Red and Me Book Study - Every Player Is Different

In this excerpt from the book, Red and Me, by Bill Russell, Bill talks writes about how Red Auerbach approached each player as individuals.

Red respected every player as he was, and listened to each individually.  But he did not, strictly speaking, treat everyone equally.  He recognized that everyone was different - we all had different contracts, different physical and mental abilities, different mindsets and habits and methods of preparation.  He also had to consider all of our different agendas.  WIth professional basketball players, there are never enough minutes and never enough shots to satisfy everyone in every game.  We didn't start out as equal ballplayers, so that kind "equal" is not helpful in a team circumstance.  Red knew this.

Every player is his own man with his own abilities and his own agenda for playing the game.  You have to respect that about them and appreciate their uniqueness and what they bring to the team in order to get the most out of them.