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What do NBA champions teach us about building winning organizations?
What does it take to build a high-performing team? Drawing on lessons from basketball’s most successful franchises, this article explores five principles that can help organizations thrive in today’s fast-changing environment.
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is the world’s premier professional basketball league. In 2024 alone, the NBA generated approximately $11.34bn in revenue through media rights, sponsorships, and fan engagement, solidifying its position as a global leader in the business of entertainment, media, and sports.
Historically, NBA championships were dominated by a small group of powerhouse franchises—historic dynasties like the Chicago Bulls, the Los Angeles Lakers, and the Golden State Warriors—each winning multiple championships, often in consecutive seasons, over the past three decades. But over the last seven years, something has changed. Since 2019, no team has repeated as champion. Instead, each NBA title has gone to a different team, from the Toronto Raptors in 2019 to the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2025, who claimed victory and secured their place in basketball history.
So, what has changed? And what does it mean for you and your business?
The NBA example teaches us something about the way winning organizations are built. Because in today’s world, success hinges less on sustained dominance or adherence to a single formula, and more on shared or similar patterns that underpin high-performing teams.
While there’s no magic playbook or guaranteed path to victory, the more recent NBA champions are teams that have found different ways to win: some by leveraging seasoned veterans, others by rising stars. Some win through lockdown defense, others through explosive offense. Yet despite their different styles, these teams share the same foundational traits. And those traits offer powerful lessons for the corporate world. Perhaps chief among those lessons is the fact that there is no “silver bullet,” no hot new strategy, visionary hire, or breakthrough product that guarantees instant success. What matters instead is a set of core principles, exemplified by the new wave of NBA champions, that can help any organization navigate and compete in today’s fast-moving, high-stakes environment.
There are five principles that I believe leaders should have on their radar.
1. Build systems, not just superstars
Prioritize depth and internal development over star power.
In the era of “super teams,” titles were often seen as the result of assembling superstar players. Recent NBA champions reveal another blueprint: build depth and develop talent internally. The 2023 Nuggets won with a generational player in Nikola Jokić, famously drafted during a Taco Bell commercial, long after most top prospects were off the board (the NBA draft is an annual talent selection process where top picks resemble elite school recruits, but true advantage lies in spotting overlooked talent, rewarding teams with sharp scouting and long-term vision). But their success also depended on homegrown contributors like Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr., both developed in Denver’s system. The 2019 Raptors leaned on Pascal Siakam and undrafted Fred VanVleet, both developed from within. The 2021 Bucks were led by Giannis Antetokounmpo, an international draft pick taken outside the top tier, who developed in-house into a two-time Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the league, but also on key role players like Bobby Portis, Brook Lopez, and Pat Connaughton. The 2022 Warriors relied on Jordan Poole (28th draft pick) and Kevon Looney (30th draft pick), both shaped and elevated through their internal development system. Most strikingly, the 2025 champions, Oklahoma City Thunder, transformed Shai Gilgeous-Alexander into the league MVP, nurtured Jalen Williams (12th draft pick) from an unranked high school recruit to All-Star, and developed undrafted Luguentz Dort into one of the league’s top defenders. They relied on 10-12 players who all contributed regularly, a clear sign of strong team depth.
Business insight: Investing in early-career talent, middle management, and team-wide growth, rather than chasing “hero” CEOs, superstar hires, or star salespeople, builds high-performing teams. Identifying undervalued potential, developing it through training, mentoring, and upskilling, and embedding it in a collaborative system isn’t just cost-effective; it embeds institutional knowledge, nurtures loyalty, and aligns personal growth with strategic intent. When leadership prioritizes depth and assembles teams of capable individuals who can perform well together with overlapping skills and shared values, the organization reaps dividends far beyond the balance sheet: in culture, continuity, and competitive depth.
“In elite organizations, cultural cohesion functions as an accelerant, enabling faster decision-making, deeper trust, and higher discretionary effort.”Giannis Antetokounmpo and Steph Curry by All-Pro Reels is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 Source: Wikimedia Commons
2. Shape culture as glue
Shared purpose beats individual ego.
Championship teams have a collective identity that goes beyond the playbook. The 2022 Warriors thrived on their “Strength in Numbers” mantra, which emphasized the power of the team’s collective effort and alignment, rather than just individual stars. The 2024 Celtics prided themselves on gritty defense and balanced effort, fueled by their revival of the “Ubuntu” philosophy – “I am because we are.” Emphasizing unity, selflessness, and shared accountability, they embraced the belief that individual success was inseparable from team success. The 2019 Raptors embodied selflessness, where everyone from Kawhi Leonard to Greg Monroe played a meaningful role. Similarly, the 2021 Milwaukee Bucks were anchored not just by Giannis Antetokounmpo’s dominance but by a culture of humility, loyalty, and shared effort. After scoring 50 points in the title-clinching Game 6, Antetokounmpo rejected the idea of chasing a shortcut to success, saying, “I could go to a super team and just do my part and win a championship. But this is the hard way to do it — and we did it.” His words reflected the team’s deeper identity: one built on trust, development, and unity. Like the 2025 champions Oklahoma City Thunder, with their “power of friendship” and team-first ethos, these champions prove that trust, communication, and shared purpose drive titles.
Business insight: Culture is not a performance accessory; it is its architecture. In elite organizations, cultural cohesion functions as an accelerant, enabling faster decision-making, deeper trust, and higher discretionary effort. This is more than mission statements or perks; it’s the lived fabric of values, norms, and shared purpose that governs behavior under stress. When purpose is deeply internalized and ego is subordinated to collective aspiration, performance becomes self-reinforcing. Culture, when cultivated intentionally, becomes the invisible hand steering the organization through uncertainty and scale.
Winning organizations operate with fiscal discipline, treating resources not as a blunt force instrument but as a scalpel.
3. Invest wisely without overspending
Outperforming doesn’t require outspending.
The 2024–25 NBA Finals (Indiana Pacers vs. Oklahoma City Thunder) is the first time since the introduction of a soft salary cap limit known as the luxury tax in 2002–03 that both Finals contenders were below the threshold (a spending limit above which teams incur steep financial penalties, making it a benchmark of aggressive, high-cost roster building; staying below it reflects disciplined team construction and cost-effective success). This wasn’t about cost-cutting – it was strategic investing. Both teams prioritized value contracts, youth development, and roster flexibility over splashy spending. Rather than relying on maxed-out rosters, they built cohesive lineups with high-effort contributors on team-friendly deals. Their Finals run highlights how strategic resource management can produce elite results without financial overreach. While high payrolls can support championship runs, they’re not a prerequisite. The 2022 Warriors were a notable exception, winning with the league’s highest payroll (1st), powered by a mix of homegrown stars and seasoned veterans. In contrast, most recent champions like the Raptors (2019, 4th), Bucks (2021, 7th), Nuggets (2023, 8th), Celtics (2024, 5th), and Lakers (2020, 11th) succeeded with more balanced, strategic spending. The 2025 finalists, Pacers and Thunder, both outside the top 10 in payroll, further reinforce the viability of a value-driven, sustainable approach.
Business insight: Spending more doesn’t guarantee winning. Strategic excellence is often less about the volume of investment and more about its precision. Winning organizations operate with fiscal discipline, treating resources not as a blunt force instrument but as a scalpel. They optimize return on intention, not just return on investment, allocating capital where it aligns with strategic advantage and long-term resilience. In an era where overcapitalized failures are increasingly common, the ability to scale judiciously, grow efficiently, and remain agile financially is itself a form of competitive superiority.
4. Adapt by adjusting fast
Adjust in real time or fall behind for good.
Recent NBA champions have demonstrated that adaptability is a defining trait of title teams. In 2019, the Toronto Raptors used Coach Nick Nurse’s innovative box-and-one defense to disrupt the Warriors’ rhythm and contain Stephen Curry, a rare tactic that proved decisive. The 2020 Lakers showed a different kind of resilience, adjusting to the mental and physical strain of the NBA Bubble, a fan-less, isolated environment created during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, the Milwaukee Bucks adapted throughout their playoff run, responding to Giannis Antetokounmpo’s knee injury scare and shifting their approach with more varied defensive schemes and a grittier, team-oriented offense. The 2024 Celtics followed suit, making mid-playoff adjustments by tightening their switching defense, increasing physicality, and leaning on Jayson Tatum’s post playmaking to generate offense. In each case, strategic flexibility under pressure proved critical to securing the championship.
Business insight: Markets shift. Competitors evolve. Technology disrupts. Businesses must be ready to pivot, revise strategies, and let go of outdated approaches. Success increasingly depends on speed of adaptation, whether that means reconfiguring teams, adopting new business models, or reallocating resources on the fly. Rigid adherence to past formulas can stall progress, while agility opens the door to innovation, resilience, and competitive advantage. The organizations that win aren’t the ones that get it perfect from the start; they’re the ones that improve the fastest. Those who can recalibrate quickly in response to new variables will consistently outmaneuver more rigid, slower-moving rivals.
5. Lead beyond the scoreboard
True leaders do more than perform; they elevate everyone around them.
Since 2019, NBA championship teams have been led by stars whose impact goes far beyond scoring. LeBron James, in 2020, averaged 25.3 points (PTS), 7.8 rebounds (REB), and 10.2 assists (AST). Giannis Antetokounmpo (2021: 30.4 PTS, 11.9 REB, 6.5 AST), Nikola Jokić (2023: 24.5 PTS, 11.8 REB, 9.8 AST), Jayson Tatum (2024: 26.9 PTS, 8.1 REB, 4.9 AST), and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2025: 32.7 PTS, 5.0 REB, 6.4 AST) further exemplify all-around excellence. Their well-rounded stat lines reflect a capacity to control tempo, create for others, and elevate team play through unselfish, intelligent decisions. These leaders adapt to whatever their teams need: initiating offense, rebounding in mismatches, or stepping up defensively in critical moments. Their presence sets a tone of effort, communication, and versatility, raising the collective ceiling of the entire roster.
Business insight: True leadership transcends personal achievement. The most impactful contributors are those who create elevation effects, raising the clarity, confidence, and cohesion of those around them. Their value lies not only in execution but in orchestration: enabling others to succeed, dismantling silos, and embedding excellence into the collective rhythm of the organization. In an age where complexity is the norm, organizations need more than stars; they need force multipliers who turn competence into collaboration and performance into progress. In fast-paced environments, these are the people who quietly drive transformation, without always needing the spotlight.
In the NBA and in business, there’s no one-size-fits-all solution.
Win with principles
The modern NBA has shown that championships aren’t won by following a single blueprint. Teams succeed in different ways, but beneath those differences lies a repeatable mindset: build depth, grow talent, adjust quickly, invest wisely, lead selflessly, and win together.
As 2025 champion and MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said after a tough Game 1 loss in the Finals, “It’s not rocket science.” And he’s right. In the NBA, just as in business, there’s no one-size-fits-all solution. That said, if you execute the five principles we’ve looked at here with discipline and rigor, you will increase your chances of success. It’s not rocket science – it’s strategy.
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