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Good post. I’d add that your best player has to be that kind of a guy. It’s why players like Suggs and Mitchell seem to be so highly regarded. Both seem to be the hardest working guys on their teams who will do anything to generate team success.

I think it really comes down to who your team and coaches are as people. There was an article today about Julius Randle and how he is the latest guy to play for Tom Thibodeau and become a "Thibs guy". It's a fairly interesting read. https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/31503946/how-julius-randle-became-thibs-guy-mvp-candidate-knicks And while I don't think everyone has to be quite as intense as Thibs, his long-time credo "The magic is in the work." has some definite value, especially for a young team. You need to have a coaching staff who preaches the value of hard work, and playing the right way; and that is willing to commit to enforcing that by allocating playing time accordingly. You need to have a couple of veterans who are willing to lead by putting in the work, and young guys with the right mental attitude/work ethic. It's part of the reason I was/am such a fan of Ennis - you can tell by the way he plays that this is a guy that puts in the work to stay in shape, to stay mentally focused, and to bring the energy. Anthony definitely seems to have it, as do WCJ and MCW to some extent. I think Fultz, Okeke and Isaac have the work mentality, though their bodies have failed them so far. Having to put all the work into recovery may help to get/keep them on that path. It may be the only way that they can have long careers in the league, so we will see. I think this is the thing that Bamba is a little lacking in. I haven't seen enough of Harris to know yet, but I'm concerned it might be lacking. We definitely saw flashes of it in Wagner, Hall, and Brazdeikis, but that may just be guys playing for a contract, though that could lead them onto the path when they see the value of it. I think Hampton is beginning to see the value of that path, as he seemed to end the season that way. Ross was definitely on it at one point, but seems to have "strayed" a bit off of it over the last year or so. Hopefully, he rediscovers it this summer. I think that is what we used to see with Vuc, Gordon, and Fournier - they seemed to put in the work, see some results, but then "ease off" and relax. I think that is what was so frustrating for us as fans - guys who have the talent, who put in "some" of the work, but then seemed to settle. That is why we would see flashes of great ability, but not as much consistency, though Vuc did seem to finally get it the last couple of seasons. I actually think that losing those two dunk contests was very counter-productive for Gordon, as he really put in the work, both physically and mentally prepping for them; but then the results didn't seem to come, and I think that definitely got into his head. I think it robbed him of more than just the dunk title, but some of his fire, desire, and work commitment were deflated by those losses.

It’s still insane to me that man didn’t become at least a serviceable bench guy- crazy athlete, nice stroke, very competitive. He just never put any of it together. What a shame

Nah, Biggest bust was Hezonja and it's not even close.