http://www.nba.com/hornets/news/040517_lynchfeature2.html Whatever It Takes: George Lynch SACRIFICE FOR THE TEAM For most, you would think going from star player and leader at one of the best college basketball programs in the country to role player coming off the bench in the NBA would be a disappointment. But that's not the case for Lynch, who admits that throughout his career, even as far back as high school, he has been part of some great teams. "I've been blessed to play on a lot of good teams throughout my career and when you play on good, talented teams, you're not always going to be the best player," said Lynch. "I've always played on teams where I wasn't the only good player. My high school team had five NCAA Division I players on it. Even at North Carolina, there was an All-American coming in every year." For Lynch to survive as a player, he couldn't just rely on his talents. He went back to what he learned as a child about being a team player. To Lynch, it's never been about just him. "Coaches that I've played for never stressed individual goals," said Lynch. "It was always about the team. It was about 'What can you do to make the team better?' I had an opportunity to be MVP, to be an outstanding player, but I was shown at a young age that it's all about the team. It wasn't about me being the man and scoring a lot of points. "I remember, growing up as a kid, watching the older guys play basketball in the park. I was a pretty good player at a young age and would sometimes get to play. But they would never pass the ball and I learned that I didn't like watching or playing with selfish players," Lynch added. "So when I had the opportunities to be the best player, I always tried to make the other guys around me better. I played early during my freshman year at Carolina because I was unselfish." That has been the key to his success and longevity throughout his NBA career. The fact that he has been on four different teams over those 10 years can be put in a positive light because of the fact that he's an unselfish, hard working player and teams always need a guy like that on their roster. "I've been able to sacrifice for the teams that I've played on at the professional level and have had success," said Lynch. "I've seen a lot of guys that come in the league and, by them being selfish players, they never had the opportunity to fulfill their dreams. Most of them had way more talent offensively than I had and because they were selfish ballplayers, coaches didn’t want to keep them around." The Hornets saw the value of Lynch's play over the last two seasons and signed him to a contract extension in August of 2003. "George has been a key contributor to the success of our team for the last two seasons," said Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations/General Manager Bob Bass, who will retire from his position effective June 30. "He has solidified our bench with his defense, hustle and all-around play and has done an outstanding job when he's called upon to start." George Lynch's willingness to sacrifice has definitely taken him places. It brought him and his North Carolina team to the 1993 NCAA Championship. It brought his Philadelphia 76ers team to the 2001 NBA Finals. The Hornets see themselves going into the playoffs, looking for their shot at an NBA title. And you can bet that George Lynch will sacrifice whatever he can to make that happen for his team. That's not only his job. That's just who he is. --

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