SuperStar Teammate

I'm not really a basketball fan.  I mean, I have been to some Spurs and Mavericks games, but that's normally only because whichever boyfriend I had at the time wanted to go see them.  The Spurs game I went to in the 90s, they were playing the Chicago Bulls and Michael Jordan looked RIGHT at me, even if I was delusional from the bleeder seats.  It was awesome how our eyes connected.  The few Mavericks games I went to, were mostly playoff games because it was the hype as I lived in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

So, I don't know who Rodney Hood is or his background story.  But as I have pointed out before, when I read articles I usually relate them to pool.  And this was just the exact case when I read a short article about Rodney Hood and his recent struggles going to Cleveland.

Basically, Rodney was a star basketball player for the Jazz and was a top scorer for them.  Then was traded to the Cavaliers.... and he wasn't played as often.  Why?  Well, because of superstar LeBron James.

LeBron is the top player of the team.  He is played most often, has the ball the most, is normally the top scorer, etc.  Sure, it's a team effort, but Rodney is no longer one of the top players of his team like he used to be.

In the article, he states:

"I was playing at such a high clip when I got traded,” Hood said. “And then, this is my first time having "Did Not Play" (DNPs) in life. The first time shooting two times or five times in a game. Having to adjust is the toughest part. It’s a part of my growth. I’m not going to always be in this state."

I admire that he realizes it's part of his growth, that is difficult to do, as he's got to be frustrated.  I doubt he's sitting on the sidelines all happy about not playing and having low-scoring games because of his super-star teammate.

Many of us have been on both ends of this.  We are on a team that wins, but we are surrounded by better players who get played more often because they perform better.  On the other hand, sometimes we join a new team and find ourselves the top player of a team.  While that is surely a "high" in our life, that also has a domino effect on others on the team.  Those who used to play more, don't get played as often because you joined as their new superstar.  Rude!  j/k :)

What do we make of all this?

Well, it's just part of our pool journey!  Sometimes we will be the LeBron James and sometimes we will be the Rodney Hood (be a top player but not getting to show our talent because of the team we are on).  It's all part of the process and works out in the end.

I have learned through my pool journey that being on different teams provides different opportunities.  And while you may not understand the path you are currently on, eventually you will see every decision points you to the track you were meant to be going on on your pool journey.

You will see.  I promise. :)