Moments That Make or Break A Career
This picture might tell the story of how Orlando Magic guard Courtney Lee's career ended.
In a tie game with under a second remaining and the ball inbounded at half court in Game 2, coach Stan Van Gundy drew up a brilliant back door lob to Lee. Lee skied toward the rim, all alone, just needing catch the ball and lay it softly off the glass. Lee's momentum carried him upward and away from the basket, but his catch was clean. He laid it off the glass.......and missed.
The first thing I thought when I saw Lee after the play was I bet he's killing himself right now. He's going to kick himself for weeks, months, maybe years for missing that layup. It was by no means an easy play, but it was neither improbably converted. Nobody can blame him for missing, but everybody (aside from Laker fans) wishes he would have made it.
Just look at his picture right after the miss
Where else has this happened in sports recently? How about then-Houston Astros closer Brad Lidge giving up an absolute rocket to Albert Pujols with 2 outs in Game 5 of the 2005 NLCS
How about Eli Manning's moment in the Super Bowl XLII (42)? Eli's legend had built throughout the playoffs as he led his New York Giants to 3 straight road wins to secure the NFC Championship and a matchup with the undefeated New England Patriots. Manning's make or break moment came at the 1:14 mark in the 4th quarter, trailing 14-10 with a 3rd and 5. Manning was nearly sacked on a broken play, escaped the pocket and hurled a throw off his back foot to seldom-targeted receiver David Tyree, who made an equally incredible catch for a 32 yard gain. Manning then tossed a beautiful Super Bowl clinching TD pass to Plaxico Burress to ruin the Patriots bid for a perfect season. Manning's moment transformed him from a hyped but average quarterback into a surefire franchise player made from the stuff of legend by his Super Bowl drive. Manning has not been the same since, but in a good way.
There are many other examples of the make or break moment in sports. These are just a few which highlight the power of psychology in regard to the professional athlete and show that the mental part of the game is equally--perhaps more--important to physical. The mental is what separates Michael Jordan from Darius Miles or Mookie Blaylock, not the athletic talent. Is there really that much talent separating Jerry Rice from Derrick Mason or Peerless Price? This is part of what makes sports so great and unpredictable: the guy with the most talent doesn't always win.
As for Courtney Lee, I hope I didn't jinx him. Heaven forbid he reads my blog and can never get my speculation out of his head. I think he's a fantastic player with tons of talent and a good mental makeup. I hope he goes on to have a prosperous career, but time will tell whether or not his layup in Game 2 was a make or break moment in his NBA life.
