It takes more than desire, guts and effort to win in the NBA, but it's sure easier to win with them than without.
One of our really good teams at Claremont had a 5'10" point guard from the Bay Area named Brian Beasley. As you would expect, Brian was feisty, gritty and all the words that describe 5'10" point guards. Somewhat like the words that describe NBA back-up point guards from Australia by way of St. Mary's - also in the Bay Area.
Brian and I had a deal. In the first five minutes of every game, he would dive on the floor for a loose ball.