me more about leadership than any TED Talk about confidence.

I remember the teacher who admitted she made a grading error and apologized to the whole class. That taught me more about integrity than any lecture about doing the right thing.

I remember the coach who celebrated the bench player's improvement as loudly as the star player's game-winner. That taught me more about building teams than any book about management.

Your mentee is building their leadership foundation by watching you. Make sure you're showing them something real.

The Challenge

This week, try something radical: be humble on purpose.

Admit you don't know something instead of pretending you do.

Give credit to someone else for an idea instead of claiming it.

Ask for help instead of struggling alone.

Apologize when you're wrong instead of making excuses.

Watch what happens. Watch how people respond to you differently. Watch how your mentee's respect for you grows instead of shrinks.

Because here's the truth: people are drawn to humility. We spend a lot of time pretending we're not.

Leadership isn't about being the loudest, the most confident, or the one with the most impressive resume. It's about being real enough that other people want to become real, too.

That's the actual MVP move. And the beautiful part? You don't have to convince anyone it's working. They'll figure it out on their own.

Show them what humble leadership looks like. The stats will take care of themselves.

Ready to Build Your Legacy?

Join A Few Good MENtors as a mentee and learn what championship character looks like beyond the court.

Volunteer as a mentor and teach young men that integrity matters more than any stat line.

Share this newsletter with someone who needs to understand that authentic leadership isn't about the scoreboard.

Real men don't just chase trophies. They build character, one choice at a time, one mentee at a time, one example at a time.

Here's to playing the game the right way.