By Keith Lane (Chief Talent Officer)
You don’t have to be a sports fan to know that a lot of applicable life-level lessons can come from the world of sports. The most common refrain in all manner of sports stories regularly includes well-documented tales of heroic success amidst fierce competition, unprecedented adversity, grueling hard work, and/or unfathomable odds. Whether highlighting individual perseverance, or showcasing the power of coming together as a team, sports has the unique ability to provide the inspirational currency that motivates others to channel their focus, drive self-discipline, tap into potential, and/or strive to achieve at a level once thought impossible. Amidst the many layers of humanity-improving benefits associated with sports, inspiration is not the only thing we can gain from the broader realm of athletic competition. Let’s discuss a recent real life example.
The sports media universe was shaken during the first week of February 2025 when the Dallas Mavericks abruptly traded Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers. For those who don’t know the history, we’ll catch you up. Luka was drafted by Dallas (from Slovenia) as a teenager in 2018. The following 2-3 years showcased his rocket-like ascension to becoming widely regarded as one of the top five best basketball players on planet earth. His skillset is virtually unprecedented in the modern athletic landscape. In the process of his maturation, he became the cornerstone of the Dallas Mavericks’ multi-year “organization build” that was committed to winning on and off the court, both short and long term. Fast forward to the summer of 2024 (fresh off a January change in team ownership) and the Maverick’s long-held vision for sustained success was taking powerful shape in the form of trips to the Western Conference championship in 2 out of the last 3 years (including a trip to the NBA finals in 2024). Luka was repeatedly finishing in the top three for the league’s MVP race, and the Mavericks were finally attracting other elite-level talents that wanted the opportunity to play alongside the freakishly talented All-Star. All of this was culminating as Luka reached the ripe old age of 25.
Luka Doncic had quickly become an international superstar and public role model in North Texas for all of the aforementioned reasons, but that is only half of the story. He was also adored by Mavs fans because of who he was as a person. In an era of hubris-laden mega-stars obsessed with the spotlight, Luka remains a family man whose character, warmth, and charm endeared him to the Mavs fanbase in an exceedingly uncommon way. He was approachable, he was genuine, and he has made no secret of his love of all things Dallas. In the eyes of fans (whose support of the team is the basis of the franchise’s long-term value), Luka Doncic was the irrefutable heir-apparent to the early 2000s Dallas Mavericks’ superstar Dirk Nowitzki (more on that shortly). Dirk shared a similar talent level and strikingly similar life storyline. Like Dirk, Luka’s city loved him as much as he loved his city.
The generational fairy tale scenario for a legendary relationship between Dallas and Luka was fully on its way… That is until around 10 PM (CST) on Saturday, February 1st, 2025. As things would turn out, Mavericks’ GM Nico Harrison had been working under the complete cover of darkness to unilaterally orchestrate and execute a trade of Luka to the Los Angeles Lakers. Fans continue to wonder what fueled Harrison’s decision… Was it hubris, ignorance, or an unprecedented level of acrimonious tone deafness? Speculation abounds, but the team, the fanbase, and the entire league was blindsided with shock and disbelief as news of the trade’s completion began to go viral.
Luka himself was reported to have shed grievous tears in utter disbelief when initially informed of what had been done behind everyone’s back. By Sunday morning, fans’ shock was quickly turning to anger, and in the time since has evolved into a combination of apathy and disgust towards Harrison and new team owner Patrick Dumont (No dissatisfaction has been directed towards the new and/or remaining Mavericks players themselves; Those guys are fighters.). In post-trade assessments from virtually every corner of the entire sports universe, the consensus has been (and remains) that the Mavs got fleeced in the deal. Nico Harrison did the unthinkable without so much as a whisper to anyone outside of the team’s ownership (who are very early in their first professional team ownership venture, having purchased the team from Mark Cuban in January ’24).
As the voluminous fallout from the deal sunk in for fans of the game, pundits, and players alike… There was one particular quote from Dallas Maverick and future Hall-of-Famer (HOF) Kyrie Irving that really hit hard. In a moment of transparency during his first public comments regarding the trade, Kyrie Irving said, “It’s the nature of our business, and it is a ruthless business.”
Kyrie Irving said, “It’s the nature of our business, and it is a ruthless business.”
Kyrie’s “ruthless” comment about the Luka deal is true. The sad irony is that it doesn’t have to be that way in any business. Want proof? Consider Luka’s aforementioned HOF predecessor and retired Maverick legend: Dirk Nowitzki. Dirk was also drafted by Dallas and played his entire career with the Mavericks. He was a first-ballot Hall of Famer and is now immortalized outside of their home arena with a statue adorned with his famous quote: “Loyalty never fades away.” That’s a profound and priorities-laden statement from an all-time great. Dirk was historically good at his craft, he was loyal to his team, and his team reached the apex of the professional basketball universe as World Champions in 2011. Dirk’s loyalty was wholly reciprocated by his team, his city, and the fanbase… And these truths are self-evident in a career that spanned 20+ years on his one and only team – the Dallas Mavericks. It’s a widely accepted fact that Dirk could have made more money and/or likely won more rings on another team. He had ample opportunities to leave, just as the franchise would have had lucrative trade offers to lure him away had they ever expressed a hint of that inclination. In an era when player-made “super teams” were the norm (i.e., “I’m taking my talents to South Beach” – LeBron James), Dirk was fiercely loyal, as was the Mavericks’ leadership of his day. Neither party conducted their business in a “ruthless” way, which speaks volumes about what is possible when equally yoked parties work together in a truly meaningful way.
Loyalty was Dirk’s standard, and that was the organization’s standard, too. Dirk only won one title, but the weight of the title that he and his teammates won is infamous. Dirk was blessed to be a part of an organization whose leadership valued “how” they did things just as much as “what” they did, and that lesson stands the test of time to this very day. As yesteryear’s Mavericks showed in stark contrast to today’s Mavericks, there is a right way and a wrong way to do anything. Just because a person (or an organization) has the authority to do something, doesn’t make it the “right” thing to do.
Just because a person (or an organization) has the authority to do something, doesn’t make it the “right” thing to do.
A difference in philosophy comes to the surface when comparing the different leaders of the Mavericks. The takeaway from this difference projects far beyond the basketball court: What is the true nature of the organization to which you bear allegiance?
What is the true nature of the organization to which you bear allegiance?
Just as Kyrie Irving made clear, professional athletics “can” be a ruthless business. The same could be said for a lot of non-sports related businesses, too.
Dirk Nowitzki and Mark Cuban proved that winning players and winning organizations can accomplish legendary things when partnered together in a long-term and worthy cause. In this point, it is revealed that ruthless tactics are a choice, not a requirement. People are not machines, and history shows us that organizations become legendary only when they are “one” with talented people in the shared pursuit of lasting and meaningful goals.
Stated in another way, legendary people and legendary organizations achieve greatness by winning the right way. Winning the right way means an individual and/or the organization they represent adhere to transcendent priorities: 1. Do what’s right 2. Do your best 3. Do unto others. Regardless of industry… An organization’s framework for determining what is “right” vs. “wrong” will ultimately be drawn from its priorities. Who sets an organization’s priorities? It’s leadership.
An organization’s framework for determining what is “right” vs. “wrong” will ultimately be drawn from its priorities. Who sets an organization’s priorities? It’s leadership.
Kyrie was shocked to learn that Luka had been traded. What his statement was telling us (and what Nico Harrison and Patrick Dumont’s showed us) is that loyalty is not a part of the new Mavericks’ organizational priorities. That is a devastating loss for a franchise that once enjoyed a sacred and very special team culture (i.e., “loyalty never fades away”).
I believe in the old Mavericks’ priorities, not the new Mavericks’ priorities. I admire any organization (inside or outside of sports) that cherishes the old Mavericks’ priorities, not the far more prevalent new Mavericks’ priorities.
Treat him right, Lakers fans. Dallas’ loss (on so many levels) is certifiably your gain.
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