Teamwork

TEAMWORK. Dedication to technical skills. Determination to do one's best. Conceptualizing a way to succeed. Realizing success is attainable. In any sport, most winning teams adhere to like principles. So do successful organizations and individuals outside sports. These elements aren't new to the Boston Celtics, who won the pro basketball title Tuesday. They've been the teams's hallmark for nearly three decades, in which it has won 15 championships.

Boston's opponents, the classy Los Angeles Lakers, used various strategies and players in a skilled and gritty effort to win. But it was not quite enough, despite their own teamwork, splendid abilities -- and their peerless veteran, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

Despite superstar larry Bird, the Celtics are not, unlike the New York Yankees of recent vitage, "the best team money can buy." They're the best team in basketball. Period.