SELFLESS.
BUILDING THEIR GAME ARTICLE
SELFISH TO BE
BY KEVIN RATZSCH | OCT 10 , 2026 | 5 MINUTE READ
SELFISH OR SELFLESS?
Great players have to know when to be both.
Be selfish enough to develop everything you've been given. Be selfless enough to know it isn't all about you.
I've said this to players for years.
And I realize it sounds a little contradictory.
Selfish AND selfless?
Absolutely.
Because great basketball players need to understand both.
And sometimes, what looks like unselfish basketball is actually pretty selfish.
BE SELFISH ENOUGH.
I want kids to be selfish with their development.
Get in the gym.
Work on your shot. Develop your handle. Learn to finish. Get stronger.
Put in the time when nobody's watching.
Don't apologize for wanting to become a great basketball player.
Develop everything you've been given.
But all that work should make you more than just skilled.
It should make you confident.
I've coached kids who could knock down shot after shot in workouts but wouldn't take an open jumper in a game.
Kids who could get to the basket but became hesitant the moment a defender stood in front of them.
And sometimes we praise those kids for being unselfish.
But are they?
SOMETIMES BEING PASSIVE IS SELFISH.
Imagine your kid catches the basketball wide open.
They've worked on that shot thousands of times.
But instead of shooting, they immediately pass it to somebody else.
Why?
Maybe they're afraid to miss.
Maybe they don't want the coach upset with them.
Maybe they'd rather somebody else take the responsibility.
We tend to call that unselfish basketball.
But sometimes it's actually the opposite.
When you refuse to be aggressive or take a good shot because you're afraid to fail, you're hurting your team.
Your teammates need you to be a threat.
Now, if you can't hit the broad side of a barn, maybe that open three isn't your best option.
Then you better go get yourself a layup!
The point isn't that everybody needs to shoot more.
It's that everybody needs to be READY to make something happen.
THAT'S YOUR TIME TO SHINE.
I've told players this hundreds of times.
When somebody sets a screen for you, that's your time to SHINE.
Look to score.
That doesn't mean you're going to shoot every time.
But somebody just created an advantage for you. Don't waste it.
Maybe you get an open jumper.
Maybe you attack the basket.
Maybe a second defender steps up, and now your teammate is wide open.
But if you come off that screen looking to get rid of the basketball before you've even caught it?
You've probably created nothing.
No shot for you. No shot for your teammate.
And many times, a turnover.
The same thing happens when the basketball gets reversed from one side of the court to the other.
Five defenders are shifting. Closing out. Recovering.
There's a weakness somewhere.
Catch it ready to shoot. Attack a defender who's closing out. Get into the lane before the defense gets set.
Don't give everybody time to recover.
Be selfish enough to attack the advantage. Be selfless enough to recognize what your attack creates.
Sometimes that's your shot.
Sometimes it's somebody else's.
But either way, you made something happen.
SHOOT LIKE YOU BELONG OUT THERE.
I've told kids plenty of times:
If you're not going to shoot the basketball with confidence, what are you doing on the court?
If you shoot with doubt, you've already made the shot harder than it needs to be.
But when you shoot with confidence, you give yourself a better chance.
Will you make every shot?
Of course not. Heck, Steph Curry makes about 40% of his three-pointers, and he's the greatest shooter of all time!
And when you miss with confidence, it won't bother you nearly as much.
Here's something else players don't always realize.
Sometimes a missed shot can still demoralize your opponent.
Maybe you come off a screen and get a great look.
Or maybe you make one efficient move, break your defender down, and create a wide-open shot.
And you miss.
You might be frustrated.
But you know what that defender might be thinking?
"Man, I got lucky he missed that. He had me!"
He knows you beat him. He knows you can get that shot again.
Just because the shot didn't go in doesn't mean you didn't win that possession's individual battle.
Keep creating those opportunities. The shots will fall.
BE SELFLESS ENOUGH.
I've also coached plenty of kids who have no problem being aggressive.
They want the ball.
They want the shot.
They want to make the play.
And I love that confidence.
But there's a difference between being aggressive and being ball-dominant.
If you beat your defender and two more players step in to stop you, what did the defense just tell you?
Somebody's open.
Can you recognize it?
Can you make the pass?
Being a great player isn't about proving you can score against three defenders.
It's about recognizing when your attack has created something better.
Looking to score doesn't mean you've already decided to shoot.
Sometimes the most unselfish play starts with an aggressive move toward the basket.
You draw the defense.
You create the advantage.
And then you give the basketball up.
Not because you were afraid to shoot.
But because you recognized something better.
WHAT DOES YOUR KID NEED TO HEAR?
This is where I think parents need to be careful.
Not every kid needs the same conversation after a game.
Some need to become more aggressive. Others need to learn when to give the basketball up.
And sometimes, those conversations are better coming from their coach.
As parents, it's easy to see our kid pass up an open shot and say, "You've worked on that shot thousands of times! Why didn't you take it?"
We might mean well.
But our kid might hear something entirely different.
More pressure. More expectations. Another thing they did wrong.
Sometimes the best thing we can do is understand the game a little better ourselves, encourage our kids, and let their coaches do the coaching.
And maybe this is an article worth letting your young athlete read on their own.
Not because they need another lecture.
But because learning when to be selfish and when to be selfless is something every player has to figure out.
KNOW WHEN TO BE BOTH.
The hesitant player needs to learn:
Sometimes my team needs it to be me.
The ball-dominant player needs to learn:
It doesn't always have to be me.
And the mature player?
They learn to recognize the difference.
That's what I want for the kids I train.
Not just impressive moves in an empty gym.
I want them to understand how to use everything they've developed when there are nine other players on the court.
Because being selfless doesn't mean standing back and letting everybody else make the plays.
And being selfish doesn't mean every possession needs to end with your shot.
Sometimes the most unselfish thing you can do is confidently take responsibility.
Be selfish enough to develop everything you've been given.
Be selfless enough to know it isn't all about you.
Basketball is Good. God is Greater.