A championship built on missed shots and second chances is the clearest reminder of what actually wins in the real estate industry.
On Saturday night in San Antonio, the New York Knicks won the NBA championship for the first time in 53 years since 1973. They closed out the four-game series with a 94-90 victory, 1-1. And here’s the part that’s worth paying attention to, whether you follow basketball or not. They didn’t win cleanly.
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I don’t follow this game closely, and neither do many of the agents reading this. How the Knicks win is one of the clearest lessons in tenacity and teamwork I’ve ever seen, and every part of it translates to your business.
Let’s start with the ugly truth of the last game. As a team, the Knicks missed nearly two out of three shots. They made about a third. They trailed by 10 points in the first quarter and were forced to the final line. If you turned on the TV at halftime, you would have sworn you were watching a team on the verge of losing.
Then they won anyway.
Embrace it because it is the most important thing in building a real estate business. Shots may not fall for weeks, months, or even entire quarters. The list gets cold. The ghost of the buyer. The contract will be invalidated upon review by a lawyer.
And then the same voice that doubted the Knicks at halftime starts speaking to you: This isn’t working, you’re not good enough, sit back. The champions heard this too and held up their trophies regardless.
This is how they do it. Because each player who makes it successful is a different agent in the office, a different version of you on a different day.
45 points everyone remembers
The name in every headline is Jalen Brunson. On a night when almost no one else scored, the Knicks’ leader scored 45 points himself, nearly double the number on a good night for the Stars and nearly half of the team’s total points.
Some days that might be you. While the office is stagnant, the agents flare up and close everything they touch. Then be Branson. Let’s take a shot. Carry your luggage.
But Brunson’s 45 isn’t the reason the Knicks won.
Works that are not highlights
A simple introduction to basketball. This is the point. Every time a player makes a mistake, the ball is grabbed. This is called rebound. The person who grabs the rebound gives the team another chance to score. Mistakes are not the end of the play.
For the two Knicks, that was all they had to do. Josh Hart and Mitchell Robinson refused to end possessions with just one mistake. Robinson only scored two points all night, but grabbed 10 rebounds, including six of his own misses. Hart added 13 points and 11 rebounds.
New York upset San Antonio 66-59, and the extra chances are the real reason for their win. It’s not about the score. Obsessive and unglamorous work, chasing down every mistake.
You are living this. A missed shot is a phone call that goes unreturned. A loose ball is a follow-up that everyone else in the market does. A second chance is a third phone call, a handwritten note, or a knock on the door after the other person gets home.
None of it gets celebrated at the awards banquet, and it all turns a bad week into a deal-breaker. Prospects are recovering. Follow-up is on the rebound.
The star who couldn’t even buy a basket
This is the moment I love the most, and it has nothing to do with playing well. Karl-Anthony Towns, one of the Knicks’ biggest stars, finished the most important night of his career by going 1-for-7 with two runs scored. On paper it’s forgettable.
But Towns didn’t slouch or check out. He grabbed 10 rebounds, added three steals, and did the dirty work while being scored. He wasn’t able to contribute as much as he wanted, so he contributed in any way he could. And his team won the title.
That’s your slow stretch. You don’t quit or disappear when the list stops coming. It turns out there’s more work to be done: more calls, more follow-ups, more open houses. Contributing on an off day is still a contribution, which leads to wins for the year.
Defense that no one supports
Another name is OG Anunoby. He scored 11 points, but his real job was on defense, with eight rebounds and three steals, stealing the ball before San Antonio could get a shot off.
The title goes to a team that defends what they have as fiercely as they pursue what they want. It’s important for your business to monitor transactions and make sure they withstand inspection and check-ins that turn past customers into referrals. No one throws a party to celebrate a deal that didn’t go through, but protecting your business is just as valuable as growing it.
Lose early, win late
The Knicks trailed most of the night, but didn’t panic. Early losses come in January, slow starts and doubts creep in when the numbers don’t go up. Winners do not fold when they are behind. It’s not the first quarter score that matters.
New York defeated San Antonio 29-18 in the final quarter to win the game. In the final crucial moment, they won. That’s it. The actual goals are set in the fourth quarter of the year.
How you start doesn’t determine your outcome. How will it end?
please say it out loud
Incorporate this into your week. We say it out loud because the words we say out loud are the words we begin to believe.
“You don’t have to play perfectly. You just have to play until the final buzzer.” “My mistakes don’t define me. My next shot defines me.” “If the shot doesn’t fall, I go for a second chance.”
The Knicks waited 53 years and won it all on a night they could barely get to the basket. That’s because one player carried the Knicks, two chased every mistake, the struggling stars still did the dirty work, and no one panicked when they were behind. Each of those players is you in your business at some point.
The big closing is the part everyone remembers. The follow-up that no one sees is the part that actually wins. Rest at night, on the board. Late month, by phone.
Now, let’s get a second chance.
Daryl Davis, CSP, is a nationally recognized real estate speaker, bestselling author, and coach with over 40 years of experience in the industry. For more information, visit darrylspeaks.com.
