Savvy Communication Helped Him Net Big Returns; Strategic Focus: Basketball Hall of Famer Bill Sharman's innovation helped win NBA titles as player, coach and consultant.(LEADERS & SUCCESS)(BEST OF LEADERS & SUCCESS)

Byline: MICHAEL MINK

Bill Sharman's basketball career proves that nice guys can finish first. And often.

"I like to treat people the way I'd like them to treat me," Sharman said in a 2003 IBD interview.

A member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame for his play with the Boston Celtics, Sharman is one of only 10 men in National Basketball Association history to have both played on and coached a team that won the league title.

He's the only man in NBA history to win championships as a player, coach, general manager and team president (having served in the last three positions with the Los Angeles Lakers). For his career, Sharman was part of a record 15 title teams.

Sharman rose to the level of a Hall of Fame player through an unceasing …