Friend of this site David Thorpe — who trains players in the NBA (and to get ready for the league) — says that all the time. Nobody is making the NBA without winning the genetic lottery to some degree, there is a baseline of athleticism, but what separates teams and players above that often comes town to effort. All season on NBA.com the league has tracked "hustle stats" like deflected passes, who gets to loose balls, drawing charges, contesting shots, and the like.