Jalen Rose Advice To Young NBA Players

In a BS Report podcast, Jalen Rose advises young NBA players to model their games/careers on role players versus superstars.  He says there are only a handful of superstars, but young NBA guys can develop skills to become important role players and have great careers.  He didn't go into too much detail, but I took it mean, rather than trying to become the next LaBron - which no one will - try to be the best at a certain niche skill - like lockdown defense, or 3-point shooting, or post-up scoring.  Watching these playoffs, it totally makes sense.  Seeing guys like Kawhi Leonard, George Hill, Roy Hibbert, Udonis Haslem, always makes me appreciate the NBA role player and the difference they make on good teams.

I started thinking about it in the realm of filmmaking and career as well.  I've never quite framed the thought in this way before, but it makes sense from a filmmaking perspective to become highly skilled at a specific niche versus trying to be the next PTA or Quentin Tarantino.  Everyone strives to be an auteur, but this strikes me as akin to every NBA player trying to be LaBron.  As an outsider, it seems like an absurd pursuit.

It strikes me as a more reasonable goal for young filmmakers to pick a specialty based upon what the world needs:  maybe you will define yourself as an innovative writer like Charlie Kaufman, a special effects whiz like James Cameron, a tasteful producer in the mold of Scott Rudin, or a joke writer for sitcoms, a comedic music video guy, a low budget horror filmmaker.