Monta Ellis on the Importance of a Strong Mind
Success is more mental than skill.
Monta Ellis had a bad first pro season.
In 2005-06, Eliis, a 20-year-old rookie, played for a losing franchise in the Golden State Warriors.
The team won 34 games the previous season and replicated the record to the tee in his first NBA season.
Additionally, Ellis also didn’t play well.
He competed in 49 games with the team and averaged 6.8 points per game on 41.5 percent shooting.
That first year must have been difficult for him. He was struggling to perform well and to get minutes, and the team was struggling to get wins.
But Ellis kept going.
The following season (2006-07), his scoring jumped from 6.8 to 16.5 points per game. And he was efficient with it, too, making 47.5 percent of his shots. This led to him winning the Most Improved Player of the Year Award this season.
So, what did he do?
Apparently, he just didn’t let his emotions get the best of him.
On the Out the Mud podcast, Ellis told Zach Randolph and Tony Allen that basketball is 90 percent mental.
“I don’t care who you are -you can’t do nothing when you’re frustrated. You can’t think straight while you’re frustrated. No one can. I don’t care who it is. No one can. You gotta be mental -I tell them this: basketball is 90 percent mental. 10 percent comes from all of the skills and development and IQ and all that. Because the days that you go in there and you don’t want to do it, you gotta be mentally strong to get through it. The days when the ball not going in all the time and you done missed your 15, you be like, ‘Man, should I take this 16th one?’ [You gotta have a strong mental].”
Ellis played in the NBA for 12 seasons and was one of the most dangerous scorers.
Between 2009-10 to 2010-11, he averaged 24.7 points per game on 45 percent shooting.
He was fast and knew how to use angles to score. But more importantly, he didn’t let his team’s record and standings affect his performance.
Despite only winning 62 out of 164 games over the span of those two seasons, Ellis continued to find ways to help the Warriors win.
So, if you want to succeed, get out of your head.
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