Houston Rockets: James Harden, Kevin McHale, and leadership

Former Houston Rockets coach Kevin McHale said James Harden wasn’t a good leader. Do leadership skills factor into play on the court?

In the sports world, there is an unwritten (kinda) rule where the best player on the team is also the leader of the team. But, is that such a necessity? Let’s talk about Kevin McHale’s comments on James Harden.

Recently, former NBA, and, more specifically, Houston Rockets head coach Kevin McHale said that James Harden wasn’t a leader. Being a leader wasn’t part of his personality. Of course, many people took it as McHale was saying Harden was a lesser man or player.

I happen to think that’s not the case. I agree with McHale’s reasoning. This is regardless if I think Harden is a good leader or not.

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I think it’s always been a weird thing to expect the best to be the ultimate leader or captain. Now, you can argue that leaders are not born; they are made. But, I do think some people are capable of being better leaders than others simply because, as McHale mentioned, it’s a personality thing. Even if you could lead, some people really would prefer not to.

There’s nothing wrong with that. If everyone was a leader, then nobody is following, and so what are we really leading?

Let me use myself as an example.

I’m the leader of a lighting ministry in my church. Over the years, I’ve had a team of technicians that I have trained who have worked many kinds of fixtures like pars, followspots (spotlights) fog machines, strobes, flame effects, and more. I’m not the best at operating that stuff. I really am not. But, I understand that me not being the best doesn’t mean I can’t lead. I also know many members of my team are not quite capable of leading the team.

Leadership goes beyond ability to work in the area you are working in. It doesn’t exclude; just goes beyond. Harden is obviously a terrific player on the court. He can score with the best of them. He is an elite player who, depending on who you ask, should be an MVP.

The idea that we have, somewhere, conjoined skill and leadership is a little upsetting. Some people end up in a place where they are not best suited. It’s the same with the various skillsets of an NBA roster. You’re not going to ask Brook Lopez to be your point gaurd. That doesn’t make him a lesser player. He just has a different set of skills.

I mean, if you ask Brook to be your point gaurd, I don’t know what to tell you.

Look at another example. For a lot of people in charge of a big company or project, there is a group of advisors, right? Typically, they hold information, skills, knowledge, and more that the leader does not have. So, he relies on them.

What I’ve noticed in the NBA is that, especially with head coaches who used to be players, most players are role players who end up coaching. Why is that? Why is the role player generally suited to be a leader to other players?

There is no science. There is no right or wrong. Anyone can be a leader, in theory. However, there are some things that require a certain type of character, personality, and/or style that makes us who we are.

Let James Harden be James Harden. He’s a triple double combo gaurd who is a fantastic offensive weapon and, uh, well I won’t go into his defense but yeah. McHale is absolutely right. He wasn’t trying to put his former star in a negative light in that statement. It’s a matter of fact. Some players can lead better than others. If Chris Paul is a big leader, then great. If Harden grows to become a leader, then fantastic.

I just think it’s time to be a little more forgiving on this automatic “best player is leader” thing. Why can’t the worst player be the leader?

I get it; there’s an example to set. Nobody is going to listen to the guy who isn’t even playing the game, right? Oh, except, actually, yes. Plenty of NBA coaches have never played in the NBA and have earned great respect from their rosters.

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Each player brings something to the team. Harden brings what he brings. Other players bring this and that. Leadership, confidence, humor, self-composedness, friendly, laid back, strict, and so much more. We need all of those on the team and it really shouldn’t matter who brings which one. That would be a great way to finish making my point.

Appreciate what players bring and hope and encourage them to be better. We all can be better, but we all have specific strengths and roles. Find your place. Be at peace with it. I’m sure Harden is.

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