Did you know that the average winning point margin in an NBA game is right around six points and that the team with the highest free throw shooting percentage wins more often? Rick Barry, named one of the 50 Greatest players in history by the NBA in 1996, was ranked as an outstanding scorer and all-round player. He is “the only player to lead the NCAA, ABA, and NBA in points per game in a season” (Wikipedia.org). It’s no coincidence that he also held an average of 89% successful free throw attempts during his career. This ultimately wins more games!
Barry shot his free throws “Granny Style,” which is not a glamorous shot by any means, and it’s definitely not the way most players shoot! But it worked for him, and it does still work today. (A few years ago his son, Canyon Barry, played as a shooting guard for the Florida Gators and also shot “Granny Style”.) Wilt Chamberlain, the only player to ever score 100 points in a game, had a horrific shooting percentage from the line of just above 50%. When a coach convinced him to shoot underhanded (Granny Style), his percentage shot up that season, and he sunk 28 of 32 in his 100 point game!
Sometimes, however, those game-winning shots just don’t fall. Michael Jordan, known as one of, if not the greatest NBA player of all time, was known for his game-winning shots. However, what you don’t see or read about as much is all of the game-winning shots he missed, or the mistakes he made. He is human just like all of us. The difference with Michael Jordan is he used those mistakes as a springboard to work harder, learn from them, and use those experiences to get better. He had a different mindset than the average player which, in my opinion, is what makes him so great!
You’ll never have a week or month where everything will go perfect in your practice, because you can never “hit every shot you take.“ The key is to keep getting better and focus on the process, not just the result with your team! It’s interesting to me that professional sports teams practice multiple days per week for just one game, but in our practices and business we do exactly the opposite. We jump right into “game time,” often with very little practice or time to mentally prepare.
Sometimes the not-so-glamorous “Granny Style” process is what gets the job done profitably and proficiently. Most dentists don’t realize they receive more profit using an amalgam filling (you know, those old silver things?), compared to Botox dental fillings (which have very slim profit margins), yet everyone wants to jump into this “fancy new technology.” Don’t chase the newer, shiny objects. If you want to be different, better at what you do, and have a practice that really excels and actually exceeds the expectations of your patients, you need to practice, practice, and practice some more.
From everyone here at Pinecrest Practice Growth, we encourage you to keep at it, and we hope that you have a great week!