Glenn Robinson Credits Warriors' 'Championship Mentality' for Keeping Him Focused

Losing in the NBA can be detrimental in more ways than one. It can kill the chemistry of a team as players grow sick and tired of getting defeated and start pointing the finger to blame others. It can also force players to fall out of love with the game.

Losing focus can be easy because when a team is struggling to win games, it makes it hard for every individual player to be interested when they know the team isn't going anywhere. This season, the Golden State Warriors are in that position for the first time in a long time.

With the critical losses due to trades, free agency, or most notably injuries, the Warriors haven't had a very successful season as they sit at the bottom of the Western Conference with a record of only 12-41. At this point, it's clear that Golden State isn't going anywhere.

Knowing that, the Warriors decided to act as sellers at the trade deadline, as opposed to buying a piece or two to prepare for a playoff run adequately. Their key sale before the trade deadline was packaging two veterans, Alec Burks and Glenn Robinson III, to send to the Philadelphia 76ers for a handful of second-round picks.

Now, Robinson and Burks have gone from having an early offseason to potentially competing for a championship in the Eastern Conference. You would think their spirits have been lifted as they are headed somewhere with championship aspirations. In all reality, though, their competitive spirit never died in Golden State.

Despite having a lousy record in 2020, Glenn Robinson claims the Warriors haven't lost the interest of the players. The organization knows it's pretty much a fluke year, and next season they will be right back in the Finals conversation with the other top teams in the West. Steve Kerr and the Warriors' staff run a championship-winning franchise, and they've never lost that spirit along their painful journey this year, Robinson says.

"Even though we weren't winning, the Warriors always have a championship mentality that they bring in every day," Robinson claimed after debuting for the Sixers on Sunday. "So I don't feel too off from [having a win-now mentality]. I'm just glad to be here to help this team win. That's my job here. I feel like I can help get this team over the top."

In a way, Robinson's words are uplifting for both organizations. For the Sixers, they can feel good knowing they have somebody who is motivated and ready to help their franchise potentially get over the playoff hump they've struggled to deal with lately. And as for Golden State, they can feel at ease knowing things are still going well behind the scenes, and the team still possesses its winner's mentality. A win-win situation for both sides.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him on Twitter: @JGrasso_