Are you making plays for teammates?

LeBron gets it.

In the March 25, 2009 edition of Sports Illustrated, Dan Patrick’s “Just My Type” column featured a Q&A with NBA MVP LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Here is one of Patrick’s questions with James’ answer:

Dan Patrick: Which would mean more: making a game-winning shot or dishing off for a game-winning shot?

LeBron James: Passing to a teammate and him hitting the game-winner. That means I’ve drawn the defense or drawn a double team and gotten a guy open. And to see a teammate succeed is the ultimate for me.

The other best player on the planet – Kobe Bryant – displayed this same type of philosophy last night in the Lakers’ vital game five win over Denver. Bryant took just 13 shots while adding eight assists in a must-win game for Los Angeles.

No play was more crucial than Bryant’s highlight assist to Lamar Odom with a minute left in the fourth quarter which all but put the game away. With the shot clock winding down, Bryant rose for an apparent three-point attempt which drew defenders. However, at the last moment, Bryant zipped the ball to Odom under the basket for an easy bucket plus a foul.

LeBron and Kobe. Kobe and LeBron. However you stack it, they are the two best players in the world. But neither player can win on his own. Yes, there are times they both must carry their respective teams and more often than not, they will be the guys who take the shot at the buzzer. (If you were the coach, that’s who you would want shooting the ball too, right?)

But the best leaders – in sports, in business, in our communities, in our homes – understand the better they make their teammates look, the more they will succeed.

Do you live your life wanting to make those around you look good? Do you consciously make an effort to put those around you in a position to succeed? Or, do you focus on getting credit for everything good that happens?

Successful individuals come from successful teams.

Successful teams are not made up of individuals who are concentrating on individual success and accolades. Instead, these teams are made up of strong and secure individuals who are striving to make their teammates look good.

And in the end, these individuals will receive the due accolades.

Just like James said, “To see a teammate succeed is the ultimate for me.”

Can you say the same thing?