What does it take to be a captain? Always putting your head on the line? Sacrificing yourself for the team? Whatever it is, the captain is meant to lead the club and set an example for the team to follow.

Despite their solid start to the season, sitting in fifth and just a single win out of the top four… Adelaide 36ers co-captain Brendan Teys has hardly fired a shot for his club in 2019/20.

The quiet, unassuming co-leader, who shares the reigns with Kevin White has been at the Sixers since 2013/14, and was a part of their 2014 and 2018 Grand Finals series.

During the off-season, he lost eight kilos as a way to relief stress on his back and legs and perhaps gain an edge in speed and aerobic flexibility and strength, unfortunately it does not seem to have made a difference. 

In five games this season, the co-captain has played no more than ten minutes a game, he averages 1.17 points per game, 0 assists, 0.33 rebounds and 17% field goals made.

To date, he has played 209 NBL games for Gold Coast Blaze, Brisbane Bullets and Adelaide 36ers since 2009, his overall averages are 13.01 minutes per game, 1.21 rebounds, 0.72 assists, 0.05 blocks and has a field goal average of just 40%, in a genuine league like the NBL. In what way is this leadership?

There are club captains such as Adelaide Crows’ Taylor Walker in the AFL, who although still managed to kick over 40 goals and win the club’s leading goal kicker award in 2019, was consistently faced with intense media scrutiny and calls to step-down as leader, and eventually did so. Why though, is Brendan Teys never placed under any spotlight? His name is never mentioned, even when the Sixers lose.

It is worth mentioning, the captain of a club is not always the best player in the team, just because they don’t play major minutes or slam 25+ points every game, doesn’t mean they aren’t captaincy material. But Teys does not appear to be motivating players or explaining offensives on the sidelines during 36ers games in addition to his statistical production… so what is he adding?

His on-court performance is woeful, he hardly ever plays and even when he does, he is barely noticed. While the 36ers are not in struggle town yet, they are still bordering the line of mediocre once again. They were courageous against the Kings, forcing the game into overtime and came agonisingly close to causing an upset… but again, the co-captain Teys did very little (ten minutes, one rebound).

To really know who the leader is, one needs to be truly internal.

Relationships with players and coaches are key to being a good leader, and perhaps Brendan Teys meets this criteria, but on-court performance and aura does play a part in motivating and inspiring the other players to follow the lead. 

Brendan Teys will be looking for more minutes, the captain should be on the court longer than ten minutes.