There have been many super-talented athletes who had all the talent in the world, but their careers never really took off. The key difference between them and the usual suspects on the GOAT list like Michael Jordan and the late, great Kobe Bryant is their mentality. Tim Grover, who trained both the greats and Dwyane Wade, described the different mindsets of athletes and how he can spot the greats in a crowd.
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In a video uploaded by ‘wade_legacy’ on Instagram, Grover explained that there are three types of athletes in the world, the coolers, the closers, and the cleaners. He said the coolers are the athletes who tell others what to do and how to do it, but they never get their hands dirty. When the team wins, the coolers celebrate the most despite not putting in equal effort.
Whereas, a closer provides results but only if everything is set in place according to their wish. When things go wrong, the closers point fingers instead of taking accountability. And then there are the cleaners, the elites, athletes who win individually and as a unit.
After his decade-long career in the league, Grover named some of the cleaners, who are never really satisfied because they understand that there’s always something to achieve,
“The two biggest cleaners I’ve had are Michael and Kobe. I would put Dwyane Wade in that category too.”
The renowned trainer seems spot on with his observation because these individuals are some of the best basketball players and among the most complete champions.
Tim Grover wrote about Michael Jordan in his book
Having trained MJ, Kobe, and D Wade, Grover understood why they were a class apart from the rest of the league. In his book, ‘Winning: The Unforgiving Race to Greatness’, he wrote about Jordan and his work ethic and how people only focus on everything he has achieved and avoid his struggles to reach that stage.
He wrote,
“Everyone wanted to be like Mike. Mike did not want to be like anyone else. Before every game, you’d see MJ alone, head down, chewing his gum, having a private conversation with himself. He felt the same nerves you might feel before you’re about to face a challenge. But he never doubted that he would perform at his best.”
The trainer revealed that even someone as great as Jordan had his fears, but he never actually let them take over his confidence in going out there and winning games.
