What We Learn From The Viral Moments Of Monty Williams
It’s the morning after the NBA Finals and the Milwaukee Bucks are the champions. Giannis Antetokounmpo dropped 50 points and secured the Finals MVP. Amongst the predictable storylines filling my timeline, like the question of Giannis taking over the role of the NBA’s best player or debating where the Bucks rank amongst the all-time NBA champions, something caught me by surprise.
I’m still seeing a lot of Monty Williams. And I love it.
Yes, part of it is the algorithms of social media knowing that I gravitate towards anything coach Williams has to say. But I think the bigger reason is something to get excited about: all of us are captivated by this man right now. The last two weeks have been a masterclass in coaching, leadership, and faithfully living moment by moment. What follows are five reasons why we can’t get enough of coach Williams—and more importantly, what it reveals about all of us impacted by him.
*If you haven’t seen any of these videos, each one is worth your time. The videos capture more than my few sentences of commentary underneath them.
Reason #1: Calling up over calling out
https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1413337257789075458
Coach Monty’s first viral moment came during a timeout. Deandre Ayton was struggling against a tough Buck’s defense and coach sensed that he was getting down on himself. Ayton is young and super talented. Instead of lighting him up on the sidelines and taking a “man up!” approach, Williams took a fatherly tone with his star athlete. Instead of calling him out, he called him up to the standard he already set for himself. This interaction (viewed 3.2 millions times from the NBA’s Twitter account) sparked discussions across all major sports talk shows about the benefits of this model of coaching. Most of these conversations arrived at the same conclusion: we need more of this type of coaching in sports today.
Reason #2: The other side of hard
https://twitter.com/Dubs4O8/status/1415520887009251328
After the Bucks tied the series at 2-2, coach addressed his team in the locker room. They were understandably frustrated. Coach addressed that frustration, empathized with it, and then steered the conversation towards hope. It wasn’t a fake rah rah speech either. It was authentic and appropriate to his personality. In 60 seconds, coach communicated:
You’re upset. That’s ok.
This is not easy. That’s the point.
Everything that happened is correctable.
We can do this because we’ve been doing it all year.
Let’s do this together.
And he ended with the catchy statement: “Everything you want is on the other side of hard.”
Again, coach was just being authentic. He knows—and loves his people. This video has been viewed over 1.2 millions times and stirred up more conversions in the sports world about what it looks like and sounds like to effectively motivate people.
Reason #3: Family and faith matters
https://twitter.com/JasonRomano/status/1416774410938298372
When asked about what he does with his personal time during the NBA playoffs, coach Williams chuckled and prepared the reporter for a boring answer. He described how he loves reading, spending time with his dogs in the yard, and getting made fun of by his kids. But then he got specific. Coach Williams talked about doing family devotions together and talking about God. He talked about letting his kids in on his stresses and fears, unpacking that while he is a “big” figure in the eyes of the world, he’s still very much a human who experiences a myriad of emotions.
To some, that may be a boring answer. I think it was fascinating. He showed his humanity and shared about his faith in a way that did not feel forced at all. And it can be easy to just celebrate the fact that he talked about God (which should be celebrated!). But he also modeled a parenting philosophy of being honest with our kids and showing them that it’s ok to experience stress and fear at times.
Reasons #4: Congratulating the losing team
https://twitter.com/espn/status/1417708079475535873
Coach Williams briefly interrupted the Bucks locker room celebration to congratulate them. He comes across as humble, authentic, and gracious—because he is humble, authentic, and gracious. The locker room goes silent (showing him respect) as he speaks. He doesn’t steal the spotlight by monologuing for five minutes. The whole interaction takes less than twenty seconds.
Ed Uszynski texted me this morning and said “it’s a great illustration of how competition with rivals should bring out best in one another and how you can celebrate that even in loss because sport isn’t an idol in your life.”
Along with congratulating them, he affirms that they (the Bucks) made him and his team (the Suns) better for it.
Reason #5: Press conference after the loss
https://twitter.com/JasonRomano/status/1417831346223915008
It can be lost in all of these moments that coach really cares about this game, this team, and winning the title. Coach shows us that you can be humble, gracious, authentic, prioritize faith and family, have proper perspective—and still be sad after defeat. This meant something to him. And that should be celebrated too. At the time I am writing this, the video has already been seen over 338,000 times. His words, or lack thereof in this instance, are resonating with people.
Notice his hat too. Another subtle way to show/share his faith with a watching world.
What this reveals about us
Let’s start by defining what “this” is.
“This” is the compilation of viral moments brought to us by Monty Williams living authentically and being wired up so we get to witness how he does it. And millions of people are drawn to him and what he is saying. This is fascinating because he is talking about and living out Christian values without actually labeling them as such. Think about it…
His encouragement of Deandre Ayton showed compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. (Colossians 3:12).
His admission to his family (and to us through the interview) that he was stressed and fearful modeled incredible humility (Romans 12:3).
Congratulating the opposing team’s win showed an ability to celebrate others’ success—even when it comes at our own expense (Romans 12:15, 1 Corinthians 12:26).
His viral moments were birthed out of him simply living out his faith within his context as a coach. We all want to know what he will say or do next. And this should encourage us. It shows that people still long for and are captivated by a biblical model of living. At our core, we are people magnetically drawn to those who live humbly, authentically and graciously. We are drawn to people who model servant leadership and communicate to others with grace, truth, and love.
The Milwaukee Bucks may be the NBA champs. But we would do well to remember what Coach Williams taught all of us during his team’s playoff run: when you live out your biblical convictions faithfully, moment by moment, people will notice and wonder what it is about you that sets you apart from the pack.
Why? Because aligning ourselves with God’s character causes people made in His image to pay attention, be intrigued, and come back wanting more.
