San Antonio Spurs' Nando De Colo recently vented on his lack of playing time as the regular season ended and now in the postseason. His time on the court has dipped significantly and has only played in the playoffs during the Lakers opening-round series and not at all since.
His comments created a stir among Spurs fans, however, Nando followed up his comments to French media on his Facebook page and made the record clear – he is frustrated with the lack of playing time but does say as long as the team is winning, that is all that matters in the end.
For those who misunderstood, as a pro player I'm of course frustrated when I don't play. But the most important thing is the team wins. No matter my personnal case. No discussion about that.
As I said before, Nando is a pro-player and is a competitor. It is only natural for him to feel frustration over lack of playing time. Sure, he did not back down from his personal feelings over not seeing time on the court, but at least he is saying team comes first over his own feelings.
And that is the lesson here for De Colo – team success comes first and playing time will come in due time.
Nando has a lot to work on once the offseason begins – outside shooting, improving on defense, and understanding his role and the rest will follow. Hopefully next time Nando will talk with the coaching staff over his feelings instead of making it public.