I’ll take the assist

I love sports, and have for as long as I can remember. All sports too - anything where one team (or individual) is trying to impose their will upon another.

I love how a competitive team environment encapsulates everything from life in general - physical attributes, practice and dedication, the mental side - being able and willing to learn, emotions (and how to harness them), overcoming obstacles and building on successes, short-term tactics and long-term strategy, maximizing strengths, minimizing weaknesses, and exploiting your opponents' mistakes. And Teamwork. Lots and lots of teamwork.

Where I'm different from most people, though, is that I don't love the goal. I respect the goal. I realize that scoring is the desired result. I understand you can't win without scoring. But I'll take the assist.

The assist is about sharing. It's about bringing the team together. It's sharing the wealth. Spreading the glory. Making the team more important than the individual. Want to know what else? An assist, by definition, means that a goal has been scored. So there's that, too.

There have been dozens of NBA players who could light up the scoreboard night after night. (One even had the nickname "The Human Highlight Film." These players have a general common theme of getting lots of Top 10 time on ESPN highlights yet watching the late rounds of the playoffs from their couch.

There are significantly fewer players whose play makes everyone else on their team better, putting each of his teammates in positions to be successful. These players have a common theme of making their teams better, having teams that trade them away do worse the following years, and making deep playoff runs. (Think Jason Kidd, Steve Nash, Magic Johnson, Robert Horry.)

If I was able to play in the NBA, I would much rather play on a team with one of those great distributors than the great scorers. And if I was able to be one of the all-time greats, you can bet I would be an assist leader.

- Chris Butterworth