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Wednesday, May 24, 2023

Basketball: The Yoda Effect, "You Must Unlearn What You Have Learned"


Think again. Happens all the time. Unlearn what we have learned. Embrace change. 

DNA double helix discoverer J.D. Watson was a confirmed racist, believing black people inferior. The first to have his DNA sequenced, Watson learned he was one-eighth African. DNA reality confronted his beliefs. 

CAT scans were new in the 1980s. We called them 'dog scans', hard to access and 'unneeded' in most cases. We didn't understand their power; we hadn't embraced the technology. We had to unlearn what we learned. 

Where does reality challenge our basketball beliefs?

1. Three-point shots went from curiosity in the 1980s to one of the foremost weapons in basketball today. Baseball explained that "chicks dig the long ball." Now everyone does. 

2. "Basketball on Paper" by Dean Oliver emerged almost twenty years ago as a blueprint for success with its Four Factors. In many ways, we reimagined basketball with a clearer understanding of "possession enders" excelling in field goal percentage, rebounding, turnovers, and free throws taken. 

3. Management learned that the three factors predicting NBA success for draftees were age at drafting, college attended, and performance. The young star at blueblood programs became high priority acquisitions. Michael Lewis discussed this in The Undoing Project with Daryl Morey in Lewis's book about Nobel Laureate Danny Kahneman and his coauthor Amos Tversky. 

4. Foreign born players were too soft to succeed in the rugged NBA world. Stars like Ginobili, Nowitzki, Antetokounmpo, Doncic, and Jokic have rendered that concept obsolete. 

5. Women couldn't create their own shot. The new generations of girls and women show athleticism and skill that moves ever-closer to their male peers. 

These are just a few truths revealed. What are yours? 

Lagniappe. Proof. 

 


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