Team Player Essay

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Who Is A True Team Player in Sports?
What do you think of when you watch Michael Jordan play basketball? What do you think of when you watch Cristiano Ronaldo or Pele play soccer? Are they remembered as great individual players or as great team players? In sports today, fans often forget the term team player. A lot of the time, the star player will forget what it means to be a team player, but what does it actually mean? Many believe that the definition of a team player is the person that does all of the hard work for the great players on the team. I feel that the real definition of a team player is one who is determined to make the team succeed, from practicing, learning the game, and from having great individual performance.
Across all sports, there is no one particular definition of team player, but in sports like basketball and soccer, these players are a necessity. According to Wiktionary.com, a team player, “Is a person who can function effectively as part of a group of individuals, sharing information and striving towards a common goal” (Wiktionary). I believe the Dictionary definition of a team player is perfect because it explains what a team needs in order to succeed. For example in soccer and basketball, there are players that are readers, or play callers, who call out what needs to happen if the team wants to get the ball back or even score.
The definition of team player can be misused in different ways and most star players could get confused with what the terms teamwork and team player really mean. Take for example the case of Allen Iverson. He is known all too well for his misunderstanding of the term team player in a 2002 press conference after a game with the Philadelphia 76ers. Allen Iverson was known for be...

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...game and during practice of how to do better.
The team player term can be misinterpreted by many players and fans. Many people considered Allen Iverson and Ronaldinho early in his career as great team players because they were incredible for their teams and led them to wins. So is there truly a solid definition for team player? Zlatan, even though he was big headed, shows what a true team player is. He often puts his personal success aside and put his teammates first. Michael Jordan is also an American hero because he won so often using the team first technique. The team player, team first tactic is what makes sports now so amazing to watch, because now instead of one key player on the team doing all the work, you see the entire team play incredibly as one. That being said, the true definition of a team player depends on both the success of the player and the team.

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