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Writer's pictureJack Mcveigh

Reflections From Finals: “Lessons from Winning the NBL Championship”

It's been two weeks since I helped the JackJumpers bring home their first-ever NBL championship.

Physical games.

Roaring arenas.

Adrenaline-pumping game winners.

I am still struggling to articulate exactly how I feel, how it happened, and the lessons you can take from it.

But stay with me here, because like winning an NBL championship, this article will be chaotic, emotional, messy, and bloody rewarding to finish.


Jack McVeigh and Sean Macdonald holding the NBL 2023 Championship trophy.

The first place my mind goes to is the people who couldn’t be there with us at the finish line, but who we couldn’t have won it without.

Sam McDaniel.

Junior Madut.

Josh Magette.

Rashard Kelly.

Mikyle Macintosh.

Josh Adams.

Isaac White.

Jacob Chance.

Matt Kenyon.

Jock Perry.

Without a strong foundation, the house crumbles.

These men laid bricks that directly impacted winning.

A brand new club, no one knew what to expect, Mikyle laid down the first tradition that is still followed religiously today.

On arrival at training, every player must high-five each member who is currently there.

A tradition that has not missed a day.

“Get your touches in.”

It’s the small details that not only add up to championships but also make me reflect with a smile.

It’s these small details that build culture.

Winning was fun, yes, of course.

But building something with my brothers is what was rewarding.

The suffering and struggle next to new and old friends.

That’s what makes my soul sing and dance.

That’s what I'll remember for a lifetime.


Will Magnay emotional after big semi-final NBL win against the Perth Wildcats.

The second place my mind goes is to disbelief and relief.

Some incredible players never win a title.

Charles Barkley.

Steve Nash.

Carmelo Anthony.

Even my favorite player Reggie Miller.

This accomplishment is hard to achieve.

In the pursuit of any meaningful task, there is always an inner voice that haunts you.

I know mine well.

“You aren’t a winner.”

“What if the way you approach the game isn’t good enough?”

“Are all your theories wrong?”

It never shuts up.

And it’s damn loud.

But.

Winning did bring a sense of relief.

No one can ever take away this season.

Although the voice is still there, it’s much quieter.

“You aren’t good enough to make the Olympics.”

“You haven’t been working hard enough.”

Shhh.

I’ll spend some time with my fiancé and dog.

That always keeps those voices quiet.

The disbelief I felt came from those same voices.

The battle between self-belief and self-sabotage is an eternal war.

But it’s not all negative.

There has always been a whisper that knew I would achieve these goals.

But.

Life makes it hard to hear.

Failures after failures.

Setbacks after setbacks.

Outside noise.

Internal struggles.

You have to shut it out and get to work.

That way.

The quietly confident whisper will be right.

But.

Could the positive voice grab the microphone next time, please?

Because it's damn hard to hear that whisper over all that screaming self-criticism.

Maybe that’s just part of chasing after dreams.


Tasmania JackJumpers holding the NBL 2023 Championship trophy.

The third thought I’ve been pondering is an interesting one.

It defies common Western Society practice.

It defies the so-called “hustle-culture.”

I am no happier now than I was before I won the championship.

I am no more confident.

I am no less anxious.

Although the world may perceive me differently now, winning the championship has changed nothing internally in my life.

For as long as I remember, I have been chasing big goals and even bigger dreams.

I dedicating my life to them.

I spent every moment studying how to improve.

I have maintained hyper-focus.

I've worked harder than I thought possible.

Chasing.

Chasing.

Chasing.

But the more I focused on the results, the further they ran away.

The more you focus on not missing shots, the more you miss.

The more you try to make people like you, the less people do.

Growing up, it always infuriated me how the players who seemed to not care as much as me always performed at a higher level.

It was a constant theme that I could never explain.

Philosopher Alan Watts articulates this experience well.

He uses Taoism to articulate this idea.

It’s called “Wu-Wei,” the principle of not forcing.

One must not spend all their effort forcing against nature.

He uses the example:

Try your hardest to not think about a pink elephant.

The harder you try, the worse you will do.

But if you go about your day being present in your activities, soon the pink elephant will fade away.

That is Wu-Wei.

This season was the least I ever focused on results.

The fewest times I checked my season stats and compared them to other players.

I chased basketball success my entire life, but heading into this season was the first time I didn't NEED basketball success to feel like I was enough.

I still dedicated every moment to the game.

I still spent almost all my waking hours pursuing improvement.

But my focus was different.

I was present and enjoying the journey.

I put effort into moments of gratitude surrounded by my friends.

FaceTimes with Beth.

Enjoying the daily process rather than only caring about game day results.

The less I forced the issue, the better I played.

It’s an interesting idea.


Jack McVeigh and fiancé Bethany Heaft holding the NBL Championship Trophy and Finals MVP award.

Lastly, I need to touch on my least favourite word in sports.

Talent.

For the last 3 years, everyone has talked about how untalented the JackJumpers are.

Well, if your definition of talented is doing fancy tricks and taking bad shots.

You can have that.

My definition of talent is different.

It’s getting the job done.

It's winning.

And I do that.

That’s talent.

Okay, moving on.

Tears.

Laughs.

Dances.

Songs.

The last month has been filled with them all.

But it is the people and the process that I always come back to.


Milton Doyle and Jack McVeigh after eliminating the Perth Wildcats in game 3 of the semi-finals.

This article is for Matty Adekponya, who called me out the other day.

I put up an Instagram story talking about my off-season process.

“People want to hear about your last couple of weeks.” He said.

I agree.

So this one is for him.

But the past isn't what I love focusing on.

It’s the process.

It’s today.

Yes, I love winning championships.

Yes, I love winning Finals MVP.

But I love eating breakfast just as much as those.

I love walking the dog.

I love designing an off-season training program.

I love laying on the couch doing nothing.

There is no difference between winning it all and waking up in the morning.

Both experiences are just as beautiful as the other.

But.

Saying all that, I’m damn grateful for the last month.


Scott Roth and the JackJumpers celebrating after winning the 2023 NBL Championship.

Thank you for reading.

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